Field Notes: Chasing Unicorns

Unicorns.

We all have them.

Elusive ancestors that hover just on the edge. Almost mythical. Every once in a great while we catch a glimpse; a casual mention, an also-ran lost to the annals of time. We know they're there, but no proof exists. Least-wise none that we have been able to ferret out.

And we ferret.

We search high and low.

We look in the most obscure places. We run head first down bramble covered paths. We post to message boards, hunt down distant cousins, contact anyone, anyone who might have a lead.

We stay up late and get up early.

We lock ourselves in our Cave for days on end, certain that the next unindexed image will contain the Holy Grail.

We begin to mumble. And snap at our household members. No! I do NOT have time to do (fill in the blank) can't you see that I'm busy! This is very important work here, people! VERY important! And it must be solved. NOW.

Then we catch something out of the corner of our eye. A mention in an old history book, or a land sale - just enough to throw up our hands and demand a T.A.R.D.I.S. right this minute.

How could our ancestors have been so thoughtless, not to leave a well documented paper trail? Who do they think they are, anyway? Living their lives, minding their own business. Really.

And the ones that magically appear out of nowhere? They're the worst!  Just tell me, how do you one day just "appear" in the Colonies with thousands of acres of land? Or in a very nice house in Poughkeepise? And for crying out loud - how do you just fall off the earth after all of this? I mean seriously.

Unicorns.

We chase unicorns.

But every once in a while .......

We actually catch one.

Are you chasing unicorns? Share your story in the comments - I'd love to hear I'm not alone!

©2016 Anne Faulkner - AncestorArchaeology.net, All Rights Reserved.

My 30 x 30 Genealogy Challenge

I have decided to take Janine Adams up on her query to her blog readers. Put forth back in August, Janine invited us to partake in a 30 x 30 genealogy research challenge. At that time I had too many other life things on my plate, but had always wanted to participate.

I plan to start this challenge on February 29 and commit to researching 30 minutes every day until March 29.

In preparation for this challenge I will look at my third, fourth, fifth and possibly sixth generation ancestors. (grandparents, great grandparents, 2nd great grandparents, 3rd great grandparents). I intend to compile a list of facts and documents I still need to find. Each day of the challenge I will pick one ancestor and exhaustively research just that one person. No rabbit trail, no BSO.

My goal with this challenge will be to have 30 well documented ancestors with which to pick up my 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks challenge. That particular challenge broke down in October as the 'life things' increased in velocity and completely derailed my genealogy research for several months.

Things are finally settling down around the Cave and I have renewed my commitment to total immersion where my research is concerned. Now, I can't promise that 'life things' won't come back to pull that commitment rug out from beneath me once again, but my intentions are pure and my spirits high as I venture forth!

.... Perhaps I should light my genealogy novena candle, just to be safe .....

Coming Out Of The Cave

Hi there!!

I'm back. Did you miss me?

2015 was not a good year, and I fell behind on many things I had intended to do. My "simple" cataract surgery that commenced in March of 2015 dragged on until January of this year, my eyesight still not up to snuff.

But I soldier on. Prompted by the stalwart, courageous, and just plain nuts ancestors that reside in the Cave with me. Which is where I have been almost exclusively since the end of December.

I finally worked up the courage to dig deep and face the mess that was my family tree. I have mentioned this before, but it bears repeating. I was a hopeless "clickophile" when I first discovered Ancestry dot com. I had clicked my way back to the middle ages and could have kept right on going. Not only did I manage to get back to around 1000 AD - I added ALL the collateral relations ..... ALL OF THEM! You can understand why the thought of cleaning this up frightened me so.

But the time had come.

I locked myself in the Cave and went on a ruthless killing spree.

Now, don't worry, I did save a complete copy of the tree before I started - just in case I got out of control and killed off someone I shouldn't have. Which I did. Several times. (quick tip: don't drink wine while culling your tree)

I'll spare you the gruesome details of the wrestling, hair pulling, weeping and gnashing of teeth that ensued. But I did it!

Six weeks later I am here to report that I am out of the Cave with a fresh, clean, gloriously slim new tree that is all sourced and ready to be worked on. Properly.

I am now ready to rejoin the Genealogy Do Over and pick up on my 52 Ancestors stories (I got as far as ancestor #23).

2016 is promising to be a good year. I emerged from my Cave and did not see my shadow!

Let's do this.

As It Turns Out, I DO Like Green Eggs and Ham

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself" ~F.D.R.

I am not an early adopter. I would suspect that many in the genealogy community are not early adopters. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is generally my motto and rule to live by. If I had been my ancestor I would have missed the boat.

Repeatedly.

Yesterday, faced with the inevitable, that Ancestry was once-and-for-all retiring the Old Version of their legendary online family tree program in less than three days; I sat down to get as much done as super-humanly possible within the Old Version that I was so comfortable and at home with. I locked myself in the Cave and told my husband not to expect me any time soon.

He was on his own.

I laid out my imaginary rope to the real world and I set in for some serious spelunking.

Hours passed, my husband finally tugged on my guideline and wanted to know if there were any plans for dinner. I grunted something incoherent and went back to the splendor of the Cave.

Later a glass of wine showed up at my side.

I was being lured out.

I glanced at the clock at the bottom of my computer monitor and saw that it was well past 8pm (Wine O'Clock had begun without me!). Resigned, I scribbled some notes and vowed to pick up the insanity in the morning.

There was still so much to do - and scant days left in my 'comfort zone' to do it.

After a fitful night's sleep worrying about all the ancestors I still needed to clean-up and straighten out* I had an Epiphany. Why not TRY the New Version? Why not compare the ancestor profiles side by side - Old v. New. I knew what I needed to do in the Old Version and where & how to do it - so I pulled up an ancestor whose profile needed sorting and, noting what I needed to do, switched to the New Version to look at the same ancestor.

Well.

Well. Well. Well.

Now isn't that easy? Really? I was scared of this?

I LIKE the New Ancestry.

I like it quite well.

Hmm.

Feels like I might have a little (green) egg on my face.

*sidenote:  I confess I had a terrible, horrible case of clickitis early in my addiction and have been avoiding that embarassing area on my tree ever since I came to my senses. I knew I'd have to face it one day, but that day never came ..... until about a month ago when, not being an early adopter, that day did in fact come. Not being one for accepting change willingly and all .....

Old Stories, New Eyes; Verifying Family Lore: Tales From The Cave, part two

Sunday morning.

Labor Day weekend.

Anxious to get back in the Cave to solve the problem I uncovered yesterday.

I knew the answer was there - or at least an explanation. I needed to dig deeper.

{Palm slap to forehead} The obviousness hit me. I needed to look at every city directory between the years 1911 and 1920.

Feeling a bit stupid, I settled in for a session of flipping through electronic records, year by year, verifying my great grandfather's address.

An hour or so later, my grandmother's story was proved correct, partly. The family did move in 1911 and again in 1920. BUT that still didn't prove that the house was built in 1919 and not 1916.

Argh.

Back to the city directories. This time instead of the name, I  employed the handy street index located towards the back of each directory. Looking up the house number and street, I flipped through the virtual pages, electronically unindexed, of course. Knowing both addresses all I needed to do was look for the year the address of the second house first appeared.

Tedious. Time consuming. Oddly rewarding, I must confess.

I felt a little like a time traveller, maybe that is part of the draw of genealogy for me. Anyway, another two hours passed and guess what?! Yup. The second address did not appear until 1920! The Genealogy Queen was correct!

But what about the Zillow listing? What about that?

Again I had to resist the urge to hop in the car and drive the 300 miles to Polk County to show them what I had discovered, and maybe could their be a chance that their records were wrong?

I gave myself a good talking to and decided to just let it go. For the sake of my story I had the proof that I needed. I did put it on my spreadsheet (thanks Thomas MacEntee!) for future research.

OK. On with the story. This should wrap up nicely now, I thought.

I worked my way through the 1920's. The marriage of my grandmother, the career of my great grandfather. Everything was lining up with the "family story" left by my grandmother.

Until 1929.

Oh, oh. Another discrepancy. Or perhaps merely an omission of more detailed information? Rats!

The tale was told that my great grandfather was so successful in his business that he was able to buy a house for his in-laws to retire in. That's not exactly what the records were telling me. I did find my 2nd great grandparents in the 1930 census - but they were living with my great grandparents - AND they were all living in a apartment!?!

Back to the city directories and the year 1929. Shoot. The (extended) family was living in the apartment. The 'big house" had a different family residing in it. 1929! We all know what happened that year. Could my great grandfather have lost everything? Was he forced to sell the big house and move to an apartment?

Noooooo!!

Apart from driving to Polk Co and looking at the real estate histories for the house and the apartment, I had to just let it go, for the moment. (Put it on the ol' spreadsheet for a later looksee)

OK. The Queen has been correct up to this point, why would I doubt her now? I continued to dig into those city directories.

My great grandfather remained in business, his ad ran in the city directory every year. Good.

I took a look at my 2nd great grandparents. 2nd great grandma passed away in December 1932, and 2nd great grandpa in April 1933 Hmm. The foursome was listed as living in the apartment every year from 1929 to 1933. Hmm.

Then I looked at 1934.

Well, well, well. Guess what!? My great grandparents were back in the "big house"!

This just opened up all sorts of questions.

Why did they move to the apartment?
Why did they move back to the big house?
Why, if they were caring for the elderly relatives, did they not just care for them in the house?

Argh!!!!

Resigned to the fact that I would not know the answers, at least not today from the comfort of the Cave; I accepted, grudgingly, that I had reached the end of my quest.

I still don't feel the story is "wrapped up", but the ending is a happy one. And further research revealed that the house remained in the family until at least 1960 - the last year I was able to find a city directory online.

I really need to get to Polk Co one of these days .....

Old Stories, New Eyes; Verifying Family Lore: Tales From The Cave, part one

I had finally committed to catching up with my 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks challenge.

I miraculously had the entire house to myself for a full three days over the Labor Day weekend. No distractions, no obligations. I could hunker down in the Cave, clad in the athletic apparel of the genealogist (pj's and slippers), and power through some major research!

On Saturday I got up at a reasonable time, shuffled into the Cave and laid out a plan. Eight ancestors in three days. Should be doable. I had a good outline on all of them. This time I decided to be a little more methodical. I would concentrate on my maternal side. I would start with my four maternal great grandparents and continue with my four 2nd great grandparents on my maternal grandfather's side. (I had done the four on my maternal grandmother's side previously). Easy peasy.

My grandmother, the Genealogy Queen, had written a family story in the early 1980's. I started my research there using her facts and anecdotes. First up: my grandmother's father. Again, easy peasy. She had already written his story. All I needed to do was double check the facts and lay it down "on paper".

This should be a breeze!

Enter modern technology. What my grandmother did from memory, many hours at the microfiche, and personal correspondence with other relatives to produce her "finished" story was only the tip of that genealogical iceberg! (We knew this, didn't we?)

Nine hours later, bleary eyed and needing a shower, (and well past wine o'clock!), I walked away from the computer to sort out all the new information I had found, and to contemplate the discrepancies I had discovered. So much for eight ancestors in 3 days! I hadn't even finished one!

To clear my head I binge watched Who Do You Think You Are (naturally), poured myself a glass of wine, and found something to heat up. Once I was "all genealogied up", I shuffled back into the Cave for another look. I had to be missing something.

The bones of the story worked with all the proof I could find except for one detail. In my grandmother's recollection, the years of 1916 to 1920 were not lining up with what I was finding. Sure, she would have been 12 to 16 years old - her memory of the sequence of events could be off.

But she's the Genealogy Queen!

She would not have written something without exhaustive proof. Even from her own memory.

To match up her time line I looked at all the records available to me online. I  searched newspapers, scrutinized the census', checked the city directories. What was throwing me off was the dates listed for the construction of the houses her father was said to have built, and the timeline of where the family resided.

The story went that my great grandfather built a new home for his family shortly after 1910. He then built another larger new home right next door after WW1, around 1919, on the site of the family's Victory Garden. Great story!

I wanted to verify this, of course, before I wrote about it as truth. I took another look. Ran it all again. Maybe I was seeing it wrong?

The census did not help, as I could only verify the 1920 address with this story. I looked at the city directories for 1910 and 1911, and the family did in fact move during that time. The 1911 address was different than the 1910 address (which matched the 1910 census) and the 1920 address would, 9 years later, be right next door! Cool. That works.

Next up Google Earth. Where the problem started.  I put in the address and "flew" right to the house. I looked at the 1911 house, still standing, and the 1919/20 house right next door. Zillow helped me along from there. Both houses had some photos included so I got to look inside and poke around a bit. Then I noticed something disturbing. Zillow lists the second house as being built in 1916. What??? No, how could this be? This does not line up.

I checked the description on the 1911 house and it was correct: Year built 1911.

If the second house was built in 1916 and not 1919/20 then what else is off in my grandmother's timeline? And the charming anecdote she told of the Victory Garden that stood where the new house was later constructed. What about that?

I resisted the urge to get in my car and drive to the Polk County Recorder's office right then and there to solve this. Besides, it was a holiday, ... and Saturday night, .....Oh, and well over 300 miles away.

Tired and frustrated, I decided to call it a night.

...to be continued ....

Ancestry Dot Com Made Me A Lazy Genealogist

It's true. I am a bit ashamed to admit it. Lazy. Not that I didn't know how to research outside of Ancestry, they just make it so darned easy to search "one and done". I'm a bit embarrassed that I fell into that trap, but now I'm coming clean.

When I was a newbie Ancestry was a BSO that, in my uneducated world was the "Great and Powerful Oz". EVERYTHING I needed was there, and oh-so-easy to access. Who needs records and proof when you have all these amazing family trees! Copy, click, done. Solved all my grandmother's Brick Walls in a matter of hours. Holla and High Five!

(I know many of you are laughing right about now. Slapping your thigh and saying "yeah, me too, been there, done that, got the mess to prove it")

I really cut my genealogical teeth when I tackled my paternal line. A great uncle had done a bit of

research, but for the most part I was sailing into uncharted territory. Ancestry was no help. Oh sure, there were census records, an occasional military record - but thankfully (really, the Genealogy Gods were working overtime on this one) not one single family tree! Not one! Alrighty then.

I dug in and got to work. I read over all the notes my dad had gathered over the years about his ancestors and plugged what I knew into a new tree. On Ancestry. I still like their ease-of-use style, for me it works. I utilized Family Search, I joined Yahoo Groups (this was pre-Facebook, btw), I used all the free and helpful little websites that I could find. I emailed genealogical societies, I wrote letters to cemeteries, I stalked living people with the surnames I was researching in the locations I was researching. I went "old school". And it worked! All my research was by my own hand. All the information I had obtained I could source. I was feeling mighty good.

High on my success with my paternal line, I ambitiously decided to revisit my maternal side.

Oh dear Lord. My mind was boggled. I saw the mess I had created with my clickophile ways and I wept. Overwhelmed, I walked away.

For several more years I dug deeper on my paternal line and just put the mess of my maternal line on the back burner for "someday".

Enter Thomas MacEntee and his Great Genealogy Do Over of 2015. "Someday" had arrived.

Never one to back away once the gauntlet has been thrown, I buckled in for the toughest genealogy ride of my life. And because one can not have too many challenges in their life at once, I also committed to the 52 Ancestors 52 Weeks writing challenge.

Now, getting back to the point of this post.

January 1, 2015. I began a mass execution of all the "ancestors" I had added to my grandmother's solid research, leaving just her work and the work I or my cousin had done that was provable. (Don't gasp - I did save a complete copy of the whole mess prior to the reaping "just in case".) I targeted my 52 ancestors writings on some of my grandmother's brick walls. And I let my Ancestry subscription expire. (I know, rogue move, now I am at the mercy of my own wits!)

At first I was frightened. And angry at Ancestry for being so expensive and having "all the records", until I gave myself a good talking to. Again thanks to Thomas MacEntee and the Do Over, I had a really nice tool kit of resources. I had many Facebook groups that I could post queries to, and I had the knowledge I had acquired from my research on my paternal side. I can DO this! The few resources/hints that popped up on my Ancestry tree (that are now hidden behind a pay wall) I am able to access merely by going to my public library. And I can even send the records home via email to be downloaded in their full glory! But that's not the lesson here.

IF I had still had a subscription to Ancestry this week while I was researching my 2nd great grandmother I may have stopped there. My grandmother had written a small bio on her that may well have been enough for me to write my blog post. Her parents were brick walls for my grandmother and there were really no record hints on Ancestry that were even correct. I had long ago turned off hints from other trees, but even looking at those showed a confusing mix of possibilities.

I went to Google and I posted on Facebook the two things I wanted clarification on prior to publishing my post and hit the motherload! I got just enough possible leads and confirmation that I was on the right track, to prompt me to dig deep into my Tool Kit and search, search, search. Not only did I get my answers, I got eight more generations of my family and busted one of my grandmother's brick walls! Church Lady dance ensued in the ol' Genealogy Cave!

And a humbled genealogist was reminded that there are no shortcuts. That good genealogy is "old school" genealogy. That this former member of the Look It Up Club almost failed to live by the motto "we never guess we look it up", or in this case quit looking if it's not on Ancestry.

Genealogy Do Over ReCap: Driving It Home (with one headlight)

Here we are. Final week of the Great Genealogy Do Over of 2015. For some reason the American storyteller Jean Shepherd keeps popping into my head. How would Shep have told this tale? It would have made us laugh, that's for sure. And wince. And nod in agreement.

My tale was one wrought with much weeping. And angst. And humor. You've got to have humor. The reference to "one headlight" in the title is an apropo joke for me and a few select inner circle compadres. (and all my Facebook friends, truth be told)

Oh all right, you are really my inner circle now too. I'll share.

Mid-way through my whining and weeping trip through the Genealogy Do Over I had my highly anticipated cataract surgery. Well, let's just say things were not a "snap" for me, as so many others have reported. Nope. My eyesight actually got worse, much worse. Seeing through 'one headlight' worse. Oh, don't worry - they say it can be fixed.

With laser surgery.

In about 10 weeks.

Meanwhile they were ready to proceed as scheduled and 'fix' the other eye.

This week.

Um, no.

So here I am in my Cave with one good eye and one that is growing more and more out of focus with each passing day. It is ever more difficult to see, to type, to do all the things I love to do.

Kinda like the Do Over. (You remember the Do Over? This is a post about the Do Over.)

I thought my research was OK. I thought I had things under control and organized. A few minor tweaks was all I needed, really.

Bwaaaahaaaahaaaa .......

At week three I hit my first bump in the road and have been limping along ever since. I almost quite several times. I dug in my heels, cried and declared this whole exercise "too hard".

Who wants to do dumb old genealogy anyway?

But then something happened.

I went back to the beginning, again. (It is, after all, the very best place to start) I started from scratch. Fresh, clean, new. It felt good!

It felt DAMN good!

I opened and actually used the Research Log Spreadsheet (did you hear me? I USED the spreadsheet!!!) I started to really organize all the downloads, photos, data, links that were scattered in more places than I care to admit on my computer. I started scanning the family photos and putting them in their proper places on my computer - and my backup.

I still find myself chasing after BSO's and shaking my fist at the Genealogy gods, who often sit perched upon my shoulder, mocking my attempts at serious Cave work. But I am making progress. Small, perhaps even 'unseen by the naked eye' progress, but every day I move a bit closer, move one more file, add one more name.

Inch by inch.

....................... with one headlight.

Who's ready for more?!

Genealogy Do Over: Week .... oh, just forget it!

What week is it? Ten? What made me think that I could possibly keep up?  I am just back from morning cataract surgery, typing with one eye, reading through all the posts on the Facebook group, feeling like a failure. Or at least a slacker. The kid at the back of the class shooting rubberbands at the blackboard. Doodling when I should be paying attention.

My life got enormously busy the day I committed to this Do Over. Why is that? What in the universe is triggered when an intense time commitment is made? I was looking for things to do last year. I had plenty of time to commit to something like this. Then BAM! Just like The Truman Show, Ed Harris from his mysterious control room cues anything and everything to be thrown into my path, thwarting all attempts at glorious completion! Harumph.

(No. I don't actually believe Ed Harris is behind this. But on the other hand ....)

One of my stumbling blocks has been the fact that I also decided to do the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge this year. And another is the false belief I had at the beginning of the Do Over, that it was going to be a YEAR LONG process. That I might have been able to handle. The 13 week revelation just triggered weeping and hyperventilation as I tried desperately to keep up. (Oh, and the cataract surgery, but why let that stop me?!?)

Wait a minute .....

Why can't it be a year long process ....
(It can, Anne, you had this revelation before, remember?)

Although I am really wanting to keep up with everyone, to "do" the do over within the prescribed 13 weeks. To be an active and up-to-speed member of the group, that clearly is not my reality. There is so much information to read through, digest, learn, try out, that I do believe I just may begin at the beginning on April 4. Only this time I will do Week One for the entire month of April, Week Two during May, etc.

Now this! THIS just might work!!! (she snorts, under her breath, to herself)

What ever I need to tell myself. (again)

I still feel like somewhat of a failure. Like the kid held back a grade. But genealogy is a process not a destination, right? And we all work at our own speed. And judging by all the posts to the Group I am certainly not alone! Sometimes I feel like I am in a race, but who am I competing with? Myself? What's that about?

And my vacillating on my HOW, all-in or modified. Some days I'm chucking it all, getting new software and starting from scratch, other days the modified participation seems the way to go - why reinvent the wheel? But my wheel is really more of an octagon than circular - it rolls, but it lurches along, a bumpy and sometimes confusing ride. (I have a bunch of Tidewater Virginia kin in my tree - need I say more??)

What I need is a Genealogy Geanie. One rub on the magic lamp and all my problems vanish - my trees in perfect order! Just imagine!

No, what I really need is to get out of the Cave more often, I'm starting to sound just a wee bit crazy .....

The Most Fabulous Object: My Love Affair With The Genealogy Do-Over FB Group

I love the Genealogy Do Over Facebook Group. I lurk there day and night. I keep up with posts on my smartphone. (Which I almost never actually use as a phone - I call it my Magic Portal) I spend hours upon hours hunkered in my Cave scrolling through posts, face illuminated by the computer screen. Eyes bleary from staring and forgetting to blink. (It's a known fact ...) Bookmarking links, LIKEing posts, commiserating.

This is the BEST GROUP EVER! The ultimate BSO! You are all just like me!! Crazy (in a good way) genealogy people! You have Caves. You have an encyclopedic knowledge of people dead since the 1700's. (No longer living anyway - my ancestors are always crowding my Cave like an overstuffed elevator, bickering and poking at each other, looking over my shoulder and pompously withholding the key piece of information I am searching for.)

I have learned so much from this group. And everyone is so helpful. Genealogy is ultimately a solitary pursuit unless you are lucky enough to have a relative who is also obsessed. But still, that relative, unless a sibling, is only interested in part of the family.

I am not nearly as far along with my official Do Over as I had naively believed I would be back on January 2. But I have learned some new techniques. Considered different perspectives. Been both encouraged and gravely discouraged (weeping, lots of weeping ..). Discovered I am not alone. Discovered that the more I learn, the more there is to learn. (My mind boggles!!) Had to come to terms with the knowledge that I still need to apply the tools being presented. And that requires stepping out of my comfort zone, trying some things out and formulating my own conclusion as to what is right for me.

Oh, and this miraculous transformation was NOT going to happen in 13 weeks.

But I'm OK with that.

Now.

I was experiencing information overload. I was a crazed madwoman prone to bouts of spontaneous weeping. And my paper bag had developed a hole from overuse. I was living in my bathrobe in my Cave. Only emerging when necessary. (My idea of 'necessary', and that of other's differed greatly for some reason ...)

So today I am thrilled, and grateful for being a welcomed member of this amazing group. I am glad Thomas, in a bout of mad genius (?), crafted this Do Over and released it to a naive and unsuspecting audience. Eager to Do It Over, but not entirely aware of the trials and tribulations to come.

I may not be as far along as some of you. I may be farther along than others. I am working at my own pace now, taking what I need and knowing that all that glorious information and the wonderful group members will be there when the time is right for me.

I lurk and learn every day, but now I am free to leave my Cave.

I'll get there.

I am getting there.

Genealogy is never "done", anyway. ("Hey!! I finished my family tree!!! Think I'll bake a pie, and maybe rotate the tires.")

And I'm so very happy that this whole magnificent adventure will roll on for another 13 weeks ...

See you 'round the clubhouse, er, I mean Group!