Saturday Serendipity (November 11, 2017)

Here are a few recommended reads for this Veterans Day weekend .  .  . 

1.  As we move from pumpkin bedizened Halloween to the pumpkin on our Thanksgiving tables, The Weekly Geneaologist of NEHGS pointed out a brief history of pumpkins for our reading pleasure.  The pumpkin fruit was a mainstay of the early New England diet well before they began gracing the Thanksgiving table in the form of the pies we know and love today. You can read this short and informative piece here.     

2.  During this week of Veterans Day posts on various blogs, many celebrate the service of ancestors and family members. Barbara Poole of Life From the Roots blog posted took a different tack and posted about some famous veterans she met personally or saw during the time she lived and worked in Wahington, DC. As always, Barabra illustrates her post with photographs.  Have a look here.    
  
3.  Marian Wood of Climbing My Family Tree blog passes on some sage advice this week for all genealogists .  .  . "Ask an archivist!" Find out what she means and why she gives this pithy advice by reading her post here.              
        
4.  The always thoughful James Tanner of Geneaolgy's Star blog, ruminates on the subject of online safety.  Since genealogy in this era of digital technology inescapably involves so much online research, his post is worth reading.  You can access it here.    
  
5.  If you are like me, you really enjoy looking at documents and artifacts from the past -- especially if they could have some genelogical connection to family members.  I periodically like to look at Pam Beveridge's blog Heirlooms Reunited for this very reason.  I am hopeful I might come across an old, lushy illustrated autograph book, album, bible, photograph or other artifact that contains a connection to an ancestor or relative. But I also enjoy looking at the wide variety of objects created and preserved by folks from the past.  Many of them are beautiful pieces of folk art.  You too might enjoy the search and the viewing yourself, so have a look at Heirlooms Reunited here.  You just might find something that connects you to your ancestors or relatives.

6.  To capitalize or not to capitalize [when doing genealogy research], that is the question. Another question is, "Can it possibly make any difference?"  Well, Nancy Messier of My Ancestors and Me blog asked the questions and has the answers.  You can read her story, and the cautionary lesson it contains, here.         
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Copyright 2017, John D. Tew

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