Saturday Serendipity (September 16, 2017)

Here are a few recommendations for this weekend (reading and viewing) .  .  .

1.  Like most genealogy bloggers, I try to avoid blogging about current political polemics, but this particular post on The Vault caught my attention because it shows again how old things are apparently always new again -- including some of our history and national make-up that many (if not most) of us wish would disappear into the "dustbin of history." Without giving anything away, have a read here and see how much today's headlines can echo the sad headlines of just about a century ago!        

2.  This past Monday was the 16th anniversary of the horrific events of September 11, 2001. In the past I have posted about my personal experience and memories of that day working within walking distance of the Pentagon. The Weekly Genealogist of NEHGS brought to our attention this year a poignant personal remembrance of the "Ground Zero" site. Read here "The day I decided not to collect: A curator's view of Ground Zero." It is the recollections and photographs by Jane Rogers, a curator for the Smithsonian. 

3.  The Weekly Genealogist also brings to our attention this week an important collection of American portraits dating back to 1897 - 1917. During those years, photographer William Bullard captured images of members of the Worcester, Massachusetts community. The portraits are of members of the African American community in Worcester .  .  . and most importantly, Mr. Bullard kept a log of all the people who sat for their portraits and thus folks can identify images of ancestors and relatives they might have had in Worcester about a century ago! Read here more about this collection -- see a couple of the portraits, and learn how the entire collection can be viewed.      
        
4.  UpFront With NGS, the blog of the National Genealogical Society, had two posts that I recommend reading this week.  If you are not already a member of NGS, the first recommended post might convince you to join. In announcing the latest issue of NGS Magazine, the Table of Contents is presented with a list of the featured articles and the departments, but it is the Editor's Note presented in full that is of most interest as it discusses the "power of storyingtelling" and  the magazine issue that is devoted to "methods of developing and telling ancestral stories in appealing ways." The second recommend read is a short post by the Editor of UpFront, Diane L. Richard titled, "Just as speaking/writing satisfies a "hidden" teacher, genealogy research satisfies my "inner" sleuth."   Like many genealogists, I find myself frequently describing the lure of genealogy research as the seduction of being able to do real "detective work."  And I could not agree more with Diane's observation that genealogy sleuthing "[I]sn’t just the records you look at . . .  it’s the critical thinking that you pair with it so that you research strategically.  It’s also keeping track of all the places you’ve looked and noting what you’ve found and not found in those pursuits."

5.  The past two days, James Tanner of Genealogy's Star blog posted two interesting and useful pieces titled, Common Law Marriage and Genealogy, and What about missing marriage records? Both posts are worth reading and you can access each of them directly at the links provided.    

6.  The Legal Genealogist tells a family story that merges with immigrant history in the United States and women's rights. It is definitely worth the read to see how our immigration laws and treatment of women have changed in the last century -- or have they? Read Judy's post titled "Becoming unAmerican" here.  

7.  What do you think of when you hear the words "the pound" (uncapitalized and in reference to a building and not a monetary currency)? I think most of us have the image of an animal shelter for lost or abandoned pets and perhaps other animals come to mind. Well, "the pound" is not a new term or a modern creation. The pound existed in colonial times and since. This week Heather Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy blog shows us a somewhat haunting image of what is left of the old Derryfield Pound in Manchester, NH.  See her post here.

8.  And finally, a recommended viewing for this week rather than a read. Janine Adams of Organize Your Family History blog, has diligently searched out and obtained a video of LeVar Burton's RootsTech 2017 keynote address. See Janine's post here and get a link to view the talk.        
     
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Copyright 2017, John D. Tew

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