Dear Editor: There will be an organizational meeting for those interested in the future of the Old Timers organization. The meeting will be held Wednesday April 20, at 5 p.m. at the White River Museum meeting center, (old mortuary room). Please plan to attend if you can provide input for[Read More…]
Tag: White River Museum
My stork got lost!
Or, what do you mean I was adopted? The family tree gets complicated when we start talking about infant adoptions or single parent situations with the father’s name not talked about by the family. Today parents are more open with their adopted children. In the past however, adults were often[Read More…]
I have inherited my mother’s Viking knees!
No, we didn’t just open a trunk and find a surprise from Mother. It’s just an expression used by Scandinavians to complain about joint pain, which seems to be a gene passed on through generations. Sometimes genes carry the predisposition to certain ailments and diseases. The Russian Royals are an[Read More…]
DNA, in Ed’s Dictionary, stands for Don’t know Ancestors
Ok, maybe Webster doesn’t agree with me. On the other hand, Daniel Webster in 1806 didn’t know what DNA was either. Today the common tests used in genealogy are available by mail order. These tests don’t unravel your whole DNA, just the segments pointing to ethnicity or parentage. Don’t strain[Read More…]
What a sticky web we weave
A small ancestor tree of three or four generations involves only 30 people. Easy to keep in a scrapbook. If your goal in WEEK ONE was to collect ancestors back to colonial times, you will need a more organized approach. 300 names soon become a tangled blur. A FAMILY TREE[Read More…]
Would you like dates or coconuts on your tree?
It is a matter of personal preference. Do you want to store your family tree high up in the Cloud or do you want more control by only having it on your computer? Do you want to keep your tree available on your computer only or do you want the world[Read More…]
“Did great-grandma really have her pigtails dipped in the inkwell in a one-room schoolhouse?”
By now, I hope you have collected basic information on your parents, grandparents, and hopefully a few great-grandparents. Write down as many family stories as you can. You know, the story of how Grandma had the chore of running water, when running water meant her, as a little girl running[Read More…]
The keeper of the keys
After you have gathered as much about your parents as you can, you are ready to tackle the third generation: your grandparents. If you can, visit your grandparents. Repeat this type of interview asking the same questions about your parents. Be prepared this time to take notes. Grandparents have richer[Read More…]
How to collect information for the first three generations
Pull out your family groups sheets you did last week. Now take those sheets and go talk to each of your parents separately. In person works best. Doing these interviews one on one is important. Answers are more candid when not being overheard or interrupted. If someone is telling an[Read More…]
Where do I find my family tree online?
Where do I find my family tree online? That’s a common question asked. The answer is, it isn’t there yet. All reputable family tree databases protect anyone known or suspected to be still living. Those entries are purposely hidden from view. You need to personally research the first three generations[Read More…]
Is your family tree more like a jungle gym?
That takes on real meaning if you have researched in Kentucky and Arkansas. There, the local joke is, “If I divorce my wife, is she still my cousin?” One of my Clinkenbeard branches had two sisters who married two brothers of a neighboring family. I have observed in my 30[Read More…]
Genealogy 101
WELCOME TO GENEALOGY 101. Doesn’t that sound dry and college like! Lucky for you this course is not graded and you get no credit for it. Almost nobody in your family will care if you succeed. As a matter of fact, if you get good at this, your spouse will[Read More…]
