Saturday, December 31, 2011

Genealogy Goals - 2012 Edition


So here are my genealogy goals for 2012.  I'm hoping this year will go a little smoother than last year, now that I have a relatively sturdy foundation for goal-setting and goal reaching, thanks to the last several months of the Success Team with Laura.
  1. Obtain the addresses, birth dates, and anniversary dates for all of my first cousins on both sides of my family … and names and birth dates of spouses and children.  Oh and all my half siblings’ spouses and kids too.
  2. Attend at least five (5) Scanfests (or equivalent) this year - and actually scan stuff.
  3. Scan and label at least 15 photos and/or negatives each week, or until they are done, whichever happens first.
  4. Attend at least two (2) genealogy conferences.
  5. Give at least two (2) presentations to my genealogical society.
  6. Index at least 200 records per month at FamilySearch Indexing.
  7. Add at least five (5) individual ancestor stories to my website.
  8. Blog at least twice per week.
  9. Finish reading Greenwood's "The Researcher's Guide to American Genealogy."
  10. Add at least three (3) website links per week to my online toolbox.
I plan to update my progress on these goals once per quarter, so ... we'll see how it goes!  Good luck to everyone on their goals for the new year!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Happy Bacon Day!

We interrupt our normal genealogical programming to bring you this very important message:

HAPPY BACON DAY!
Some of you may or may not know that I am a fan of bacon.  Okay, I love bacon.  Yes, it's not the healthiest food item on the menu, but it's SO ... DARN ... YUMMY!  (It actually ranks right up there with real butter ... but I digress, this is about the bacon).

My mom always teased me and my siblings and said that we would eat just about anything if it was wrapped in bacon.  She is probably right.  What isn't better with bacon?  Green beans?  Better.  Oysters?  Better.  Filet Mignon?  Duh.  

There are even conventions for bacon!  And now ... BACON DAY!  I'm in heaven!

I was recently in Nashville and visited a little hole-in-the-wall cafe.  Attached to this little cafe was a gift shop where you could buy some of the jams, jellies, and other treats they served.  I bought this shirt, which pretty much sums up my feelings about bacon:

Bacon even helps heal your boo-boos:
Obviously, bacon has permeated pretty much every part of my life.  So ... Happy Bacon Day!  I'm gonna go have some right now.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Wisdom Wednesday - Search Terms and Spelling

I would like to say "thank you" to the indexers at FamilySearch for giving me a much-needed chuckle while I was in the midst of a very frustrating search for my 2nd great grandfather's South Dakota state census record for 1905.


Let me explain.


I was doing some housekeeping on some of my files to make sure I had obtained a copy of every census available - both federal and state - for my direct line ancestors.  With names like Lanctot and Schneider, I expect there to be some weirdness in the spellings.  At least in the handwriting interpretation.


I ran across the following "misspellings" for Lanctot: Sanctot, Lancto, Lanetot, and Lancelot.  For Schneider, I got the expected Snyder and Snider, but also got Shmider and Schinder.


I also ran across the expected first name conundrums.  My ancestors have pretty standard names - Mary Alice, Louis, Thomas Patrick, Anna Christina, etc.  It can get confusing when an ancestor uses one name on one census, then their middle name on the next.  However, I never thought about the different ways that someone could misspell "Louis." 


I was using some pretty explicit language (directed mainly at my ancestors who appeared to have vanished into thin air between 1900 and 1905, then reappeared in 1910 right where I left them) to try to convince my computer to actually FIND something useful.  It didn't.  I finally decided to do a very VERY broad search for "Schneider" only in the 1905 South Dakota census.  I narrowed my search down to his birth year in the 1850s.  That's when I saw it.
Mine or not, I had to check it out.
Sure enough.  My eyes didn't deceive me.  My 2nd great grandfather was Louis Schneider, born in Iowa in 1851.  Both of his parents were from France.  He is first found in South Dakota on the 1880 federal census (1870 census shows him in Iowa).  All of this information appears to fit.


Here's the actual census card:
I guess I can see how someone could think that said "Lovins" ... but shouldn't common sense and logic overrule that theory?  In any case, I got a good chuckle out of it.  And apparently my 2nd great grandfather was WAY ahead of his time ... because THIS is the first thing that popped into my head when I saw it:
It just goes to show ... be prepared for ANY type of misspelling or misinterpretation when performing your searches.


This actually is going to help me quite a bit.  I have 2 Mary Alices (mother and daughter) who married two men named Louis (unrelated).  Now this Louis can be referred to as "McLovin" just so I don't get so darn confused.

Monday, December 26, 2011

St. Columba (South Dakota) Parish Church Registry 1881-1927 - H Surnames

I have come into the possession of a copy of a Church Registry for St. Columba Parish, South Dakota that includes the baptism, marriage, first communion, confirmation, and death records for the Yankton townships of Walshtown, Mayfield, Idylwilde, Jamesville (Sigel) from 1881 through 1927.  The entire list of surnames posted to date can be found here.  If any of these names belong to you, let me know and I will gladly forward a copy of it to you.



Last Name
First Name
Page
Comments
Hand
Barbara Margaret
6
Hanson
Mary Odella
43
Haney
Michael
5
Hansen
Christopher
60
(m. Goebel)
Hansen
James Lloyd
46
Hanson
Hans
58
(m. Slowey)
Hanson
Bernard Edward
38
Hansen
Katherine Helen
46
Hasker
Hedwig Anna
52
(m. Drotzman)
Hasker
Helen M.
58
(m. Wagner)
Hasker
Henry
60
(m. Medeck)
Hasker
Katherine
55
(m. Hauger)
Hasker
Margaret
58
(m. Rankin)
Hasker
Mary Theresia
10
Hasker
Mary
55
(m. Schramm)
Hasker
Peter
59
(m. Wagner)
Hauger
Agnes Catherine
40
Hauger
Clarence William
45
Hauger
Cordilia
33
Hauger
Elisabeth
54
(m. Frick)
Hauger
Henry
55
(m. Hasker)
Hauger
Henry Laurence
26
Hauger
Henry William
23
Hauger
John Sylvester
32
Hauger
Joseph Albert
37
Hauger
Josephine Elizabeth
47
Hauger
Lauretta Ann
4
Hauger
Lena Mary
46
Hauger
Mary
39
Hauger
Mary Catherine
10
Hauger
Odel
51
(m. Wagner)
Hauger
Peter George Henry
29
Hauger
Robert Henry
42
Healy
Elizabeth Williamina
29
Healy
Evangeline Monica
40
Healy
Joseph Francis
14
Healy
Katherine Agnes
24
Healy
Ludovicum (Hugh)
15
Healy
Mary
20
Healy
Mary Margaret
6
Healy
Sarah Ann
18
Healy
Thomas Luke
32
Healy
Thomas
52
(m. Paul)
Heider
John Francis
15
Heider
Veronica Martha
17
Heinisch
Catherine
56
(m. Rapp)
Heinisch
Theresa
59
(m. Sigl)
Heirichs
Anna Mary
10
Heirich
Frank
52
(m. Huber)
Heirigs
Annie
19
Heirigs
Francis Joseph
17
Heirigs
Joseph
33
Heirigs
Wendel Laurence
19
Hermann
August
58
(m. Schmeltzle)
Hickey
Bridget
55
(m. Eldred)
Hickey
Edward Martin
19
Hickey
Florence Clare
16
Hickey
James William
23
Hickey
Mary Genevieve
26
Hickey
William
53
(m. Flynn)
Higgins
Lili
54
(m. Foley)
Hirsch
Laura
2
Hirsch
Louis
2
Holbrook
Frank
58
(m. Slowey)
Holbrook
Mabel Isabelle
47
Holbrook
Mary Ela
49
Holtzbauer
Ceilia Mary
4
Holtzbauer
Charles
4
Hruska
Mary Josephine
54
(m. Mader)
Huber
Albert Emil
30
Huber
Ann
53
(m. Nipp)
Huber
Arnold Lewis
40
Huber
Carolina
52
(m. Heirich)
Huber
Catherine
57
(m. McGillick)
Huber
Charles Michael
56
(m. Rothmeyer)
Huber
Christina Anna
24
Huber
Edward Marcellus
31
Huber
Elenora Bertha
28
Huber
Frederick
1
Huber
Genevieve Theresa
34
Huber
George Paul
24
Huber
Hedwig
58
(m. Madsen)
Huber
Henry William
20
Huber
Herman George
36
Huber
John Peter
13
Huber
Joseph E.
54
(m. Rothmeyer)
Huber
Joseph Peter
35
Huber
Katharine Emma
17
Huber
Klara Rose
20
Huber
Louis
12
Huber
Martha Mabel
32
Huber
Mary Leona
18
Huber
Mildred Theresa
40
Huber
Nelly Echo
23
Huber
Peter L.
54
(m. Wallace)
Huber
Otto
13
Huber
Theresa E.
57
(m. Anderson)
Huber
William
9
Huber
William Peter
21
Hunhoff
Anna Mary Helen
14
Hunhoff
Mary Johanna Agnes
11
Hunhoff
Mary
56
(m. Schramm)