Category Archives: Lots of Love Daddy

Lots of Love, Daddy

2 Replies

Lots of Love, Daddy cover

The second volume of World War II letters is finally available for purchase on Amazon. Titled Lots of Love, Daddy, this book covers the letters written by Roscoe and Gladys during the fall of 1942. Roscoe was a recent arrival in New Caledonia while Gladys recovered from the birth of David in Kentland, Indiana.

Autographed copies of the books can be purchased through the contact form on the website. Payment may be made through PayPal. Stay tuned for more details on this service.

©2016 Deborah Sweeney

Lots of Love, Daddy Update

4 Replies

Lots of Love, Daddy coverI have been spending the bulk of my summer vacation working on getting the next World War II letters book ready for publication. I return to work at the end of the week and the book is almost done. One of the most labor intensive parts of writing a non-fiction book is creating the index. The letters mention hundreds, if not thousands of individuals. Lots of Love, Daddy which covers the fall of 1942 includes over 300 people, including three presidents, several radio and screen personalities, military personnel and, of course, many citizens of Kentland, Indiana.

As an early teaser (and potential lure for future readers), I am posting the full index of the book. Perhaps you will find someone you know in the index!

Index (of Lots of Love, Daddy)

The following is an index of the people mentioned in the letters. Roscoe and Gladys, as well as their three sons, John, Mark and David, have not been included in this index as they are mentioned in virtually every letter.

Ade, Charles H., Dr.
180, 184, 195, 200, 212, 213, 233

Ade, Mary E. (Keller), Dr.
213

Allgood
141, 145, 282

Allgood, Lorene L. (Morphew)
25, 60

Ash, Dorotha M. (Williams)
25, 50, 64, 86, 92, 122, 219, 265

Ash, Herman H., Dr.
22, 28, 32, 50, 64, 86, 92, 166, 196, 211, 232, 234

Baer, Walter B.
70

Bair
326

Baker, Kenny
375

Barce, J. Edward
13, 28, 184, 278, 317, 360

Barr
387

Barrymore, Lionel
358

Bartlett, Helen (Cox)
25, 363

Bartlett, Ward K.
46, 58, 145, 168, 172, 230, 236, 252, 313, 321, 331

Baze, Shirley A. (Neary)
194

Beard, Paul H., Dr.
114

Beaver
316

Beaver, Helen Elizabeth “Betty” (Neher)
101

Beekman, Evelyn (Muir)
242

Beekman, Sharon
242

Benny, Jack
278

Boone, Jean
25, 162, 312, 355

Boone, Otto E. “Boonie”
25, 36, 70, 131, 132, 134, 162, 164, 171, 220, 223, 236, 251, 259, 284, 286, 290, 311, 312, 321, 333, 346, 355, 362

Bower, Raymond
251, 360

Brands, Fred A.
160, 263

Brands, Maude (Westvay)
160

Britton, Edward L.
116, 121, 270–71

Britton, Louise (Strader)
102

Britton, Thomas S.
270

Bruck, Paul J.
116, 121

Burge, Lucile (Schlinsog)
194

Bushnell, Dr.
245, 284

Byrne, John C. “Jack”
102, 113, 192, 264, 290, 297, 301, 346, 380

Calvert, Raymond R., Dr.
32

Carroll, Babe
41

Cast, Alvin C.
41, 79

Cast, William H.
79

Coan, Earl
25

Coan, Emma J. (Miller)
25

Coffel, Dorothy J. (Teague)
103

Coffel, Melvin H., Dr.
103

Cole, Ira, Dr.
6, 8, 9, 15, 19, 29, 32, 50, 54, 86, 90, 95, 98, 102, 112, 116, 117, 120, 154, 167, 172, 184, 190, 200, 233, 234, 241, 245, 246, 251, 258, 259, 264, 271, 281, 301, 302, 309, 310, 336, 346, 355, 372, 379, 380

Cole, Mabel M. (Biser)
234, 336

Cummings, R. Ray
162

Cunningham, Frank E.
157, 282

Cunningham, Winifred F. (Booty)
157, 282

Curtis, Delmar E.
190

Curtis, Rosamund E. (Dyer)
190

Davis, William E.
138–39

Dennis, Donna
302

Diedam, Dorothy “Dora”
386

Disney, Walt
362

Dixon, Ira
88–89, 104, 110, 119, 123, 128, 134, 148, 171, 265

Donahue, Carl J.
177, 250, 321

Durbin, Deanna
334

Dye, George
12, 69, 79, 373

Dye, Letha L.
140

Dye, Linda
373

Dye, Velda (Good)
12, 69, 373

Dyer
190

Dyer, May K. (Prue)
190

Easley, Charles J.
162, 239, 243

Easterly, Aileen
60

Eddy, Nelson
366

Evans, Nannie
343, 374

Fellman/Feldman
22

Fletcher, Emma (Cox)
172, 355

Fletcher, James B.
20, 172, 355

Fletcher, Joseph B.
303

Flickinger, Daniel W.
209, 226

Foster, Emily H. “Emma” (Lawhead)
3, 11, 25, 33, 34, 37, 41, 55, 57, 74, 78, 90, 91, 95, 109, 113, 121, 125, 130, 140, 144, 154, 158, 163, 167, 168, 170, 171, 172, 177, 184, 255, 262, 291, 328, 329, 343, 351, 358, 382

Foster, James L.
3, 13, 28, 41, 46, 53, 86–87, 122, 144, 184, 191, 207, 242, 255, 291, 297, 300, 302, 328, 343, 378, 382

Foster, Thelma (Mayrose)
13, 46, 53, 255, 297, 302, 328, 351, 378

Foulkes
60, 85, 191, 359, 364

Foulkes, Cora T. “Cocoa” (Trautmann)
25, 277, 283, 343, 347, 352

Foulkes, Harold “Red”
283, 343

Funk
159, 191, 213, 284, 380

Funk, Arlene (Nelson)
3, 8, 25, 45, 50, 60, 74, 109, 155, 159, 190, 198, 200, 210, 252, 271, 288, 291, 293, 310, 324, 328, 329, 343, 346, 351, 374, 380, 385

Funk, Bernard
198

Funk, Carl E.
192, 338

Funk, Donald E.
8, 45, 50, 73, 74, 76, 143, 155, 198, 252, 271, 288, 310, 328, 346, 347, 364, 374

Funk, Edward J.
338

Funk, Evelyn
198

Funk, Robert W.
45, 65, 210, 329, 342, 346, 347

Funk, Rosemary (Robinson)
25, 60, 310

Funk, William E.
159, 199, 342, 343, 351, 380, 385

Gardiner, James W., Dr.
239, 295, 300, 339

Garrigus, George
382

Gilman, Page
265

Gilmore, Claude D.
303

Gilmour, Alex L.
264

Gilmour, M. Jean (Spindler)
210

Glenn, John
178

Glenn, M. Louise (Krull)
60, 116, 178, 200, 271, 328, 346

Glick, Orval E., Dr.
282

Good, Beulah (Eaton)
69, 373

Good, Edward
69, 373

Gordon, Gale
265

Hall, Donald W.
177

Harlan, Charles C. “Chuckie”
113, 198

Harlan, Chester C.
113

Harlan, D. Lorene (Nicely)
113, 198

Harris, Paul
225, 229, 313, 348

Harris, Phil
278

Healy, Harry H.
192

Heindel, Daniel M.
213

Heindel, Helen G. (Kline)
213, 222

Hiestand, Pauline (Markley)
45, 335

Hoover, Floyd E.
207

Hufty
60, 316, 335

Hufty, Clarice M. (Bartlett)
8, 9, 25, 37, 53, 120

Hufty, Robert L., Sr.
8, 9, 53, 112, 120, 151, 167, 220, 223, 265, 380, 389

Huth, Frances E.
275

Huth, Ralph L., Dr.
32, 239, 275, 295, 300, 306, 307, 312, 339

Huth, Ralph L., Jr.
275

James, Cora (Hufford)
25, 57, 60, 65, 241

Johnson, Edward
92, 93, 152, 153, 160, 220, 223

Johnson, James E. “Jimmy Ed”
167, 183

Johnson, Lucile
3, 7, 25, 50, 60, 118, 152, 160, 167, 171, 183, 242, 291, 293, 360, 366, 383

Jones, Dale S.
41

Jones, Kenny
41, 121, 207

Juventia, Sister
8, 12, 51

Kenney, T. Arthur “Art”
27, 34, 36, 102, 113, 116, 121, 123

Kildare, James, Dr.
322

Kindall, Mrs.
25

Kindig, Curtis B.
191, 206

Kindig, John E. “Jack”
191, 206

Kline, Forest S.
213, 219

Kline, Gertrude (Tjepkema)
25, 60, 213, 219

Knollin, Helen (Washburn)
292, 330, 335

Knollin, Loyal C.
330

Knowlton, E. Mary (Gibson)
60

Koon, Carl D., Sr.
143

Koon, Carl D., Jr.
143

Koon, Helen M. (Arbuckle)
143

Krug, Paul A.
288

Krull
229, 312, 315, 317

Krull, Dorothy (Jackson)
3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 24, 25, 29, 37, 60, 98, 120, 121, 125, 167, 173, 180, 225, 284, 291, 292, 311–12, 315, 320, 324, 329, 335, 352, 373

Krull, Elizabeth L. “Betty Lou”
23, 60, 68, 151, 195, 198, 201, 302, 354

Krull, John
177

Krull, Nicholas P. “Nick,” Sr.
11, 25, 110, 151, 177, 180, 272, 302, 311, 325, 335, 340

Krull, Nicholas P. “Buddy,” Jr.
151, 183, 238, 302, 315, 335, 354

Kruman, Margaret (Servies)
50

Lamb, Newell A.
121, 197, 210

Largent, Charles
237

Lentz, Edmund T., Dr.
4, 18, 47, 52–53, 55, 70, 80, 85, 114, 127, 136, 153, 171, 181, 187, 192, 194, 196, 247, 330, 371, 372, 376, 384, 389

Ley, Earl F. “Bud”
108, 222

Ley, Inez L. (Kline)
108, 222, 334

Ley, John Ed
108, 222, 334, 338

Ley, John P.
108, 222, 334, 338

Ley, Nadine
222

Lincoln, Abraham
305

Lontz, William Howard
265, 349, 356

Loughridge, Bun
281

Mace, David A.
40, 46, 101, 113, 256, 329, 338, 339, 378

Mace, Marie (Smith)
40, 46, 101, 256, 329, 338, 339, 378

Marx Brothers
375

Mathews, Alta (Bittles)
277

Mathews, Wilbur C., Dr.
20, 41, 160, 216, 242, 258, 273, 277, 278, 282, 298, 310, 355, 360, 364, 380

McConnell
75

McCray, George W.
270, 356

McQueary, Charles E.
222, 225

Molter, Agnes
24, 115, 157, 197, 216, 231, 256, 283, 297, 334, 378

Molter, Clara
238, 251, 252, 272, 280, 282, 319, 320, 329, 342, 350, 372, 373, 378, 382

Monroe, George
15, 29–30, 54, 191, 241, 344, 381

Morris, Mrs.
193

Morton, Mildred M. (Hopkins)
159, 284

Mullen, C. Patrick
69, 113, 121

Mullen, Joseph W.
69, 113, 121

Mutchler, John Earl
25, 46, 50, 68, 83, 199, 242, 328, 329

Mutchler, Romaine
50, 83

Mutchler, Ruth E. (Yegerlehner)
3–4, 24, 25, 46, 50, 58, 60, 68, 73, 74, 76, 83, 87, 101, 123, 128, 131, 132, 134, 145, 177, 213, 215, 232, 242, 280, 284, 287, 291, 297, 300, 302, 305, 326, 328, 329, 333, 336, 343, 358, 359, 365, 387

Myers, Alba O.
34, 121

Myers, Keith W.
121, 172

Myers, Kenneth J.
121, 172

Nesbitt, Sarah E. “Betty” (Cooper)
53

Nesbitt, Thomas D.
53

Oliver, Dorothy J. (Yagerline)
192

Oliver, Jane
192

Oliver, Robert J.
192

Openshaw, James F., Dr.
32

Oppy, James
303

Paul, Otto A.
209, 285, 312, 346, 355

Parr, Dorothy (Widmar)
34, 245

Parr, Harlan
245, 364, 365

Pence, Thaddeus W.
303

Penner, Joe
330

Perkins, Denver R.
116, 283

Perkins, Thelma M. (Duttenhaver)
116

Pfeiffer, Helen (Coan)
380

Plummer, Ethel (Taylor)
121, 125, 126, 232, 255, 260, 285, 320, 324, 329

Plummer, John W.
255

Poe, Edgar Allen
269

Porterfield, Billy M.
165, 275

Porterfield, Catherine E. (McLuckie)
165, 275

Porterfield, Marvin H., Dr., Sr.
4, 161, 165, 208, 221, 273, 275, 276, 282, 300, 306, 327, 330, 331, 339, 341, 353, 356, 361, 366, 371

Porterfield, Marvin H., Jr.
165, 275

Porterfield, Susan V.
275

Portteus
272, 310

Portteus, G. Harold
108, 311

Portteus, James J.
108

Portteus, Mary A. (Brown)
60, 108, 311, 383

Portteus, Ruth
108, 383

Pratt, Ralph F.
380

Prue
190

Puetz, Florence (Bower)
329

Puetz, Jim L.
329

Puetz, Raymond G.
329

Rea, Judith A.
342

Reinhart, Grace (Barsaloux) Kenefick
292

Reinhart, Henry W., Jr.
171, 184, 237, 260, 273, 275, 292, 317

Rentschler, Lewis C., Dr.
15, 278

Reynolds, Irvin
20

Rinard, Charles A.
255, 351

Roberts, Carol
237, 256, 374

Roberts, Earl L., Dr.
121, 320, 352

Roberts, John
237, 256, 374

Roberts, Joseph M., Dr.
4, 46, 59, 97, 112, 133, 183, 192, 221, 230, 231, 237, 244–45, 260, 273, 275, 281, 283, 284, 312, 345, 371, 374

Roberts, Leila M. (Locke)
4, 46, 53, 54, 59, 60, 69, 112, 121, 133, 163, 180, 183, 192, 221, 230, 237, 244–45, 256, 260, 281, 283, 312, 352, 374

Roberts, William
237, 256, 374

Roosevelt, Eleanor
215

Roosevelt, Franklin D.
169, 215

Runyon, Damon
36, 47

Ryan, Marjorie L. (Wilson)
51, 65, 98, 117, 190

Ryan, Richard R.
51, 98

Ryan, Richard S.
51, 98, 117, 190

Sammons, Hume L.
320, 329

Schiele, Jesse (MacDonald)
34, 60, 185, 229

Schiele, Silvester
24, 81, 173, 185, 225, 229, 237, 248, 302, 313, 348

Schlegel
270, 354

Schlegel, Agnes G. (Bond)
354

Schuh, Anthony
115

Schurtter, Dorothy (VanScoyk)
342

Schurtter, Robert
65, 255, 342

Schurtter, Steven J.
342

Servies, Goldie E. (Couger)
163, 167, 170

Servies, Voris B., Rev.
163, 167, 170

Shandy, Clifford O.
24, 121, 140, 340, 387

Shaw, Artie
22–23

Sherman
256

Shirer, William L.
311

Shirk, Chafee W.
108

Shirk, Sara (Terry)
108, 282

Simons, Charles M.
108

Simons, Eleanor O. (Robinson)
336

Simons, Geneva E. (Holley)
108

Simons, John W.
303, 336

Simons, Robert R.
108

Skelton, Red
111, 191, 286

Smith, Frances E. (Liggitt)
180

Smith, Gertrude M.
180, 192, 336, 374

Smith, Jean
180

Sparks, Anna L. (Moffitt)
25

Staton
60, 241, 284, 358, 359, 364

Staton, Irene A. (James)
25, 57, 132, 343

Staton, James L.
65, 178, 241, 358

Staton, Lloyd K. “Link”
87, 112, 120, 178, 191, 230, 242, 343, 358, 381

Steele, Birdie B.
352

Steiner, Henry J.
131

Stevens, Clarence V.
199

Stevens, Dolores L. (Yegerlehner)
109, 329

Swartz, Mrs.
193

Sykes
34, 73, 76, 78, 81, 87, 104, 110, 117, 282, 345

Sykes, D.
46

Sykes, Ethel M.
76, 82–84

Sykes, John T.
82–84

Taylor, Amel
121, 130, 229

Temple, Shirley
331

Thompson, David
65, 358

Thompson, John Doss
358

Thompson, Mary (Davidson)
65, 98, 358, 364

Tilton, George D.
264, 272, 340, 343, 387

Tilton, Lloyd E.
387

Tilton, Mabel (Stewart)
283, 387

Tilton, Robert L.
283

Towers, Eleanor G.
255

Towers, Emory F., Jr.
41, 121

Van Scoyk, Chester L.
157, 325

Virgin, Max E.
79

Voglund, Arthur A. “Art”
207

Voglund, Vivian T. (Murphy)
207

Walker, Alma L. (Ford)
60, 159

Walker, Wayne
302, 352, 360, 373

Walkup
141, 145, 294, 308

Walkup, Bernard W. “Bun”
9, 19, 164, 266, 283

Walkup, Carolyn J.
9

Walkup, Iva J. (Schluttenhofer)
9, 12, 19, 164

Walsh, Mary E. (Robbins)
15, 81, 88, 122, 276, 343

Walsh, Maurice R., Dr.
4, 15, 81, 88, 122, 221, 276, 343

Washburn
60

Washburn, Howard C.
343

Washburn, Mary M. (Caldwell)
25, 335

Washburn, Ursel (McCoy)
343

Washington, George
305

Watson, Ethel K. (Lloyd)
25, 60, 329

Watson, Wayne P.
25, 48, 51, 58, 60, 149, 153, 156, 329, 345

Webster, George L.
108, 170, 219

Weissman, Marvin F., Dr.
245

White, Dorothy L.
41

White, Ruth (Simons)
336

Whiteakker, Hannah C. (Smith)
206

Wilborn, Priscilla
25

Williams, Fred M., Dr.
4, 161, 208, 211, 221, 227, 240, 273, 275, 276, 282, 285, 295, 300, 312, 330, 339, 341, 353, 354, 356, 361, 365, 366, 371

Williams, Donnas B. (Loughery)
221, 275, 285, 312, 359, 365

Williams, Frederick B.
275

Wilson, Robert H.
347

Wilson, Bethel
113

Wilson, Donald R. “Bud”
347

Wilson, Doris I. (Cooley)
159, 198, 343

Wilson, H. Elizabeth (Compton)
347

Wilson, Ellsworth E. “Socky”
27, 159, 171, 198, 343, 344

Wilson, Gretchen J. (Dixon)
51

Wilson, Howard E.
51

Wilson, Juanita Suzanne
198

Wilson, Lida M.
11, 24

Wilson, Michael E.
159

Willson, R. Meredith
265

Wimple, Mr.
194

Woodruff, M. Joe
45, 65, 79, 113, 120

Wood, Kenneth
365

Yagerline, Jewell E. (Ratcliff)
192, 386

Yegerlehner, Clarence
64, 129, 132, 134, 232, 306

Yegerlehner, Earl
69, 213

Yegerlehner, Esther M. (Zurcher)
109

Yegerlehner, Floyd
3–4, 25, 46, 54, 59, 68, 69, 74, 79, 95, 98, 108, 123, 144, 151, 158, 161, 184–85, 206, 213, 215, 232, 242, 254, 261, 265, 287, 306, 324, 337, 342, 345, 347, 350, 364

Yegerlehner, John H.
3, 24, 43, 52, 72, 97, 128, 153, 158, 183, 215, 218, 230, 232, 243, 265, 280, 291, 312, 317, 341, 342

Yegerlehner, Lovina (Schiele)
3, 24, 43, 52, 54, 64, 68, 72, 97, 101, 109, 127, 128, 129, 132, 141, 146, 153, 156, 158, 162, 181, 183, 185, 195, 199, 206, 213, 215, 218, 220, 222, 223, 225, 230, 232, 239–40, 243, 255, 259, 265, 269, 279–80, 282, 284, 291, 302, 312, 317, 324, 326, 328, 341, 342, 343, 347, 358

Yegerlehner, Paul
69, 213

Yegerlehner, Ralph
232, 306

Yegerlehner, Samuel A.
213, 232, 306, 338

Yegerlehner, Ruth (Salter)
3–4, 25, 46, 54, 59, 68, 69, 74, 79, 81, 91, 95, 98, 101, 109, 116, 123, 151, 158, 161, 184, 206, 207, 213, 215, 242, 254, 256, 261, 265, 280, 284, 287, 324, 326, 328, 337, 342, 343, 345, 347, 364

Yost, Leo J. “Pete”
116, 121

Zell
163, 171, 272, 311, 342, 359, 364

Zell, Elizabeth A.
111, 154, 230, 255–56

Zell, Martha J.
230

Zell, Norma (Hibbs)
20, 25, 45, 144, 159, 181, 255–56, 272, 329, 351

Zell, Russell L.
54, 65, 108, 120, 177, 181, 185, 206, 213, 230, 256, 266, 309, 351, 364

Zell, Virginia M.
111, 154, 230, 255

Ziemer, Gregor
191

Zumbrum, Mrs.
264

—, Abigail (Dr. Fred M. Williams’ aunt)
295

—, Cracker
214

—, Ella
168

—, Hannah
325

—, Nellie
271, 280

—, Thelma
52

© 2016 copyright owned by Deborah Sweeney

 

Monthly Update – March 2016

2 Replies

It is hard to believe that March is almost over. I have so much I am trying to accomplish right now. I am currently on spring break from school, and I am hoping to get a long list of things done by the end of the week. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I get through the top few items on my list.

The WWII Project

Hollinger boxesThe Letters

During last month I have published many letters that were not written by Roscoe and Gladys. These letters were written between June 1944 and August 1945. Over this fourteenth month period, Roscoe, Gladys and the boys were living together in Liberty, Missouri. Roscoe was attached to William Jewell College’s Naval Flight Preparatory School.  His responsibilities included treating the officers and their families, as well as the soldiers attending the flight school. In August 1945, he was given orders to report to a new assignment on the west coast. To put this change of duty into historical perspective, Roscoe traveled to San Francisco days after the bombs were dropped on Japan and their inevitable surrender. Look for the letters between Roscoe and Gladys to resume the first week in April.

I have taken the next step in my preservation process. I have purchased some Hollinger boxes and heavy weight archival folders. Once I knock a few things off the top of my to-do list, I plan on moving the letters out of their plastic sheets and three ring binders. While working on the blog and books, it was definitely easier to store the letters in binders. However, this is not necessarily the best method for conserving them. I will start with the letters already published in Dear Mother, Love Daddy. I already have a basic finding aid prepared for cataloging the letters.

Dear Mother, Love Daddy

Unfortunately, I was not chosen as one of the local authors to participate in the Local Author Festival at the Sacramento library in April. I am definitely disappointed but not discouraged. If you have read the book, please leave a review on Goodreads or Amazon. The more reviews the book gets, the higher ranking it gets (and more likely it is to be highlighted by Amazon’s algorithms).

Lots of Love, Daddy coverLots of Love, Daddy

This month has been a huge push for me to get the manuscript prepared to turn over to my copy editor. I finally finished the index, and am currently working on the glossary of people. Then all that I have left is to write my author’s notes and acknowledgements, a list of illustrations and my biography. My father FINALLY found a envelope with many of the original photographs that I intend to use in this volume. Just in the nick of time! I need to sort through the envelope and re-scan some of these photographs as well as add some new unseen pictures to the book.

This month the preliminary cover for the book was designed! Many, many thanks to Dan Young for doing a stellar job. And so, dear readers, you get the first look!

Genealogy booksSacramento Library

Last weekend I enjoyed meeting with more patrons to assist them with their genealogy puzzles. Although a couple of my appointments were cancelled (we think because people did not realize it was Easter weekend), there were some walk-ins who filled up the empty spots in my schedule. I love exploring other people’s ancestry and seeing what we can find. If you are interested in booking an appointment, contact the Franklin branch.

My next lecture is scheduled for May 7th. I will be talking about some of my favorite free genealogy sites that are available on the Internet. One of those sites is Chronicling America on the Library of Congress’ website. This is a wonderful site for finding free digitized newspapers as well as an awesome finding aid for locating newspapers in repositories around the country.

Certification

I haven’t necessarily done much towards certification this month. However, I did discover that the Holmes County Library has digitized some of the local newspapers, including the Holmes County Farmer. Within minutes of discovering this resource, I located the obituary of an ancestor I am hoping to highlight in my KDP (Kinship-Determination Project). The KDP is usually one of the more extensive requirements of the certification portfolio. The requirement is to “submit a narrative genealogy, narrative lineage, or narrative pedigree that documents and explains linkages among three ancestral generations.”

I have also been thinking a lot about what sources I have and what sources I need to locate. One of my next tasks is to list and analyze the sources I have already accumulated so I can see where some of my gaps might be.  Writing up a research plan for locating the missing documents is also on part of this step.

Alfred M. Dicks and Achilles Dicks affidavit

Alfred M. Dicks affidavit (Image courtesy of FamilySearch.org)

I have been thinking about what a “reasonably exhaustive search” may be for this project, and the other elements of the portfolio. This last month I have made some amazing discoveries in my own research. I have unearthed two documents related to my ancestor Alfred M. Dicks. The main reason I have found these documents now (after 20 years!) is that the collections have recently become available online. Neither document was in an indexed database. I had to search for hours in order to find them. I wonder what other documents I could find, if only, I could make it to the courthouse or local library myself. I have been unable to find a reliable researcher willing to take on this research for me, nor would my bank account be able to support the hourly fees. This rural county has a population of less than 20,000 people. My own small city has more than 7 times that amount. So when is a “reasonably exhaustive search” complete? I don’t have a good answer to this question. I worry that I won’t have done enough when it is time to submit my portfolio. The converse is, if you don’t stop at some point to write down what you have found, no one will know what you have discovered, and it may be lost again.

Jamboree

It is a little over two months before Jamboree. I was really hoping to see one of the sample BCG portfolios last year in the exhibition hall. There wasn’t even BCG booth! Because I am so much closer to wanting to start the certification process, I emailed the BCG this week. I received confirmation that the sample portfolios will be there. Have you checked out a BCG portfolio at a genealogy conference? I can’t wait to see one (to see whether my work is at that level or not).

Until next month! Happy hunting!

© 2016 Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2016/03/30/monthly-update-march-2016/

Monthly Update – February 2016

1 Reply

Wow! I can’t believe February is almost over, even with it being a short month, the days seemed to have sped by very quickly. Here in northern California, the temperature has been rising modestly and several species of cherry trees have begun to blossom and bloom. They look beautiful but they reek havoc with spring allergy sufferers.

Dear Mother, Love Daddy coverThe WWII Project

The Letters

I have officially transcribed and/or posted the 1,200th WWII letter (or related post). I have begun transcribing the letters that were received by Roscoe and Gladys in the 14 month gap in their correspondence. Between June 1944 and August 1945, Roscoe was stationed at William Jewell College in Liberty, Missouri. The college was the home of the Naval Flight Preparatory school.  During that time, Gladys and the boys lived with Roscoe in a rented house at 324 W. Kansas Street. The house was owned by another Naval officer who was stationed elsewhere. This student article gives a brief overview of William Jewell College’s roll during the War.

Dear Mother, Love Daddy

The first volume of letters has officially been in publication for over one year. I recently entered the book in a local authors exhibition, and I am waiting to hear if the book has been selected. Keep your fingers crossed! I know the book has a very small niche and is often overlooked or discounted by traditional publishers so any publicity is welcome.

Lots of Love, Daddy

The first draft of the second volume of letters has been submitted to the book’s website. The book now has its ISBN numbers assigned. I am currently editing the proof manuscript and constructing the book’s index. I have sent photographs to my cover designer and am waiting to see what he comes up with for the next book cover. I am hoping to have the completed manuscript ready to turn over to my editor by the end of March.

Sacramento Library

Genealogy booksMy volunteer program at the Sacramento Library continues to grow. I have been volunteering since last June, one Saturday afternoon a month dispensing genealogy advice and assistance. I have learned that my sessions are now booked out a month or two in advance.

This February’s session was yesterday. While I feel prepared to answer a variety of questions, I think I have met my nemesis! This gap in my knowledge is two-fold. I had two clients yesterday who were interested in pursuing their Mexican roots. I know very little about the geography of Mexico as well as what record types are unique to that country. I also don’t speak or read Spanish. It was disheartening to be unable to assist those patrons more fully. But it is a lesson for anyone who is interested in seeking genealogy assistance. Most genealogists have specialties, of one kind or another, and a single genealogist can not possibility be familiar with every type of record. I view my volunteer sessions as an educational experience for both the patron and myself. The more varied research opportunities I encounter, the better genealogist I will become for my clients. Hopefully, over time, I will become more familiar with the records south of the border.

The date has been set for my next lecture – May 7th. I am planning on giving a presentation on free online genealogy resources. I continue to be amazed by the number of people who have never heard of the LDS church’s free resources at FamilySearch.org. Their website is just one of hundreds (if not thousands) of resources available online for free.

Certification

Land deeds Greene County - Jewell

Land deed index from Greene County, Indiana

Because I was so focused working on Lots of Love, Daddy this month, I did not do much towards certification. I had ordered two microfilms from the LDS library in Salt Lake which arrived at the local center near the beginning of the month. The microfilms were indexes for land records in two counties where my ancestors lived. One I plan on using for my KDP project and the other for my Proof Argument. One film appears to be a total bust. I was estimating when I thought my ancestor might have purchased land. It was a 50/50 shot and I chose the wrong reel. The second film appears to be more promising. I will have to return in the near future to continue looking through the reel. Unfortunately, I suffer from motion sickness and when I went to view the films I was still suffering from bronchitis so my body was definitely under the weather. The motion sickness hit me hard this time around and I had to leave in a hurry!

Requirement five for the application portfolio is a “Research Report Prepared for Another Person.” The report has several guidelines which must be adhered to in order to meet certification standards. Among the requirements necessary are skillful analysis of evidence and the use of a variety of sources. However, equally important is the fulfillment of the client’s commission. Did the genealogist work towards achieving the client’s goal?

I have written several client reports at this point in my career, and I do not fear this aspect of the portfolio. Unfortunately, I do not have permission from any client to use their report for this purpose. Client permission is a key component to this requirement. If you don’t have it, you can’t submit it. I am currently on the lookout for a client who would be willing to grant  me this privilege as well as a project that I would find meaningful.

To download a copy of the Board of Certification application, click here.

Upcoming Events

I will be attending the Saturday seminar on March 12th at the Family Search library in north Sacramento. This is a day for learning about African American resources from the Freedman’s Bureau records to oral histories. The keynote speaker is Kenyatta Berry, one of the hosts from the PBS Genealogy Road Show. Registrations will be accepted through March 5th. Register online at www.AAFHS.com

Early bird registration for Jamboree continues through April 23rd. I have signed up as an official Blogger (hence the logo on the sidebar). I hope to see you there!

© 2016 Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2016/02/28/monthly-update-february-2016/

Monthly Update – January 2016

10 Replies

My genealogy calendar began to wind down at the end of 2015, and to be honest, between a heavy workload at school and life in general, I ran out of steam. However, with the arrival of the New Year, several upcoming events and my personal goals, I am looking forward to 2016. It is looking to be an exciting year filled with new adventures and new genealogy friends.

Dear Mother, Love Daddy coverThe WWII Project

Instead of having a section devoted to just my book Dear Mother, Love Daddy, I am going to condense this section to everything related to the books and the letters.

About the letters:

  • Almost 1,200 letters have been transcribed and organized so far (since December 2012). I will continue to post a letter a day (or military related document) until all the letters have been transcribed. I still do not have a final tally of how many letters there are in the collection. According to my records, I have published 1,169 blog posts in which a letter was transcribed. This does not take into account the number of posts that did not contain a letter but rather a transcription of a document from Roscoe’s personal military papers nor does it account for the occasional letter which has been discovered amongst my father’s papers and has subsequently been forwarded to me. Often these rogue letters do not make the blog because they are so far out of sequence or context. It does not make sense to publish them at the time. They will appear in the published volumes of letters however.

Dear Mother, Love Daddy:

  • The first volume of letters has been in print for exactly 11 months. It is hard to believe that the first anniversary of its publication is quickly approaching, February 24, 2016. This last week I finally prepared several copies for donation to a few of the major genealogy and state library collections. For readers who may live in the Sacramento area, the library owns a copy of the book and it can be requested through the library’s loan system. Otherwise, copies of the book are available for sale through Amazon.com or contact me through the website to purchase an autographed copy of the book.

Lots of Love, Daddy:

  • I am hoping to have the second volume of letters ready by Memorial Day. I had hoped originally to publish this book around the anniversary of the first book. However, my schedule has not afforded me the time needed to successfully release the book at that time. This volume will also be 150-200 pages longer than the first volume and will include letters written during October through December 1942 while Roscoe was stationed in Noumea, New Caledonia. My first draft of the book is currently 400 pages. This does not include the index, author’s notes, illustration/photo credits, or the cast of characters. I have tentatively engaged the services of a genealogy colleague to be my copy editor for this next volume. I am very excited to be working with her on this project. As the spring progresses, I will make a more official announcement. In addition, I need to begin work with my book cover designer. At this point, I have an idea but nothing concrete.

Sacramento Library

Genealogy Programs Central 2016I continue to volunteer one Saturday a month dispensing genealogy advice at my local library branch. Typically, my sessions are on the fourth Saturday of the month. Upcoming dates are January 30, February 27, and March 26. These sessions are by appointment only.

Yesterday, I presented my second lecture – A Beginner’s Guide to DNA & Genetic Genealogy. The audience was wonderful! They asked lots of great questions, and hopefully, I did not confuse them too much. I am looking forward to putting together a third presentation later this spring, likely in April or May.

The Central Branch has their genealogy program schedule published for the year. All presentations are given on Sundays from 1:00-2:30 at the Central Branch on I Street, downtown Sacramento. There are some wonderful speakers on the list, including my colleague, Gena Philibert-Ortega, who reviewed Dear Mother, Love Daddy last fall on her blog. Gena will be presenting a lecture on Finding Institutional Records in July while fellow ProGen alumna Janice Sellers will be delivering her lecture Get Me to the church: Religious Records in June.

Certification

It has long been my goal to become a certified genealogist. In order to achieve this goal, the applicant must submit a portfolio of work to the Board of Certification of Genealogists. This last week BCG president, Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, announced a new application process for certification. Some of the new requirements include evaluation of the applicant’s educational experiences and a limit of 150 pages for the entire portfolio. The new application can be found on the BCG website.

835

My ProGen Certificate

At this point, I feel fairly confident about my educational experiences. I have completed Boston University’s Genealogical Research Certificate program and the ProGen study group. I will continue to attend local learning experiences, like those offered at the library or the genealogy societies in my region. I still would like to do a couple of the home study courses from the National Genealogical Society, and maybe someday, I will be able to attend a week long institute like SLIG or GRIP. Although part of me is not really thinking of attending an genealogy institute as a student, why not think higher and bolder, like as an instructor?!? But let’s be realistic for 2016…

Another colleague of mine suggested that I blog about my journey to certification (Thank you Jake!). I have long been a fan of Jill Morelli’s blog Genealogy Certification: My Personal Journal. Jill is another ProGen alumna, and I had the pleasure of meeting her in person last year at Jamboree. Jill is already “on-the-clock,” as we like to say about the certification process. She has already submitted her application and currently has 3 months remaining before she must submit her portfolio. As I stated in my year in review post last month, I want to have my plan in place for certification by the end of this year. Most of the advice I have read (from people who have gone through the certification process) recommend having one’s ideas and preliminary research started before submitting the application. Blogging about my progress will hopefully keep me on track for my goal.

Roscoe with his wife Gladys and their sons, John & Mark (circa July 1942 in Kentland, Indiana)

A branch of my family that I will NOT be using for my portfolio!

One of the main requirements for any item submitted in the portfolio is that: “No material in an initial application may have been reviewed, critiqued, or proofread by another individual.” For me, this means that none of my prior work submitted as coursework for Boston University or ProGen is eligible to be used for my portfolio. Over the last few years, I have tried to be careful about not writing and posting about every aspect of my family genealogy for precisely this reason. I had to keep branches of the family dark since they were potential portfolio fodder.

So for January…

One element of the portfolio is a Kinship-Determination Project (KDP for short). Three generations of a family must be presented in a narrative genealogy, narrative lineage, or narrative pedigree format. Within the narrative, proof summaries or arguments must be used, as appropriate, for at least two parent-child relationships. This month (OK this morning…) I think I have decided upon which branch of the family I am going to use for the project. My next step for the project will be to begin analyzing the documents I do have and begin assessing what documents I need to obtain.

Jamboree

Jamboree 2015

Jamboree 2015

This month pre-registration for Jamboree began. I had so much fun last year and I am looking forward to attending this year. Stay tuned for more updates! I have signed up to take one workshop so far. I still consider myself extremely fortunate that Blaine Bettinger was in my ProGen study group. His knowledge of DNA and genetic genealogy is incredible and I looking forward to taking his workshop on Third Party Tools for Autosomal DNA. If you ever have the chance to hear him speak or lecture, do not miss the opportunity!

Until next month….

©2016 Deborah Sweeney
Post originally found: https://genealogylady.net/2016/01/24/monthly-update-january-2016/