My mother passed away last summer, and I took on the task of writing her obituary. I am the writer of the family, and, being the historian as well, I've read my share of obituaries. It was my chance to let people know a tiny bit about who my mother was. It was also an opportunity to convey important genealogical data. For my mother's obit, I made sure every one's names were spelled correctly.
I always get a little excited when I find an obituary from an ancestor, because there is a wealth of information in those few hundred words. First of all, an obit gives the names of the immediate family. For wives, a genealogist often is missing the maiden name or parent's names if census data or other sources are used.
Likewise, many databases, Ancestry.com included, restrict data about living people from the public record. So the names of those younger survivors are vital. In the same fashion, the names of the spouses of the descendants are usually given, or at the very least the last name.
I've started researching entire families from just one obituary. You have three generations of names, grandparents, parents, and children, maybe even grandchildren. You have the date of death of the deceased. With that much, you can hit other genealogical resources, like Ancestry.com, and get decent results.
Another piece of data that is often difficult to find in other ways is the cemetery in which the person is buried. I'm a completist when it comes to genealogy. It makes me happy, if I can add the burial data to my records.
In a future post, I'll discuss obituary resources on the web.
Friday, March 2, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Introduction
This new blog is where I will put my adventures into genealogy.
My mother was the historian for her family, as well as my dad's family. SInce the 1960s, she traced her father's family back to the late 1700s in England, and my father's family back to the late 1600s in England, all with the old tools of the genealogical trade -- libraries, letters, and cemeteries.
When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the baton was passed to me. I've always had an interest in her work, and had followed it from a young age. I urged her many times to computerize her information, but she resisted, not feeling comfortable with the computer. So, three years ago, I brought the first box of documents home with me.
I began at Ancestry.com, which I've found to be an amazing resource. I took one of the countless family tree sheets that started with my mother and father. I just started typing in the names and dates. That first day, I spent four hours in front of the computer screen. I came out with a headache and sore eyes, but I had entered ancestors into the system back to my great grandparents on both sides.
When that first little green leaf appeared on Ancestry, which indicates that a search has found a match in the records, I was excited. I opened up a Census record from 1930 with my dad's family, showing my dad at 4 years old. Then I opened the image of the actual Census rollup sheet. I had my first historical document proving my history. I was a little overwhelmed.
Over the next three months, I spent every spare hour entering data from Mom's archives.One of the most amazing things was how much my mother had accomplished with no computers -- only letters, libraries, county registrars, and historical societies.
My mother was the historian for her family, as well as my dad's family. SInce the 1960s, she traced her father's family back to the late 1700s in England, and my father's family back to the late 1600s in England, all with the old tools of the genealogical trade -- libraries, letters, and cemeteries.
When she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the baton was passed to me. I've always had an interest in her work, and had followed it from a young age. I urged her many times to computerize her information, but she resisted, not feeling comfortable with the computer. So, three years ago, I brought the first box of documents home with me.
I began at Ancestry.com, which I've found to be an amazing resource. I took one of the countless family tree sheets that started with my mother and father. I just started typing in the names and dates. That first day, I spent four hours in front of the computer screen. I came out with a headache and sore eyes, but I had entered ancestors into the system back to my great grandparents on both sides.
When that first little green leaf appeared on Ancestry, which indicates that a search has found a match in the records, I was excited. I opened up a Census record from 1930 with my dad's family, showing my dad at 4 years old. Then I opened the image of the actual Census rollup sheet. I had my first historical document proving my history. I was a little overwhelmed.
Over the next three months, I spent every spare hour entering data from Mom's archives.One of the most amazing things was how much my mother had accomplished with no computers -- only letters, libraries, county registrars, and historical societies.
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