And I haven't been idle on the genealogy front either. Here's what I'm currently working on:
- I've tried to ramp up working on my sources and citations. Have I mentioned how much I hate citations? I know they're not the big deal I'm making them out to be but I'll admit it, I stress out over whether I'm doing them right. I really need to get a copy of Evidence Explained and read it but it's not in my budget right now unfortunately. So for now I'll continue to try and figure out my citations using Family Tree Maker and the ProGenealogist Genealogy Citation Guides online.
- Speaking of working on my sources, I've been ordering vital records and finds from the North Dakota State University archives as my pocketbook will allow. I've got a surprising amount of documents to save/scan, sort and attach to my tree in Family Tree Maker.
- I dug in and worked hard on my organization one weekend. I'm utilizing the system set out in Eliminating Genealogy Clutter by Sherene Henrie Whiting with one or two tweaks. I think this is a great system but I don't have a lot of room for binders. On the other hand, I have plenty of file cabinet space for hanging folders. I'm not even close to being done but I think I've got a very good start.
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| Working hard on my genealogy organization and filing! |
- The spousal unit and I traveled to Iowa and sat down for a day of genealogy and family time with the Iowa family branch. We had fun, shared some genealogy and made some VERY interesting discoveries! Let's just say when my puzzle pieces matched with their puzzle pieces we made a couple of full (or almost full) pictures. It was very exciting.
- I mentioned earlier that I was the recipient of a RAOGK (Random Act of Genealogical Kindness) when a non-relative happened upon some family ephemera and was kind enough to be willing to return it to our family. You can read about that RAOGK here. I was surprised to receive another email from this kind stranger letting me know he'd been contacted by the flea market seller again and had come into possession of one last piece of the family ephemera. I feel very fortunate that he was willing to be the messenger to pass that last piece to me last weekend and a photo of my first cousin (once removed) has returned home.
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| A six-year-old Harold Wilkinson returned to the family fold |
- The spousal unit and I also dropped in on the North Dakota family branch and got to spend a little time talking with them...which, for me, inevitably leads to genea-talk. The few hours we had with them turned out to be a few hours too little when we started talking about my father, who passed away a little over a year ago. It's fun to hear stories and thoughts from other family members about the people you love. I haven't talked much about my North Dakota family because I was working on my DAR paperwork (which is on the maternal side and not the paternal side, where the North Dakota connection comes in) but North Dakota has become a very special place for me in the last couple of years thanks to the kindness of family and friends there, so I'm sure you'll be hearing about that side of the family in the future.
So here's to getting back on the blog-wagon...I can't wait to post some of my recent discoveries!
