tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88821197266953848202024-03-13T14:07:22.921-04:00Blogging from the BranchesOne genealogist's adventures in research, cemeteries, history, and perfecting the art of the Genealogy Happy Dance.Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-49234156308735427512012-07-01T20:04:00.001-04:002012-07-01T20:05:55.531-04:00Data Backup DayI admit I've been slacking off a little with backing up my genealogical data. And when I say "a little", what I really mean is "I haven't actually backed up any data whatsoever in, err, months." Tonight I plan to correct this. It's too hot to do anything else, so I'll hook my computer up to my external hard drive and let it work its magic. My reward for doing this will be ice cream. Lots and lotsMaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-1573080018749028972012-04-02T12:20:00.004-04:002012-04-02T12:33:54.342-04:00Happy Census Day!Happy Census Day, my fellow genealogists! I had such a wonderful case of genealogy serendipity this morning that I just had to share it.As most of you know, the images are loading on the official website VERY slowly. A tip that was spread around Twitter was to try downloading the entire enumeration district instead, and then do your searching offline. I downloaded one entire ED from a city I was Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-67450162326550719252012-03-30T22:24:00.002-04:002012-03-30T22:32:32.957-04:00Only Three More DaysThe 1940 U.S. census will be released on Monday. Just three more days! I am so excited!My mother-in-law will be visiting us for several days next week. I won't be very good company as I'll be sitting in front of the computer searching, searching, searching! Hopefully I'll be able to find a few of her ancestors in the census while she's here. That will help make up a bit for being a bad hostess, Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-43881480139820238982012-02-28T14:09:00.003-05:002012-02-28T14:45:37.596-05:00Tech Tuesday - Elgato Video CaptureI've been meaning to get around to transferring all of our old home movies from VHS to DVD for, um, years. Almost a decade, actually. To be fair, I did start converting them a few years ago, but I stopped due to computer issues, an unexpected move, and lack of time. (Also probably due to laziness and forgetfulness. Oops?) So when my father asked me about a month ago about possibly getting their Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-47725326419566248922012-02-14T14:51:00.002-05:002012-02-14T15:12:14.836-05:00A Genealogist's Valentine's DayMy husband gave me the sweetest gift this morning for Valentine's Day: a card containing two money orders for death certificates. (Two because the certificates I need are in two different cities.) Such a morbid gift that only a genealogist could love, huh? ;)I'm spending today filing this never-ending stack of papers and thinking about how these people I'm researching met their loved ones. It Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-25680682940888676832012-01-31T10:56:00.003-05:002012-01-31T11:24:49.780-05:00RootsTech ExcitementBetween RootsTech, the new season of Who Do You Think You Are? premiering this Friday, and the rapidly approaching release of the 1940 U.S. census (62 days according to the countdown widget at Ancestry.com!), I feel like a kid at Christmastime!I won't actually be going to RootsTech, but they will be live-streaming 14 sessions between February 2-4. I plan on watching these from the comfort of my Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-12523477401261352702012-01-18T19:44:00.004-05:002012-01-18T20:08:02.569-05:00Wisdom Wednesday - A Little Information Goes a Long WayIt's Wisdom Wednesday, but I actually feel pretty stupid.My great-grandfather's half-brother was cursed with a horribly common name: Henry Smith. Well, actually it felt like * I * was the cursed one. He was nearly impossible to search for between his common name and how little information I had on him. I had his birth date, but I had no idea when he died. I had a WWI Draft Registration card from Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-41174290090854655072012-01-01T19:29:00.003-05:002012-01-01T19:48:39.671-05:00Happy New YearI started 2011 with the best of intentions. I set plenty of genealogical goals for myself. Although some were a little ambitious, they were all completely doable. And then the month of June threw a wrench into my plans and everything sort of came to a grinding halt. Health issues and hospitals and bills and family drama and home problems aren't exactly conducive to productivity. And so I didn't Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-89791523412698977022011-09-14T19:03:00.003-04:002011-09-14T20:08:53.642-04:00Organization 2.0Ahhh, "Back to School" time. I love this time of year when all those lovely office supplies go on sale. Not that I need any more office supplies - I have enough pens, pencils, notebooks, paper, staples, binders, index cards, and labels to supply a small country for a year. But when those weekly ads start arriving in my mailbox... well, I just can't resist!This year a local store had an Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-70673402299582970032011-07-18T22:05:00.002-04:002011-07-18T22:14:21.866-04:00*Wipes Dust Away*Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't been around lately, but I've been having some medical issues and a surprise 10-day hospital visit has accumulated a lot of bills and stress and general I-don't-feel-like-doing-anything-at-all-ness. I hope to start updating this blog again soon. I have plenty to talk about, but just can't seem to get out of this funk.You know what was the most frustrating thing Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-74456205323317052932011-03-31T20:38:00.005-04:002011-03-31T21:05:21.269-04:00What Was Her Name?My husband had to drive up to Buffalo, NY a few weeks ago to do some Super Secret Shopping for my birthday (that I wasn't supposed to know about. teehee.), so I asked him to stop by the library and get some obituaries and such for me. He brought back a nice surprise that I really wasn't expecting."I found Hertha's birth certificate," he said proudly as he handed the photocopied image to me. (Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-7235575034019023882011-02-25T19:00:00.005-05:002011-02-25T19:26:54.994-05:00Friday a.k.a. WDYTYA NightI didn't watch the first season of Who Do You Think You Are? until well after the episodes had originally aired, so I am having a blast watching them live this time around, especially while liveblogging on Twitter with other fellow genealogists.I really enjoyed last week's episode with Rosie O'Donnell. It was very touching, and I found myself welling up with tears throughout much of the show. It Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-91313996957694913352011-01-31T19:44:00.002-05:002011-01-31T20:38:43.717-05:00Well, my new year hasn't had quite the genealogical start I wanted. My husband gave me a late Christmas present of a cold, so I've been coughing and sneezing and generally feeling miserable. Thanks hon!When I have felt up to it, I have been doing a fair amount of indexing though, especially since the World Archives Project released its latest project for keying: Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Marriage Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-59895169812201384112011-01-01T21:09:00.002-05:002011-01-01T22:24:46.793-05:00Goals for 2011I have several genealogy-related goals I would like to accomplish in the coming year. I admit that I am usually one of those people who makes several resolutions and forgets about most of them by the end of the month. Hopefully saying these "out loud" will help me keep them throughout the year.Scan all of the old family photographs that have been taunting me for years. Yes. All of them.Buy an Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-67442098007184248182010-12-31T15:34:00.004-05:002010-12-31T17:39:29.925-05:00Countdown to 2011This year was a pretty slow year for me genealogy-wise. While I had a few really big breakthroughs, I didn't get nearly as much done as I had hoped. (Isn't that always the case though?) I have a whole list of genealogy goals for 2011, so hopefully I'll accomplish far more than I did this year. Maybe one of these days I'll even finish scanning in all those old photographs. ;)Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-86195482084480104872010-11-26T07:20:00.004-05:002010-11-26T08:06:20.824-05:00A "Surprise" DocumentTwo weeks ago, my husband brought the mail in and handed an envelope to me. I looked at the return address, "New York State Department of Health? Huh. I wonder what this is?" My mind goes to to the usual answer "junk mail", but my husband, without missing a beat, says, "Hey, I bet it's that death certificate you ordered a few months ago!"And he was right. Inside was the death certificate of Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-77764988277838033852010-10-31T16:42:00.002-04:002010-10-31T16:48:27.226-04:00Happy Halloween!Yikes! October was a busy month for me, but unfortunately none of it was genealogy-related. Here's hoping November will be more productive.Be sure to watch out for zombies if you happen to visit any cemeteries today. ;)Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-71747053669454076532010-09-30T10:50:00.000-04:002010-09-30T10:50:54.495-04:00Treasure Chest Thursday - Past Meets PresentI am very lucky to have so many family treasures. The one I'd like to share today isn't necessarily a treasure as far as genealogical information goes, but it is one I love nonetheless. It is a copy of The Odyssey of Homer that was owned by my great-aunt Viola Rose (Lempke) Dobstaff.
I'm not exactly sure when she owned it, but the date on the first page is 1923, and inside the front cover is Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-44408766624739469192010-08-21T13:35:00.000-04:002010-08-21T13:35:32.301-04:00Surname Saturday: KirchbergerI had a nice surprise waiting for me in my mailbox this morning: my great-great-grandfather Erhard Kirchberger's death certificate! I ordered it earlier this week from Buffalo, New York. This is the second time in two weeks I've been pleasantly surprised by how quickly I've received a document.
Erhard Kirchberger was born in Germany on 6 June 1857, and died in Buffalo, NY on 25 June 1913. The Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-21351748697077864592010-08-13T17:25:00.000-04:002010-08-13T17:25:44.180-04:00Friday the 13thIt has been a particularly wonderful Friday the 13th for me! In my last entry, I said that I sent away for the death certificate of a woman I hoped was my great-grandmother. Well, I received the DC in the mail today - AND IT IS!!
I'd like to introduce you to Mary C. (Lothringer) Eckam, widow of Fred Eckam, who died 12 November 1941 in Aurora, Erie County, NY. She was born in Buffalo, NY to Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-58643418772222711702010-08-10T18:11:00.000-04:002010-08-10T18:11:49.884-04:00Two Happy Dances for TuesdayI had a pretty exciting day today, genealogy-wise. A couple of weeks ago I emailed a volunteer over at Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness for a look-up of a death date in the NYS vital records index for my great-grandmother. This woman has been my brick wall for *years*, so I didn't have an exact date of death. The best guess I could give the volunteer was "sometime between 1938 and 1944", Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-31740029504807290942010-08-06T20:48:00.000-04:002010-08-06T20:48:36.212-04:00Follow Friday - Findagrave.comI'm sure just about everyone in the genealogical community knows and loves Find A Grave, but I'd like to take a moment to talk about it.
Two weeks ago a tornado came through Randolph, New York here in Cattaraugus County. While there were no fatalities (that I've heard), there was an outstanding amount of damage. One of those places damaged was the Randolph Cemetery. Trees were uprooted, snapped Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-36734738465636669212010-08-05T19:51:00.000-04:002010-08-05T19:51:29.724-04:00Treasure Chest Thursday - German Bible
This bible was given to my great-grandfather, John G. Lempke (23 February 1880 - 14 February 1961), on the day of his confirmation in 1895, at age 15, in Buffalo, New York. It is written entirely in German, and it has several names and dates written on the Family Chronicles pages at the front of the book.
For 115 years old, I'd say it's still in pretty good shape. The outer spine looks pretty Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-61983235455566890762010-08-03T08:45:00.000-04:002010-08-03T08:45:16.223-04:00Tombstone Tuesday - Herman Shipman
Herman Shipman23 July 1909 - 8 January 1982Fivemile Cemetery - Allegany, Cattaraugus County, New York
I am not actually related to Herman Shipman, but I wanted to share a picture of this tombstone because I've never seen one like it before. My husband took this photo a couple of weeks ago, just hours before a strong storm came through our area which also brought a few tornadoes in the Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8882119726695384820.post-76737999427139747072010-08-02T10:30:00.001-04:002010-08-02T10:30:12.549-04:00Monday Madness - I Don't RememberLast week I was looking through an old family tree file that I haven't updated recently. I clicked on one of the names and realized I had a date of birth entered for that person, but I had not sourced it. I froze. Where did I get it? A birth certificate? Obituary? Marriage license?And then it happened. The words no genealogist wants to hear, much less utter, came out of my mouth: "I don't Maryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17805160230472510680noreply@blogger.com1