Tuesday’s Tip – #Genchat

Have you heard of #Genchat? It is a Twitter Chat that allows genealogists from around the world to collaborate. Two Friday evening’s a month you can sign onto Twitter and participate. The next #Genchat will be held on Friday, April 26. You can view the entire year’s schedule here. 

Here are the upcoming April – July chats. All chats start at 9:00 Central Standard Time. And additional details can be found on the schedule page.

• 26 Apr: Oral Histories and Interviews
• 10 May: LIVE! From the NGS Conference in Las Vegas! 
• 24 May: Utilizing Census Records
• 14 Jun: Data Analysis: Do you see what you have for all its worth?
• 28 Jun: Cemetery Projects
• 12 Jul: Your Latest Greatest Find! Share with us!
• 26 Jul: Putting Flesh on the Bones; Telling the Stories

Have you participated in #Genchat? What did you think? What great things did you learn? How has that helped you with your research and telling the story of your family?

© 2013 Sort Your Story, Sonoma, California

 

Sonoma County Genealogical Society Event

Lorel will be at the Sonoma County Genealogical Society 21st Annual Spring Seminar on Saturday, April 27. Barbara Renick will be presenting. This event will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and registration information is on the Sonoma County Genealogical Society website.

© 2013 Sort Your Story, Sonoma, California

 

They Just Want the Story!

Sort Your Story creator, Lorel Kapke recently related an experience with her family to me as we discussed family stories.

She said her family members are not interested in research. She meant they don’t care about the names, dates, and places. They wanted to know THE STORY!

She asked me, ‘what do you do with data family members have acquired when they just want “the story”?’ She went on to say that when she visited her sister  and brother-in-law DABBS in the spring of 2012, she “again” mentioned her interest in viewing her brother in-law’s “family trunk” stored “somewhere” in their cabin. She understood the trunk-contained data from both his paternal and maternal sides of the family, DABBS and SCHOTS. Lorel’s brother in-law offered a copy of his Dabbs descendant data and she copied the family pedigree. He mentioned he was interested in a book written by a DABBS cousin, DABBS Family Genealogy, by Jack Autry Dabbs copyright 1986. After returning home, Lorel found this book listed on Family Search website. She decided to find a copy of this book for her family.

Have you come across family members who have some information but really don’t care about the names, dates, and places and just want to know the story? How did you proceed? Did you collect all their information to merge into your own? Did you ask about the family stories? Did you collect or scan photographs?

Please share your experience with us.

Was She Just A Homemaker?

Sort Your Story creator Lorel Kapke was talking to me about women and the census recently. She had this to say, “This brought to mind the maternal side of families…. women listed in the census as “homemakers” …. were they creating quilts (worth big money today on Antiques Road Show,)  or recipes they created…enabling future generations to become famous “food network” chefs recreating their g-grandmothers recipes…. making money, how about taking care of the homestead…. from sunup to sundown… gathering herbs for remedies to help heal their children…possibly learned from the indigenous population.”

When you look at the history of the women in your family, what do you see? Only the homemaker listed in the census or much more than that? Women may have been listed as homemakers but they were, and still are today – MUCH more than that. They are…..

Business women; chefs; presidents of companies; attorneys; bankers; mothers; wives; friends; pastors; teachers; politicians; government worker; pilots; travelers; caretakers; cooks and bakers; doctors; construction workers; paramedics; police; firefighters; nurses; librarians; researchers; writers; photographers……..

The list goes on an on. How do you identify your female ancestors? WHO were they? WHAT did they do? WHEN did they do it? In a time when women weren’t doing “those” things like running a business when the majority were at home with children? What about attending the university when women were hardly ever admitted? WHY did your ancestor choose this path? WHERE was she living when she assume “this” role?

Answering these questions and looking at women as more than homemakers will open up a whole new world of story possibilities for your female ancestors. What are you waiting for? Start writing!

© 2013 Sort Your Story, Sonoma, California