My 99 Genealogy Things

I found this list on Tonia Kendrick’s blog, Tonia’s Roots. I love lists (and memes!)!

Key:

Things you have already done or found – bold type

Things you would like to do or find – italics (NOTE: my blog renders itals as bold and red. Go fig.)

Things you have not done or found /don’t care to.

99 Genealogy Things

1. Belong to a genealogical society (Not counting the national ones, I belong to the Upper Shore (Md.) Genealogical Society and the Historical Society of Talbot County. Hoping to join more societies relevant to my own ancestry — in Texas and Virginia, for example.)
2. Joined a group on Genealogy Wise.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded headstone pictures to Find-A-Grave or a similar site
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society/local library’s family history group.  Would do this before attempting No. 10.
12. Joined the National Genealogical Society.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.  Not yet, but I will.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors.
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. 
19. Cold called a distant relative. (Does cold-messaging on Facebook count?)
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name (and those of ancestors)
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it. 
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research. I’d love to be able to do this, but haven’t found the right formula!
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.  Okay, I’m counting this as the same as No. 19.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Participated in a genealogy meme.
32. Created family history gift items.  But I have created house history gift items!
33. Performed a record lookup.
34. Took a genealogy seminar cruise.
35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space. – Ha-ha — yes, several.
36. Found a disturbing family secret.
37. Told others about a disturbing family secret (but not all of the secrets).
38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).
39. Think genealogy is a passion and/or obsession not a hobby.
40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person. I would love to do this, but need more time in the day.
41. Taught someone else how to find their roots. Would love to teach a course someday.
    
42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure. Thankfully, no.
43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology.
44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.  Thanks to dabbling in DNA!
45. Disproved a family myth through research.
    
46. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records. Always
    
48. Translated a record from a foreign language. Will need help doing this someday with German records, I’m sure.
49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record. Not the immigrants, yet, but several native ancestors have traveled abroad and I’ve found their records.
    
50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. 
    
51. Used microfiche. Just did this today!
    
52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
53. Used Google+ for genealogy.  I’m on there, but I’m not really using it…
54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
55. Taught a class in genealogy.
56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. I have not, but others before me have (thank you!)
58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. Ditto, No. 56.
59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. I wish. I’ll get there!
60. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
61. Have found many relevant and unexpected articles on internet to “put flesh on the bones”.
62. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
63. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.  Since my research business is based in an area where I have no ancestors, this happens all the time!
64. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC. I have home field advantage on this one.
65. Have an ancestor who came to America as an indentured servant.
66. Have an ancestor who fought in the Revolutionary War, War of 1812 or Civil War.
67. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
68. Can “read” a church record in Latin.
69. Have an ancestor who changed his/her name, just enough to be confusing.
70. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
71. Created a family website.
72. Have a genealogy blog.
73. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone.
74. Have broken through at least one brick wall.
75. Done genealogy research at a court house.
76. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center(s).
77. Found an ancestor in an online newspaper archive.
78. Have visited a NARA branch. Only the main one!
79. Have an ancestor who served in WWI or WWII.
80. Use maps in my genealogy research.
    
81. Have a blacksheep ancestor.
82. Found a bigamist amongst my ancestors.
83. Attended a genealogical institute.
84. Taken online genealogy (and local history) courses. ProGen counts, right?
    
85. Consistently (document) and cite my sources.  Lesson learned!
86. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
    
87. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes.
88. Have an ancestor who was married four times.
89. Made a rubbing of an ancestor’s gravestone.
90. Followed genealogists on Twitter. Follow me! @baysideresearch
91. Published a family history book.
92. Learned of a death of a fairly close family relative through research.
93. Offended a family member with my research.  Hope not!
94. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.
95. Have a paid subscription to a genealogy database.
96. Submitted articles for FamilySearch Wiki. Maybe someday…
97. Organized a family reunion. No, but I plan to attend the 85th CORLEY family reunion in Illinois in 2012!
98. Used Archives in countries where my ancestors originated.
99. Converted someone new to the love of all things genealogy.  I think I’ve passed the bug on to a few.

Carnival of Genealogy: There’s One in Every Family

When I saw the topic for this blog carnival, I knew I had to post. A few years ago, I saw a photo on the web site icanhascheezburger.com that was eerily familiar. It reminded me of this shot, which I took of my sister and one of our cousins:

Every family does indeed have at least one.

In a previous shot, my sister appeared perfectly normal, but she hammed it up for this one. Compare it to the LOLcats shot and you’re sure to see the resemblance.

Sorry, sis. Had to be done. For genealogy’s sake!

Bayside News of the Day

A big thank you to Gini Webb from Ginisology for writing up a wonderful profile about me for GeneaBloggers! Check it out here: “May I Introduce You to… Missy Corley.”

In other news, my post about volunteerism and the Internet Public Library is included in the Carnival of Genealogy, 88th Edition. Thanks to host Creative Gene, et al, for including my post!

Carnival of Genealogy: Volunteerism

This post is in response to Carnival of Genealogy #88: Volunteerism.

I am a volunteer reference librarian with the Internet Public Library. As with a brick-and-mortar library, the service provides resources to which patrons can help themselves or they may submit questions to trained librarians for help.

I have a Masters in Library Science — all volunteers on the IPL either already have an MLS degree or are MLS students in reference services classes around the country. I learned about the IPL through such a class in library school and really enjoyed helping out IPL patrons. After my class ended, I stayed on as a volunteer. Volunteers must work on practice questions and have their answers evaluated before they can answer real questions from the public. We are trained to answer questions from kindergartners, Ph.D. candidates and beyond.

The IPL receives questions on all kinds of topics, but of course, I especially enjoy answering the history- and genealogy-related questions. I’ve helped genealogy-focused patrons track down elusive obituaries and find free resources for getting started in genealogy research and for mapping out their family trees. On the historical end of things, I’ve dug up information on 1950s Andean railway motor cars, an 1800s insane asylum in Pennsylvania and the religious leanings of a U.S. president. In an “Antiques Roadshow” moment, I got to help a patron identify what type of pottery he had (Blue Willow, in case you were wondering). You never know what patrons are going to ask for next.

The best part about answering an IPL question is not just finding the answer a patron needs, but teaching them how I found it so they can find facts more easily next time. We don’t just give you an answer, we point you to it. And for any concerned parents or teachers out there, rest assured that we only use trusted sources.

I’ve relied on some of the IPL’s aggregated resources for my personal research. Of interest to genealogists: the General Reference section on the Pathfinders page.