If you have missed out on either of my previous book giveaways, check out the latest review at Copper Leaf Genealogy today and sign up for the giveaway. Stick around and read some of the posts on Copper Leaf Genealogy’s blog, too!
http://www.copperleafgenealogy.com/book-review-and-give-away-dear-mother-love-daddy/
Well, the weekly update did not exactly pan out. I kept meaning to do a weekly post but it is now a month later, and I am finally making the time to write an update. So it might be better off called “The Monthly Update” since it has been about a month since my last one.
There is a book giveaway for the month of April at Goodreads. If you did not sign up for last month’s giveaway, there is still time. The contest runs until the end of the month.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25099832-dear-mother-love-daddy
I gave a few copies of the book to Nichelle Bara of Copper Leaf Genealogy. She is a genealogist is northern Indiana and the St. Joseph’s County ICG. She is in the process of writing a review, and she is going to be running a contest to give a way a couple copies of the book. Stay tuned for links to the review and instructions of the contest!
If you are interested in purchasing an autographed copy of the book, I am selling copies. The cost is $21. The price includes one book, one autograph, and priority mail shipping within the U.S. Please contact me through the contact page/form tab if you are interested. The book is still available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble online. Follow the link on the right hand side of the blog to purchase directly from Amazon.
I now have an official press release for the book, and have submitted several copies to local bookstores. If you are interested in obtaining a copy of the press release, please contact me.
I am now an official graduate of the ProGen Study Group program. I am waiting for my certificate to come in the mail! I recommend the program highly to anyone who is interested in advancing their genealogy skills to a higher level.
I attended the Sacramento Roots Cellar Spring seminar with D. Joshua Taylor as the keynote speaker in March. It was a wonderful educational experience. As a result, I have started revamping the way I organize my genealogy files. I have also started using Google sheets to catalogue some of my projects as well as using Google’s tools to communicate with my clients more effectively. One of the first projects I started was making a catalogue of the World War II letters. So far, I have included all the letters from Dear Mother, Love Daddy.
I still haven’t decided what educational opportunity I should try next. However, I am starting to look ahead to which projects I should use for my Board of Certified Genealogists portfolio. Among the samples I have to include are: a research report prepared for a client, a case study (proof argument using conflicting or indirect evidence), and a kinship-determination project (lineage). The biggest task is choosing projects that have not been previously evaluated or published. I have used some of my family research for projects while studying for my Boston University certificate and the ProGen Study group. Those are off limits! The portfolio must be diverse in scope as well. I have to explore different types of genealogy problems, using a wide variety of records and sources.
I was able to meet with the branch manager of my local library in regards to starting some genealogy programming. We have tentatively set a date in September for an introduction level round table event. I am mulling over all the things I want to say to beginning genealogists. I have to create a 20-30 minute presentation. One of things I have come up with is…always start by documenting yourself! I think everyone has the tendency to jump ahead to great grandma or the ancestor who reportedly served in the Civil War. It is important to build a solid foundation from the beginning. Lots of information can be gleaned from your own birth certificate.
I was pleasantly surprised this month to get a high level match on my maternal side of the family. Since my grandmother was an only child AND she did not have first cousins on her maternal side, there are not many people I can ask to spit for me. In addition, she comes from old New England which is infamous for endogamy. She has a lot of pedigree collapse in her tree. I have occasionally discovered 9th and 10th cousins who appear as closer relatives, but nothing substantial. The new match appears as a 2nd to 3rd cousin, but is actually a fifth cousin to me on paper. This is partly due to the pedigree collapse and to a large portion of shared X chromosome. The X chromosome has a unique inheritance pattern due to male/female inheritance. Males only get one from their mothers, while females get two (one from each parent). It’s almost like DNA playing hopscotch! Of course, this new match has renewed my interest in researching my Howard family lineage. I am descended from John Howard of Bridgewater, Massachusetts, through over 8 different lines of descent.
In the last month, I have created many more boards on Pinterest. In case you are not aware, my first career was in theatrical and historical costuming. I have a lot of experience researching different historical clothing periods. I see a lot of people struggling to identify and date photographs within the field of genealogy. There are several genealogists who specialize in the field of dating photographs. There are many factors to take into consideration when dating a photograph. Clothing is a major factor, and it can be tricky, depending on the age and social circumstances of the person being photographed. On Pinterest, I have created several boards for the 19th and early 20th centuries with the aim of assisting people in dating photographs. The boards are divided by decade and they contain only photographs of actual clothing, not fashion plates. Here is a link to the 1870s board:
https://www.pinterest.com/GenealogyLadyCA/1870s-clothing/
I am considering writing a few blog posts about clothing and fashion trends in the future. Please let me know if this is something that would appeal to you.
I am getting more excited about the Southern California Genealogy Jamboree in June. This will be my first opportunity to meet some genealogy rock stars in person as well as to connect with some fellow genealogists I know only from online. I am an honorary blogger as well.
©2015 copyright by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/04/18/monthly-update-april-18-2015/
I thought I would try writing about some events, happenings, accomplishments, etc., that are occurring in my little portion of the genealogy world this week.
In the world of Dear Mother, Love Daddy:Currently, there is a book giveaway running on Goodreads which will last until the end of the month. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25099832-dear-mother-love-daddy
If you are interested in purchasing an autographed copy of the book, I am selling copies. The cost is $21. The price includes one book, one autograph, and priority mail shipping within the U.S. Please contact me through the contact page/form tab if you are interested. The book is still available on Amazon.com. Follow the link on the right hand side of the blog to purchase directly from Amazon.
Professional Genealogy by Elizabeth Shown Mills
This month is the last month of the Professional Genealogy (ProGen) program for me. I have spent the last 19 months working hard to better my genealogy skills. I recommend the program highly to anyone who is interested in taking the next step in their own learning. New groups form every few months. Study groups have roughly 6-10 members with a credentialed genealogist mentoring each group. After 19 months, I have made some wonderful friends and increased my network in this small professional community.
I’m looking forward to taking a “small” break and then I’m thinking of signing up for a couple home study courses through the National Genealogy Society. The online course titled Researching Your American Revolution Ancestor sounds interesting. I have many Revolutionary War ancestors and I want to make sure I am finding all the relevant documents.
I’m continuing to pin some boards related to my research and specific blog posts. Since I no longer have my archives listed on the right side of the blog page screen, Pinterest is a great way to see some of the older posts. I’ve also created boards for a couple of the Indiana counties where my ancestors lived, a board with links to my ancestors’ graves, and a board with photographs of locations that are featured in the book Dear Mother, Love Daddy. Two boards that get the most traffic are Lena’s Postcards and 19th Century Fashion. My first career was in theatrical costume design. I loved researching historical costumes. In genealogy, this has been a very helpful skill for researching and dating old photographs.
https://www.pinterest.com/GenealogyLadyCA/lenas-postcards/
Next weekend, I am attending the spring seminar of my local genealogy society, the Sacramento Root Cellar. D. Joshua Taylor, who is probably best known at present for his work on Genealogy Road Show, will be the keynote speaker.
In June, I will be attending my first official genealogy conference, the Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. I have signed up for two workshops with Dr. Thomas W. Jones and Judy G. Russell. I am pretty excited that I will finally be able to meet these two genealogy rock stars in person. You may have noticed that there is a new badge on the side of the blog. By displaying the Jamboree blogger badge, I will be an honorary blogger for this event.
Until next week!
©2015 copyright by Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2015/03/15/weekly-update-march-15-2015/
Photograph is for illustration purposes only. It is not a link.
Last week I gave away three copies of my book Dear Mother, Love Daddy on my Facebook page. For the rest of the month I am running a book giveaway on Goodreads. Follow this link to enter:
Two more days until the book giveaway! While everyone is waiting here is another preview from Dear Mother, Love Daddy from the first chapter – Introduction:
During World War II, Roscoe Yegerlehner and his wife, Gladys, began and continued an incredible daily correspondence. Gladys was meticulous about saving every letter that Roscoe wrote. She even managed to save several of the letters that he wrote to their boys. It is somewhat amazing that any of those letters survived, considering that the recipients were 10 and 12 years old in 1942. At the beginning of Roscoe’s service, when he was stationed at the Naval Training Station, Norfolk, Virginia, Roscoe did not save Gladys’ letters. He threw them away after he read them. After he was shipped out to the Pacific, the letters meant much more to him; they became his lifeline home. He kept them and brought them home to Kentland.
Some of the letters were lost. For example, some of letters that Gladys wrote during the month of September 1942 were never delivered. Roscoe had just been assigned to a new post. Those letters were probably lost by the Post Office, misdirected by the Navy, or destroyed while traveling on a transport vessel. Luckily, the vast majority of the letters did survive. In fact, about one thousand letters written between May 1942 and May 1944 still exist today.
After the war, Gladys organized the letters. She sorted them into piles, tied up each bundle with string, and labeled each with the writer’s initials, RSY and GRY. She also included the month in which the letters were written. She packed them away in a box, and stored them in a closet. Many years later, she was cleaning house when her youngest son, David, was visiting. She told him to just put those silly old letters in the trash. Thankfully, David disregarded her instructions and took the letters home with him. Again, the letters were stowed away in a closet, until one day, when David’s daughter became obsessed with genealogy. The letters were packed up in box and shipped across the country. For the next decade, they remained in another closet. And then, finally, the letters came out of their box for the last time. Some of the letters were lost. For example, some of letters that Gladys wrote during the month of September 1942 were never delivered. Roscoe had just been assigned to a new post. Those letters were probably lost by the Post Office, misdirected by the Navy, or destroyed while traveling on a transport vessel. Luckily, the vast majority of the letters did survive. In fact, about one thousand letters written between May 1942 and May 1944 still exist today.
Don’t miss out! Enter the book giveaway here!
It has come to my attention that the link to the book giveaway yesterday is not working. Soooooo….this is my solution: Make a comment on this post – tell me how long you have been following the letters or tell me something you like about Roscoe or Gladys. Then, if you can, share the news about the book on your blog or post a link back to this post.
The book is now available!
UPDATE: Here is the link to the book on Amazon.
I will chose 3 random winners total from the blog and the Facebook page on Tuesday, March 3rd. I will announce the winners in both places. The winner will receive an autographed copy of the book.
Yesterday, I approved the proof and the book was sent to all the various channels. Amazon has generated the page for the book, but it is not available for purchase yet. You can sign up for an email alert for the moment the book is for sale.
I am still having a book release “party” and book giveaway contest on March 3rd. Sign up to win a free, autographed copy of the book.
I have been posting one letter a day on my blog for over two years now. During that time, several hundreds of people have stopped by. A handful of people have stuck around and followed the story (and my occasional ramblings). A faithful few have made comments, and I have had some great conversations as a result. I would like to thank Koji Kanemoto from Masako and Spam Musubi, Kassie Ritman from Maybe someone should write that down…, Amberly Beck from TheGenealogyGirl, Luanne Castle from The Family Klamazoo, Linda Arthur Tejera from Living With My Ancestors, Amy B. Cohen from the Brotmanblog: A Family Journey and EmilyAnn Frances May from Child Out Of Time for some wonderful conversations over the last two years. I want to remember Catherine Crout-Habel from Seeking Susan – Meeting Marie who died last spring. She was one of my most faithful followers in the beginning. I miss her enthusiasm. Other consistent followers are: Jim Harbin, Steven Braman, Aquila Herus, Lenore from Explore Newness, gpcox from PacificParatrooper and NikiMarie Barra from Copper Leaf Genealogy. Day after day they come back and continue to read about Roscoe and Gladys. Thank you!
There are so many people to thank and those listed above are just the tip of the iceberg!
The book will officially be published on March 3rd so I am counting down the days until it’s release.
What I’m doing:
Now that the proof has arrived I have to go over it to make sure the manuscript printed correctly. I’ve already noticed that some of my page numbers are not the right font. I’ve noticed a couple errors on the cover and have submitted those to my cover artist.
What you can do:
Enter the giveaway contest! Here are the rules:
1. Go to the Dear Mother, Love Daddy Event page (on Facebook see link below) and check off that you are “attending.”
2. Leave a comment on the Event page. You can say hi, or you can tell me why you think you should get a free, autographed copy of the book.
3. Share the Event page on your Facebook page! (This is the most important step!)
On March 3rd, I will chose three random people to win an autographed copy of the book. I will announce the winners throughout the day on March 3rd! Disclosure: It will take a few weeks for your copy to arrive so be patient!
I am still eagerly anticipating the upcoming release of the first volume of World War II letters titled Dear Mother, Love Daddy. Look for its debut around March 1st! While we are waiting, I have created a couple of World War II themed boards on Pinterest and one specifically for the book. The focus of the board is to highlight some of the locations and eventually people who are featured in the book. Check it out!
https://www.pinterest.com/GenealogyLadyCA/dear-mother-love-daddy/
I am also in the process of developing a contest to give away a few autographed copies of the book. Stay tuned for more information!
If you know of any libraries, museums, or veterans associations who might be interested in reading or having copies of the book, leave a comment below or send me a message through my contact page.
Have a Happy President’s Day!
Genealogy Lady 