Saturday Serendipity (August 29, 2020)

 

Here are a few suggested reads for this weekend:

1.   For those in New England or with New England roots, you should be aware that NERGC (the New England Regional Genealogy Consortium) has released its second e-zine this week and the big news is that the 2021 conference will be virtual for the first time.  Read more about this big change by going to the newsletter here.

2.   Now seems to be a good time to learn more about the history of the United Sates Postal Service.  I have a personal interest because the best summer and holiday jobs I had after graduating from high school and going on to college were working as a "sub-carrier" during two summers and holidays during breaks from school. Read "A Brief History of the United States Postal Service" as presented in Smithsonian Magazine and highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist of American Ancestors/NEHGS this week.

3.   Do you like a challenge and enjoy helping someone?  Are you good at reading beautiful, but frustrating, handwriting?  If so, then Linda Stufflebeam, of Empty Branches on the Family Tree blog, could use your help.  Read Linda's three-day effort to transcribe an 1861 deed and see her missing words here.  Perhaps you will be the one to break the code!?

4.   It was 206 years ago this week that Washington became a much hotter place than it has been even this month.  Read "Rescuing History" here at The Legal Genealogist by Judy Russell.

5.  Early this week Marian Burk Wood, of Climbing My Family Tree blog, posted a nice reminder of how important it is for those of us interested in genealogy to preserve and pass on family history that would otherwise be lost and quickly forgotten.  Marian captured the concept so concisely and poignantly when she wrote, "I really don't want to be the last person on Earth to recognize grandpa." Read "Who Tells Your Story?  Choosing to Be Family Historian" here.  

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (August 22, 2020)

 

Below are some recommended reads for this weekend.

1.   While I was in the Adirondacks a couple of weeks ago I missed a post by Diane Beaumenot of One Rhode Island Family blog .  .  . and anyone with roots in Rhode Island should never miss a blog post by Diane!  In case, like me, you missed "Did Your Ancestor Make Medical History?" you should go here to read Diane's goldmine of Rhode Island medical history sources.  The Rhode Island Medical Society (RIMS) has published its medical journal for over 100 years and the special Heritage section of each issue presents stories related to Rhode Island's medical past.  Diane lists many of the titles to give a good idea of the material that it covers.  Harkening back to last week's Saturday Serendipity item about the Open Air School Movement, one title Diane mentions is "Fresh Air Camp Opens for Consumptives in Foster."  Another article is "A Chronology of Rhode Island Hospitals" about the formation of each hospital in Rhode Island–of particular interest to me as my mother is a graduate of the Rhode Island Hospital School of Nursing.  Many of the sources Diane presents can lead to possible genealogical information for those who believe they have ancestors or relatives who were involved in medicine in Rhode Island.  For example, get links to Sketches of Rhode Island physicians deceased prior to 1850 or Physician's and Dentist's directory of New England States: Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut (1910).  

2.   Jacqui Stevens, of A Family Tapestry blog, posted today a truly thought-provoking piece titled, "A Genealogy Go Bag."  I spent several minutes going through a mental inventory of essential genealogy items I would need to rescue in an emergency that threatened my home and genealogy room and decided I would need a small U-Haul trailer hitched to a spare car in the driveway -- full of gas and the usual "be prepared" items to be sure, but with ramps ready to receive a room full of stuff accumulated by generations.  My head nearly exploded, but it is seriously something to ponder! [N.B. Tonight's "Saturday Night Genealogy Fun" assignment at Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings blog takes inspiration from Jacqui's post.  Randy details his list and reasoning here.] 

3.   James Tanner, of Genealogy's Star blog, considers the form and history of the pedigree chart in "Blinded by a Pedigree Chart" here. 

4.   Anyone who has done genealogy research in the U.S. for very long has used the federal censuses at some point–and they can be very useful.  But, among the challenges and aggravations of using the census is the incredible variation in the quality of enumerator handwriting.  Janine Adams, of Organize Your Family History blog,  wrote this week about the frustration and outright misdirection that can be encountered in using censuses as a research source because of sometimes atrocious handwriting.  Read "Handwriting: One of the challenges of census research" here and see the examples Janine provides (along with the correct translations/transcriptions).

5.   Laura Mattingly, of The Old Trunk in the Attic blog, posted what I consider to be a beautifully  written biographical sketch of a family member. It is short, but very informative and engaging.  In just ten paragraphs you feel as though you come to know a man who had a life well led.  Meet "Uncle Orville" here and see if you agree.

6.   And finally, two items highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist of American Ancestors/NEHGS.  The first is about a woman who searches in old books for items left behind by prior owners/readers of the book.  Read here about this interesting hobby turned into an Instagram account you can visit for more examples of her discoveries.  The second item is about the city of Quincy, Massachusetts aspiring to create a John Adams presidential library.  They have taken a first step by formally requesting the Boston Public Library to return 3,000 volumes of books that belonged to John Adams to form the centerpiece for a presidential library.  Quincy is the final resting place of John Adams.  Read more about the effort here.  [NB: You might have to answer a survey question to access the full article.] 

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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Saturday Serendipity (August 15, 2020)

After a two week hiatus during our annual trip to the Adirondacks, Saturday Serendipity returns this week with the following recommendations for your weekend reading .  .  .

1.   Because we just returned from Saranac Lake in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, an article highlighted in The Weekly Genealogist newsletter of American Ancestors/NEHGS caught my eye.  During this COVID pandemic, outdoor activities have become ever more popular based on the lower risk of transmission when active in the open air–and the number of people flocking to the Adirondacks certainly bears that out this summer.  Saranac Lake, of course, was a world famous center for a "cure" in an earlier health scourge (tuberculosis) using the cold fresh air of the Adirondacks.  The so-called "cure cottages" that developed and the people and businesses that supported them became a major industry in Saranac Lake.  Now we are faced with the dilemma of how to safely open our schools in the coming weeks while trying to keep our children safe.  Once again, the use of the outdoors is becoming a possible major factor in parental choices for children.  And this–use of the open-air in schools–is not a new tool in the battle against a dangerous disease.  Read here about the "Open-Air School Movement" that arose internationally in the early 1900s as a means of protecting children against TB; otherwise known at the time as "consumption," the "white plague," or "white death."  In the early part of the 20th century TB was the leading cause of death in the U.S. and an estimated 450 Americans a day were dying of the lung disease (most between the ages of 15 and 44).   

2.   Periodically I like to remind readers of the great resources provided by Randy Seaver's "Genealogy News Bytes," posted twice weekly on Randy's blog Genea-Musings.  If you have not seen this feature, you can sample this week's Friday posting of important genealogy and family history news as well as education items relating to genealogy/family history by going here.  

3.   Judy Russell, of The Legal Genealogist blog, often has a way of making points in a stark and concise manner; this week provided a fine example when she posted "Sobering statistics."  With our schools set to open in the coming weeks (see item #1 above) we should all take to heart Judy's concise presentation of where we are.  COVID19 did not go away in the heat of summer and will not go away when the cooler fall weather turns to winter cold and the annual influenza season arrives to stress our health services even more.  WE are all on the front line in this battle and our only weapons right now are .  .  . wearing a mask; washing our hands; withholding proximity to others; and withstanding the rising tide of unthinking stupidity.  

4.   Three days from today (August 18th) marks the 100th anniversary of the ratification of Amendment XIX to the United Sates Constitution.  The Amendment is so short that it can be easily presented here in its entirety .  .  . "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.  Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation."  The huge impact of those forty words is about to be felt in 80 days when more women than men vote for president on November 3, 2020 – just as they have done in every presidential election since 1964!  When each of my grandmothers was born (one in 1897 and the other in 1898) they were ineligible to vote for no reason other than being born female. They were able to legally consume liquor before they could vote!  My mother is of the first generation of American women who were born with the same inchoate right that their father's and brother's had possessed from birth.  It is instructive and eye-opening to read about the long road to women's suffrage in the U.S. and you can do so by going here.   

5.   Janine Adams, of Organize Your Family History blog, posted a very useful tip for preserving easily and quickly the URL of a website where you have located information for your genealogy research.  Read "Grab a URL when you download a document" here. 

6.   James Tanner, of Genealogy's Star blog, helpfully posted this week about the great FREE offer from MyHeritage; they are granting access to the use of their Photo Enhancer and MyHeritage In Color™ for one month beginning August 11th.  One can ehance and colorize as many photos as one desires during that month without charge.  Read the post here and see some examples provided by James.

7.   And finally--back on the subject of women's suffrage--read "100 Years Ago: Poems and Prose of Women's Suffrage" at the blog Cow Hampshire by Janice Brown. 

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Copyright 2020, John D. Tew

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