Sunday, February 26, 2012

Please Join Me in Indexing the 1940 Census

On April 2, 2012 the 1940 Census will be released to the public. It needs to be indexed so we can easily find the records of our families. I have a long list of ancestors to look up....in this census I'll be able to find my great grandparents, my grandparents and my parents. If we can get thousands of people to help index, these records will be available for us to search in just a few months. Thanks to DearMYRT, the poster above shows the web site where you can sign up to help index this census. Read about it ..... and sign up!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

We Found a Cousin's Postcard in an Antique Store




As we browsed in an antique store this afternoon I found these two postcards for sale for $1.00 each. They caught my eye because the notable John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley of Mayflower fame were my husband's 10th great grandparents. As you can see the postcard at the top was addressed to May Howland. Through my research when we got home, I learned that she is the same person as Miss Sophia M. Howland, recipient of the postcard above. She was born 9 June 1886. The message on the postcard directly above says "Greetings from the Pilgrim John Howland Society and best wishes for a Happy Birthday June ninth". Signed by William Howland, President. By printing up a quick relationship chart in my RootsMagic database, I was able to see that this Sophia May Howland was a seventh cousin four times removed of my husband, Larry Jamison. John and Elizabeth Tilley Howland were May's 6th great grandparents and my husband's 10th great grandparents.

Having these two postcards in our possession is well worth the two dollars!

Saturday, February 11, 2012

I Found my Great Grandfather's Marriage Report

My great grandparents George and Katie Dietz Koleber, with their sons George and  Daniel and daughter Amalia ("Mollie") who is my grandmother. This family unit immigrated from the Volga region of Russia, through Ellis Island in 1904. 

My genealogy and facebook friend Gayle Gresham posted yesterday about Family Search releasing the Colorado Statewide Marriage Index. I just looked and was able to find this marriage record for my great grandfather, George Koleber and his third wife, Mary (Mehling) Winnick.
A few months ago Sharon Koleber, a cousin who is also a genealogist and facebook friend, sent me the Naturalization Record for this same great grandfather. 
I've been very blessed by collaborating with my friends!

The Value of RootsTech 2012: PRICELESS

It was with great anticipation and expectation that my husband and I attended RootsTech 2012 in Salt Lake City last week. We have family there so were able to combine the Conference with a family visit and also save expenses. For that reason we didn't participate in any of the evening classes or programs. 

We registered last Fall for $89 each when registration first opened. Eighty-nine Dollars!!!!! This conference was the BEST VALUE in genealogy I've ever found! During this past week I've read a few blog posts that were critical of different aspects of the conference, but at $89 I have nothing but positive comments. My husband and I believe  it was worth the $89 just to hear the Keynote addresses alone! And my husband Larry visited with Tim Sullivan, Ancestry.com CEO, after his presentation. Priceless! 

My "priceless" experiences were numerous. These 3 pop into my head first: (1) shaking hands with Dennis Brimhall, the new CEO of FamilySearch. 
Dennis Brimhall, FamilySearch CEO
He and I recalled his visit to our town of Canon City, Colorado a few years ago, (2) meeting DearMyrtle at lunch one day and getting my picture taken with such a special lady!
DearMYRTLE and me!
(3) Being recognized by footnoteMaven as I was taking her picture at the close of the conference. That led to a very nice visit with her on the Exhibit Hall floor in company with the notable Randy Seaver!
Randy Seaver and footnoteMaven
I'm not going to tell about the classes, as quite a lot has been written by the GeneaBloggers already this week. I just want to share some of my photos and comment on them.
I was invited to tour the Exhibit Hall with the "Official Bloggers" prior to it opening the first day. Here Thomas McEntee is opening his big bag of Mardi Gras beads for the GeneaBloggers. Also pictured are Randy Seaver and Jill Ball. 
Official Bloggers 
Playground before the Exhibit Hall opening
 This presentation area was used constantly for short demonstrations by the vendors.

 All neat and clean before the Conference started.
Left to right: Arlene Eakle, Holly Hansen, James Tanner, Randy Seaver
My friends Candice Buchanan (left) and Glenn Toothman (right) at the Memory Medallions booth.
My husband Larry Jamison made friends with Janet, a member of the wonderful Housekeeping team. It's always nice to remember those whose hard work helped to make our visit so enjoyable. 
Elyse Doerflinger, our GeneaBlogger "Breath of fresh air"
I was finally able to meet in person Elaine Mayfield, with whom I've corresponded for several years. We're hoping to find that connection between her husband's and my husband's Mayfield ancestors.
We were so happy to bring Lureen and Ken Orchard with us on this trip to RootsTech. Lureen and Ken serve as the Directors of our Canon City, Colorado Family History Center.
In the white ball cap is my husband Larry Jamison waiting to share thoughts with Peter Drinkwater after his Fold3 presentation. 
We were among the multitudes waiting in line to purchase the Flip Pal portable scanner from Family Roots Publishing.
 The Booths and Buzbees at RootsMagic are always very eager to visit about their software.  
Jay Verkler and Thomas McEntee in conversation in the Media Booth.
Elyse Doerflinger at WikiTree
 Mr. GeneaBlogger, Mr Hi-Def Genealogy, Thomas McEntee
 Larry Jamison in conversation (???) with the wonderful and gracious DearMYRTLE
We're looking forward to another "Priceless" experience at RootsTech 2013 (March 21, 22, 23).