An open letter to genealogy societies

Dear genealogy societies,

No doubt some genealogy society people will be offended by what I've got to say, but this has been on my mind for a long time. I've discussed my concerns with society members from around the country as well with some society board members. I'm just ready to take the conversation to a more public forum.

I have been a member of many genealogy and historical societies - local, state and in a variety of states. As with any type of structured organization, the experience varies with each one. Over the last couple years, I have not been renewing my membership to several of the societies I've been paying dues to for many years.

Why? Mainly, it's because the societies are not meeting my needs as a member. And why is that? Because, as I say tongue in cheek, "genealogists are stuck in the past." While that is where we need to be as genealogists, the past is not where societies need to be.

My list of frustrations with many/some societies today:

1. Hoarding money. I've been a member of societies that have between $14,000 and $80,000 in the bank and at annual meetings the board members seem to be proud of this. When I've asked what the funds are earmarked for, the response has been "saving for a rainy day" to "we don't know." I have some suggestions for how these societies could put the funds to good use for their members: adding books to the society's library, paying for the digitization and online availability of records for your geographic area, paying speakers for their services rather than expecting them to donate their time with no honorarium or travel expenses.

2. The journals and newsletters you send out are a waste of paper and usually a waste of my time. The content is of no value to me. Often, newsletter articles are reprints of something I read online months before. Journals and newsletters represent a bygone era. We are in an electronic age. Give me your news and updates via social media and your web site. And if you insist on continuing to publish your newsletters and journals, please give me the option of receiving it digitally. I don't want your paper.

3. Conferences are usually pretty good. But I've been to enough at this point that I'm hearing the same stuff over and over again. A lot of the content is geared toward the beginning genealogist, not those who have been doing this for a long time. And please don't think that you have to fill every minute of the conference day. You don't have to have entertainment at a luncheon, nor do you need an after dinner speaker. You know what genealogists like? We enjoy the opportunity to visit socially with fellow genealogists - to share our stories, our research successes and frustrations. Much of the time I learn more from these informal gatherings than I learn from the conference content. We need that time with each other. Build it into your conference structure. Make sure your conference rooms have tables. Some of us like to take notes - either on paper or electronically. It's extremely difficult to do this when juggling a notepad or laptop.

4. Web sites aren't updated, nor is content removed once an event has occurred. Hopefully, we are all Googlers and it's frustrating when we do a search on a topic, then land on a web page about an event that occurred five years ago. Keep fresh content on your web site. As a society member, I expect that I may have to pay for content that is behind the curtain. Those databases and indexes that are for "members only" is incentive for people to join your society. Make sure your web site indicates the city, town, county and state in which you are located. Your web site also needs to provide a method for contacting you.

5. You need fresh blood. Some of my societies have been recycling the same board members over and over for years. The societies operate from "we've always done it this way" rather than seeking new and innovative ideas.

6. Think outside the box. Learn about new technologies. I applaud the societies I belong to that offer webinars and podcasts. Not everyone is physically able to attend some of your in-person sessions. Remember that your out-of-town and out-of-state members are entitled to a level of membership services, too. I'm always hearing "we want to get younger members" but the societies are not using the social media strategies that attract that audience. And guess what, if you don't have a society member who has those skills, it's okay to use some of that money you are hoarding to pay someone to do it for you. I recently read a comment in a Facebook forum that a well-known member of the genealogy community was rejected as a conference speaker because he would only provide his syllabus in digital form.

7. While thinking outside the box, let go of the annual membership strategy. Whenever I join your society, I expect a full 12 month membership. When I join in June, don't tell me that I have to rejoin in July and pay another full year's membership fee. And let me be able to join online. I want immediate gratification. Don't make me have to write a check, put it in an envelope, find a stamp and go to the post office. 

What I've described is not necessarily representative of all of the societies in which I've been a member. But I've heard the same or similar concerns expressed by fellow genealogists around the country. I want to support you, I want to be a member, but I expect some member services for my dues and I expect you to put a good portion of the money you collect back in to member services. I'll reiterate my earlier idea that you can put this money into your library collection and the digitization of records.

I'll continue to join and support some societies, but certainly not as many as I have in the past. As Bob Dylan sang more than 50 years ago, "the times they are a-changing."

Life Transitions and Family History

Readers of this blog may have noticed that I've been on a bit of "leave of absence" from blogging for the last couple years. From a high of 318 posts in 2010 to only 12 in 2013.

Some of you know that I had been my father's caregiver since 2004. His passing in November of last year was not unexpected; although I still thought we probably had another couple years together. I've said many times that I would not trade those nine years for anything. I was glad that I was able to help him out during those years. He had a stroke in October 2012, which made my decision to retire in January 2013 an easy one. I knew where I was needed most. No matter what, family comes first.

The last year of his life was difficult for him. Every minute of every day revolved around some aspect of his health care. My life changed a lot, too. While not having to go to a job every day was a relief, I still had a full time job, even if it just meant being on "stand by" for those times when I was needed. I didn't get out much, other than to get groceries or make about three trips to the pharmacy each week. If I managed to get out for lunch with a friend, my time frame of being away from home was about 90 minutes maximum. I would not have done things any differently.

The six weeks following Dad's death were a whirlwind of activity. Looking back, I still don't know how I managed to do all I did in such a short time. As I had been living with him for quite a while, many of my possessions were already packed in boxes and stored in his basement. I still own my own house, but that's another story! I knew I had some leeway in the amount of time it would take to empty his house, but I went to work right away. I rented an apartment for myself. I bought all new furnishings so I could make a fresh start. The only piece of furniture that came with me was my desk chair!

I had made some progress in sorting my family photos and genealogy documents into plastic file boxes. Since time was of the essence, some of the loose piles of paper got crammed into a box just to fill things up. As I was emptying out Dad's desk I found a gold mine of family history information and artifacts that I had never seen before. There were newspaper clippings, funeral cards, photos, a plastic bag of some of his father's personal items.

The day before I was scheduled to move, I discovered yet another box of items of his mother's - again, something I hadn't seen before, with photo albums, legal papers, certificates, you name it. I had no time to look through them - everything just got added to a box. It was bad enough that there was about 50 years of bank statements Dad kept, but he had also hung on to about 10 years of his mother's bank statements. I finally gave up doing the shredding, moved the boxes of items "to be shredded" and will either take them to a commercial shredding company or wait for one of the "community shredding days" we have during the year.

I admit to having been a collector/hoarder of books, CDs and DVDs. As I began going through my personal boxes I knew it was time to start walking the talk and downsize my own possessions. By the time I was done, 30 boxes of my books, music and movies were left behind to add to the estate sale. I've got most of my music available in the Amazon cloud and my favorite movies can be streamed on either Amazon or Netflix. Books? Well, I'm a Kindle user, so that was a no brainer for me.

My plastic file boxes were pretty well labeled. So much so that one of the moving guys said to me, "So, you do genealogy?" I wish I'd had more time to recruit him to join our local society!

I delayed Dad's memorial service/celebration of life for five weeks - until after I had moved out of his house, and just a few days prior to the estate sale. I'm glad I did because it gave me the time I needed to write my memorial tribute/eulogy, which I posted on this blog last month. I wrote it in one sitting, with just some minor edits a few days later. It's not something I could have written in only a few days after his death. And I wanted his service to be as perfect as I could make it.

The beginning of my family heritage center

I've been in my new place about six weeks now. A project that is evolving as I do an initial sort of those family history file boxes is the creation of a family heritage center in the entertainment center I bought. No 50" TV for me. I'm filling it with family artifacts. Dad was the last of my immediate family. So it's just me now. But I have this need to keep my family as an integral part of my life. I guess you could call it my mini-museum. There's not enough room for all of the photographs I've scanned, so I have a digital photo frame as part of my display. Maybe it's a bit self-indulgent, but it's my home and it's my way of keeping my family in my life.

I have a table top curio cabinet on order so I can display some of the items that belonged to my parents, grandparents and great grandparents. I'll post a photo once I have it in place.

My parents as teenagers, doing what they loved the most;
Dad playing baseball and Mom in her riding outfit - horses were her life.

It's been quite a transition. My life is no longer divided up in two hour blocks of time. I can spend time with friends, enjoy long lunches. I'm already planning my trips to state, regional and national conferences throughout 2014.

Because I've moved on does not mean that I love my Dad any less. He had a good, fulfilling life for a long time. Now, a year after my official retirement, I actually begin my retirement life - a life that will be focused on preserving and documenting my family history.

Turning To A New Page

My Last Day on
The Day Job

On January 31, 2013 my life entered the next phase: that of a retiree after 40 years in public service and 42 years in the work force. I've been saying that the planets must have come into perfect alignment for me. For the last several months all of the signs have been moving me toward this decision. It was time to move on.

And it's time to pursue my passion - genealogy. That passion takes a variety of shapes - researching my own family history, teaching classes and giving lectures on genealogy, and devoting a significant amount of time doing volunteer work for my local genealogical society, Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society (LLCGS).

It seems as though genealogy has really caught fire in Nebraska in the last couple years. There are so many classes, workshops and conferences available for furthering our genealogy education. Even as a newly retired person with a flexible schedule, I'm not going to be able to attend everything that comes along.

But - plans for 2013 include the genealogy conference at the Family History Center in Lincoln on April 20; the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society spring conference featuring Paul Milner on April 27; the Nebraska State Genealogical Society annual conference May 3 - 4 in Grand Island; the Family History Expo in Kearney on September 6 -7. Now I've learned that there are plans for a Roots Tech conference in Kansas City. And then there are the online webinars and hangouts!

The genealogy cup runneth over! And as passionate as I am about genealogy, I'm also about having balance in my life. There are several writing projects that I've been putting off that I plan to spend time on. I want to get out and about and rediscover my hometown and post more photographs on My Lincoln Photo Blog. I've also started writing a blog documenting my life as a new retiree, It's a Retirement Life. It's not an ego trip and I don't expect most people to be all that interested. But I tend to see life and the world around me from a quirky perspective and I'll be sharing that perspective with readers. I'm also continuing to write a genealogy column for Lincoln 55+ Seniors Paper.

I also plan to maintain and expand my skills. While no longer employed, I still like to take classes on computer software, public speaking and other topics of interest. Lincoln has a wealth of educational opportunities, especially for seniors.

I'm looking forward to being active, involved, continuing to learn and grow as a person. I've waited an awfully long time for retirement and I intend to make the best of it. Please come along for the ride!

Third Blogiversary of LongLostRelatives - Year in Review

Time rolls around so quickly! It's really hard for me to believe that LongLostRelatives.net is already three years old, having been born on December 13 in 2009. 2010 clearly was a landmark year for my blogging, with more than 300 posts that year. 2011 slipped down to a little over 200. This year, I averaged about one post per week, but my reasons for being AWOL from blogging were addressed in my Transitions post.

But LongLostRelatives.net is still attracting readers and serving as cousin bait. Just last week, I received an email from someone who was searching a common ancestor and found the blog. I still get a kick out of hearing from people, sharing our research and discussing our theories.

Evelyn Gibbons obituary
Discovered at W Dale Clark Library
in Omaha

2012 marked coming around full circle. My first blog post was in the form of a query; I was looking for an obituary to confirm if some information I discovered was truly about my Mom's first cousin. It took me nearly three years to discover that obituary, and it was almost in my own back yard, just an hour's drive away at the W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha.




LLCGS

2012 also marked the year of my return to volunteerism. I've been a member of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society on and off for many years. Now, having been a member for seven years in a row, it was time to start giving back. I had approached LLCGS about doing social media via Facebook almost three years ago, but they weren't quite ready for it. When 2012 rolled around, the President asked if I would be publicity chair and one of the first things I did was to set up our LLCGS Facebook page, a blog and Twitter feed. These methods of communication are integral to our full publicity efforts, and along with our webmaster and newsletter editor, we are communicating with our members and followers in a variety of ways.

In the late summer, I was elected as a member at large to the LLCGS Board of Directors. Yes, I chaired the nominating committee, but I was NOT my own first choice for a position on the Board! As I spoke with the movers and shakers of the society, several of them suggested I consider myself for the open position. After some persuasion, I realized I could do a much better job with our publicity and social media if I were involved in the oversight of the organization, so I agreed. I haven't looked back since.

LLCGS is, by far, one of the most exciting community organizations I've been involved with in many years. There is so much enthusiasm and support for genealogy education in our community. It's fun to be a part of that. Our group offers excellent monthly programs, a conference with a nationally recognized speaker, monthly discussion groups, field trips, and weekly sessions at Walt Branch Library in Lincoln. These Sunday Sessions may focus on DNA, Technology, a Writer's Group, Sharing our Family History, German Genealogy Interest Group as well as drop-in Help sessions for members and the community. Walt Branch Library is becoming "the" place to be for genealogists on Sunday afternoons. Just wait until you see the line-up of events we are planning for 2013! There truly is something for everyone.

Genealogy Speaking

I also continued to dabble in giving talks about genealogy. For LLCGS, I gave a presentation on genealogy blogs. During the summer, I was invited back to W. Dale Clark Library in Omaha and debuted my talk about newspaper research. This fall, I was guest of the Friends of Wymore Library for a talk about beginning genealogy. And I'm starting to line up a few more speaking engagements for 2013.

Homestead National Monument and Beatrice, Nebraska

Homestead National
Monument of America
near Beatrice, Nebraska

Over Memorial Day weekend, I finally made it to the Homestead National Monument to see all of the pages of the Homestead Act - the first time all of the pages were on display together. Right before my eyes was that familiar signature of President Lincoln.

I took a lot of photos in the museum and around the prairie grounds that still look much the way they probably did 150 years ago. It was a sunny, peaceful and quiet Saturday morning that left me exhilarated.

I then spent some time getting acquainted with the genealogy materials at the Beatrice Public Library, which is also where the collection of the Nebraska State Genealogical Society is located. I didn't have a research plan in mind - I just wanted to find my way around and see what they had. Then, a true example of social media in action occurred. I've been following Jenna Mills' search for her Buffalo county, Nebraska roots, particularly in Amherst, Nebraska. There, on one shelf, a thick book with the word "Amherst" on the spine caught my eye. I sent off a quick message on Facebook to Jenna to get her surnames. Messages between us then became fast and furious as I discovered pages of information about her family. I was as excited as if it had been my own family! She later said that she just kept clicking on Refresh, waiting as I kept sending more scans to her from the library. I got the biggest kick out of that!

I also drove around Beatrice and found the locations of where my great grandmother, Clara Pecht, had lived after the death of her husband, LeRoy. One appeared to be a vacant lot; another was the site of a church. So, clearly, there are more stories to be discovered in some land records.

Conferences and Kick-Offs

2012 marked the release of the 1940 census and I was involved in the Census Kick-Off celebration sponsored by LLCGS. Judi Cook, our program chair at the time, is a whiz at organizing events with so much attention to detail. People wore 1940s attire, someone brought a vintage 1940s automobile, there was 1940s food and candy (oh, it was Fresh, the items were first on the market in the 1940s!). I put together a music loop of some of my favorite Big Band music to accompany a slide show about the 1940s. It was a great event!

Laura Prescott at the state conference
of the Nebraska State Genealogical Society

In May, I attended the annual conference of the Nebraska State Genealogical Society in Grand Island and became acquainted with our speaker, Laura Prescott. She was fascinating and gave a lot of ideas about resources and techniques I want to pursue. I finally got to meet several of my Nebraska Facebook friends in person, so that was a special treat.

September brought Family History Expos to Kearney, with a turnout of about 300 people! It was great to reconnect with old friends from Lincoln and Omaha as well as other parts of the state. Ruby Coleman of North Platte was our keynote speaker.

Fall brought Hank Jones Jr. to the LLCGS conference in October. He was delightful! And YES, a GOOD speaker can do a full day of entertaining lectures and education without the use of PowerPoint slides! Unfortunately, I missed seeing John Colletta in Omaha two weeks later as I was still keeping an eye on my Dad who had a stroke the day after the Hank Jones conference. (He continues to improve, by the way, thank you to everyone who wrote with your positive thoughts and encouragement).

Reconnecting with the Geneabloggers

While I wasn't able to attend some of the big genealogy gatherings around the country this year, I was able to meet up with some blogger buddies who I first met at the Family History Expo in Kansas City in 2010.

Gena Philibert-Ortega was a presenter at the International Quilt Museum symposium here in Lincoln this year. We were able to get together for lunch at Lazlo's and share a very wonderful spinach and artichoke lavosh. We didn't have a whole lot of time together, but it was Quality time!

I was certainly disappointed in missing the John Colletta conference sponsored by the Greater Omaha Genealogical Society in October - because I had made plans to spend the day with my friend, Diana Ritchie who writes the Random Relatives blog, who has been a very good pal since we met in Kansas City two years ago. I owe her for taking me down the Kindle path! Fortunately, we already had Plan B ready. Her friend, Nancy, has connections in Lincoln and her grandparents are buried at Wyuka Cemetery here. We met bright and early for breakfast on a Sunday morning. I got to look at the beautiful book that Nancy had compiled via Ancestry.com. Then we scouted Wyuka looking for gravestones. Wyuka has THE BEST resource for locating graves on their web site. Every one is indexed and searchable and then there are maps for each section of the cemetery. One wishes that every cemetery had something this genealogist-friendly.

A short distance from Wyuka was the home and former grocery store that had belonged to Nancy's grandparents that she remembered from her visits to Lincoln. We walked around as Nancy and Diana took photographs. Of course, one of the neighbors wanted to know what the heck we were nosing about for!

Getting our Tech Together

This year I also set up two discussion groups on Facebook where we can talk about Kindle for Genealogy and Technology for Genealogy. Recently, I even created an iPad for Genealogy community on Google+. Please drop by any and all of these groups to ask questions and provide your answers for others. My thanks to Becky Jamison and Thomas MacEntee for their help in maintaining the groups.

As I look back over 2012, even I am amazed at all of my genealogical activities - because I thought it was a pretty tame and laid back year. Apparently not!

With my retirement now less than 40 days away (but who's counting?), I am really looking forward to 2013 and more volunteering with LLCGS, more speaking engagements, more blogging, more blog reading, more scanning, more organizing, more research, more conferences, more day trips, more of Everything that I Love!

I have no doubt that 2013 will be an amazing year!

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to all! And to all a good night!

Love, Susan

Transitions

Readers of LongLostRelatives.net may have noticed my conspicuous absence from the blogging world the last few months, even though I've continued to remain active on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

But I'm getting back in the swing again after some life interruptions and just being very busy!

I've written before about being my father's caregiver for the last few years. Dad had a stroke in October and I took several weeks off work to aid in his recovery. Fortunately, he had no paralysis, but he has aphasia, the inability to always be able to say the words he wants to say. His speech is gradually coming back and we actually were able to have a fairly lengthy conversation last evening and most of the desired words were there.

His loss of communication skills hit the genealogist in me very hard. I've been with him for eight years and clearly, I took our daily interaction and his stories about his life for granted. I've made a few recordings of his reminiscences, but I guess I always thought I would have more time to do that. As he lay in the hospital, unable to find the most basic words to convey his needs, I began to grieve the loss of the stories I might never hear again.

My advice to all my fellow family historians: record and document those stories NOW - before it's too late. We are all living on borrowed time, so capture the memories while you can.

I'm happy to report that Dad has eased back into his daily routine and we are returning to the life that is "normal" for us.

During the time I was off work, I had plenty of time to contemplate my own life, what I want to do with the rest of it and easily made the decision to give up my day job after 40 years of public service with the state of Nebraska. Since I've made it official, I can now share that information. My last day of work will be January 31, 2013. To say that I'm giddy about being able to devote more time to family history, genealogy speaking and writing is an understatement. I'm really going to be able to live my dream and do what is best for Dad and me. I think he is even more excited than I am!

The "busy" part is due to having been elected to the board of directors of the Lincoln-Lancaster County Genealogical Society in August. This is a very exciting time for our society as we branch out with our weekly education activities and special interest groups, in addition to our monthly programs. We have some very exciting programs and events in the works for 2013. We will be finalizing those plans at a committee meeting this Sunday. It has also been fun to gear up our online presence with our Facebook page, Twitter feed and blog. Al Harlow, our webmaster, does a great job with the LLCGS web site - and all of our online activities feed into one another. We sponsored a fall conference featuring Hank Jones, Jr. in October. He's one of the best!

In October, I was guest speaker at the Wymore Public Library in Wymore, Nebraska. My talk was sponsored by the Friends of the Wymore Library. I had a great time - many thanks to Jan and Janet for making that possible.

Thanks to the readers of LongLostRelatives.net for your continued and ongoing support. I'm looking forward to a fun and exciting 2013! And more frequent blogging!

Other Ways to Honor Your Ancestors

Many of us spend quite a bit of our family history research time tracking down obituaries, death certificates and  walking through cemeteries. Perhaps your ancestors lived and died hundreds or thousands of miles away from where you live. Maybe they don't have a grave marker. There are other ways you can honor their memory without erecting a tombstone.

A few years ago, one of my favorite arts organizations, Friends of the Lied (supporters of the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska) sponsored a fundraising activity where patrons could purchase a commemorative brick which would then be placed on the grounds of the Lied Center. It was a tax deductible charitable contribution.

Maybe it was my ego, maybe I thought I would disappear into oblivion after my demise - whatever the reason at the time, I decided to contribute and purchased a brick. The inscription was just to denote the year of my graduation from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It seemed appropriate since the Lied Center is housed on the University campus.

I've heard from a few genealogists who have done something similar to honor their parents, grandparents or other family member. It's especially nice if the location or organization is a good match for one of your ancestor's favorite interests or charities. And it helps out a worthwhile cause at the same time.

With some of the horror stories we keep reading about the destruction and vandalism of cemeteries, this might be an inexpensive way for families to still have something concrete (pardon the pun) that will honor their life.

If you have done something similar, I'd like to hear about it. Please leave a comment below.

Open Discussion Weekend - What's Your Guilty Pleasure?

Technically, it's still the weekend since today is the legal holiday for Christmas. I had been contemplating this topic for a few days, then I read Leah Kleylein's post, Let's Start Again, on her Random Notes blog.

Those of us in the genealogy blogging community spend much of our time writing about our own research, sharing our discoveries, reviewing new products and engage in stimulating discussion about our hobby/profession. But if you're like Leah or me, you may have taken a "walk on the dark side" - spending minutes, hours or days with other activities (or addictions) besides genealogy.

Sometimes, I just have to take a break from hanging out with the dead relatives. And those guilty pleasures have been drawing me away from genealogy the last four or five weeks. Well, let's face it, it all started with the arrival of my Kindle Fire, which I've already blogged about in my reviews of the product.

Apps and Games

The device has barely left my side since it arrived, but have I been using it primarly as an e-reader? Not quite. Rather than reading two or three books a week as I did on my old Kindle, I've only read about three books in the last month. What have I been doing instead? Checking out the Android Apps for the Kindle, downloading them, discarding many, keeping quite a few. Angry Birds was much too slow for me, but my time on Treasures of Montezuma borders on addiction.

Then there are the apps for magazine subscriptions - I've definitely been enjoying the tablet versions of Time,  Vanity Fair, Consumer Reports and the Smithsonian. I've also been receiving my issues of Family Tree Magazine in digital format (Adobe pdf), which is easy enough to read on the Kindle.

Let's Rock and Roll!

I've also spent quite a lot of time over the past month converting my hundreds of music CDs to mp3 format - to archive on an external drive as well as backed up in the Amazon cloud. And that also means that I've spent quite a bit of time this past month downloading dozens of free Christmas tunes from Amazon. And filling in some of my Sixties music collection with some Greatest Hits collections from my era. And some Rat Pack tunes, and a few modern country as well. It's nice to pull up my cloud collection either on the Kindle or computer and be able to listen to the songs that have provided the soundtrack for my life. In other words, I just finished uploading the entire Beatles catalog to the cloud. Next up is a collection of about 100 Paul McCartney CDs to convert and upload.

Roku Madness

As though playing with the Kindle wasn't enough, about a week and a half ago I bought a Roku video streamer box. Wowee - I though that the DVR had revolutionized the way I consume TV and movies, but since getting the Roku, "regular" TV has not even been on. I already had subscriptions to Netflix and Amazon Prime for live video streaming. I will admit, trying to watch a movie on the Kindle Fire isn't that exciting. A coworker mentioned he had a Roku, so I looked into them and selected one that best met my "needs". Clearly, a Kindle Fire and a Roku were not "needs" of my pioneer ancestors!

In addition to Amazon and Netflix, the Roku offers more than 400 video channels, many of which are free. One of the free channels I like is the BYU channel which includes The Generations Project genealogy show. Hmm ... it seems like I'm trying to justify my guilty pleasures by associating their use to a genealogy application. I've also become addicted to the "24" TV series starring Kiefer Sutherland. I'd never watched it when it aired, so I'm starting with Season One. It's always intrigued me that a non-violent person such as myself happens to love crime shows.

Reality?

I also find myself frittering away my time with Gene Simmons Family Jewels, Celebrity Apprentice, Amazing Race and Survivor. And the alphabet crime shows such as NCIS and CSI.

So there you have it. I've come clean about my "dark side" away from genealogy. Do you have the courage to admit to your guilty pleasures? If so, please post in the comments section below.

Meme Time Again: Tech Savvy Genealogist

Another fun meme is going around about genealogy and technology. This one was originated by Jill Ball of Geniaus. 

The Tech Savvy Genealogists' Meme

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

• Things you have already done or found: bold face type
• Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
• Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Feel free to add extra comments in brackets after each item!

Here's my responses!

Which of these apply to you?

1. Own an Android or Windows tablet or an iPad
2. Use a tablet or iPad for genealogy related purposes
3. Have used Skype for genealogy purposes - have used Skype for non-genealogy purposes.
4. Have used a camera to capture images in a library/archives/ancestor's home
5. Use a genealogy software program on your computer to manage your family tree
6. Have a Twitter account
7. Tweet daily
8. Have a genealogy blog - duh! you're reading it!
9. Have more then one genealogy blog - see Nothing But Tombstones
10. Have lectured/presented to a genealogy group on a technology topic - genealogy blogging!
11. Currently an active member of Genealogy Wise.
12. Have a Facebook Account
13. Have connected with genealogists via Facebook
14. Maintain a genealogy related Facebook Page - recently started the Nebraska Genea-Peeps group
15. Maintain a blog or website for a genealogy society
16. Have submitted text corrections online to Ancestry, Trove or a similar site
17. Have registered a domain name - Many!
18. Post regularly to Google+ 
19. Have a blog listed on Geneabloggers
20. Have transcribed/indexed records for FamilySearch or a similar project
21. Own a Flip-Pal or hand-held scanner
22. Can code a webpage in .html - that's how a lot of this web stuff started - writing code
23. Own a smartphone - I plan to hold out as long as possible
24. Have a personal subscription to one or more paid genealogy databases
25. Use a digital voice recorder to record genealogy lectures
26. Have contributed to a genealogy blog carnival
27. Use Chrome as a Web browser
28. Have participated in a genealogy webinar
29. Have taken a DNA test for genealogy purposes - 23andMe.com
30. Have a personal genealogy website
31. Have found mention of an ancestor in an online newspaper archive - HUNDREDS
32. Have tweeted during a genealogy lecture
33. Have scanned your hardcopy genealogy files
34. Use an RSS Reader to follow genealogy news and blogs
35. Have uploaded a gedcom file to a site like Geni, MyHeritage or Ancestry (WikiTree at http://www.wikitree.com)
36. Own a netbook
37. Use a computer/tablet/smartphone to take genealogy lecture notes
38. Have a profile on LinkedIn that mentions your genealogy habit
39. Have developed a genealogy software program, app or widget
40. Have listened to a genealogy podcast online
41. Have downloaded genealogy podcasts for later listening
42. Backup your files to a portable hard drive
43. Have a copy of your genealogy files stored offsite
44. Know about Rootstech
45. Have listened to a Blogtalk radio session about genealogy
46. Use Dropbox, SugarSync or other service to save documents in the cloud 
47. Schedule regular email backups 
48. Have contriibuted to the FamilySearch Research Wiki 
49. Have scanned and tagged your genealogy photographs
50. Have published a genealogy book in an online/digital format

I suppose it's safe to say that I am a genea-techno-geek, eh?

September 11 - 10 years later

There's nothing more that I can add to what I wrote one year ago today. Take time to remember and reflect.

September 11 - Time to Remember

Meme: 99 (Plus) Genealogy Things

A meme is going around Geneabloggers' circles about 99 (or more) genealogy things you've done, not done or have no desire to do. It's been going viral lately and I thought I would join the party. The latest version was created by Becky at the Kinexxions blog.

Rules are simple:

The list should be annotated in the following manner:

Things you have already done or found: bold face type
Things you would like to do or find: italicize (color optional)
Things you haven’t done or found and don’t care to: plain type

Here's mine, with some variations of my own:

1.  Belong to a genealogical society. Several!

2.  Researched records onsite at a court house. I'm still finding information online and in my own personal family archives. Once I get through that, maybe I'll have time to do the "real" research.

3.  Transcribed records.

4.  Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave. And have taken some volunteer photos. And I'm always willing to transfer memorials to people who are more closely related to a subject.

5.  Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents). And beyond.

6.  Joined Facebook. And Twitter. And Google Plus. And LinkedIn.

7.  Helped to clean up a run-down cemetery.

8.  Joined the Geneabloggers Group on Facebook. And more. And created a group for Nebraska researchers - the Nebraska Genea-Peeps.

9.  Attended a genealogy conference. Several.

10.  Lectured at a genealogy conference. My first big speaking gig was at the 2011 Land Records and Genealogy conference sponsored by Homestead National Monument of America and Southeast Community College. What an honor to be invited.

11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society. I've been invited, so this will occur in the coming months. Shameless plug: SusanPetersen.net

12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.

13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.

14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society. When I know I am able to make the time commitment I'd love to.

15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery. You haven't?

16. Talked to dead ancestors. I get along much better with them than with living relatives.

17. Researched outside the state in which I live.

18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants. Actually, the first time, a group of us were invited. A few years later, my cousins and I dropped in unannounced and the current owners were very gracious.

19. Cold called a distant relative. Not a call, but I believe I should write to the first cousin whose baby book I have. There's been no contact with our family since he was two years old. I do have his address and phone number. But not a lot of nerve.

20. Posted messages on a surname message board.

21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.

22. Googled my name. You haven't?

23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness. Among the most rewarding aspects of genealogy.

24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it. I work on the trees of friends when I get stumped on my own.

25. Have been paid to do genealogical research. No way. No how. I have enough to stay busy the rest of my life doing my own research.

26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research. No way. No how. I have enough to stay busy the rest of my life doing my own research.

27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.

28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.

29. Responded to messages on a message board or forum.

30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion. Not exactly on my bucket list.

31. Participated in a genealogy meme.

32. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.).

33. Performed a record lookup for someone else.

34. Went on a genealogy seminar cruise. An inland trip is more to my liking.

35. Am convinced that a relative must have arrived here from outer space. No, but sometimes I think that I might have.

36. Found a disturbing family secret. Others may think so. I'm not too easily shocked.

37. Told others about a disturbing family secret. What would you do if an ancestor killed his daughter and then committed suicide?

38. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking).

39. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby.

40. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons).

41. Taught someone else how to find their roots.

42. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure. Nope. This was the year I discovered cloud storage. Thank you, Dropbox. Plus, I upload as much as possible to my tree on Ancestry.com.

43. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology. Not so much overwhelmed, but amazed.

44. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher. Does knowing them online count?

45. Disproved a family myth through research. A family history that was published 40+ years ago stated that my murderous ancestor "drowned while trying to save his daughter from drowning and they both died." Finding some newspaper articles from the time of the event (1851) contradicted that myth.

46. Got a family member to let you copy photos. And now wondering why I didn't label them with names. Hindsight is 20/20.

47. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.

48. Translated a record from a foreign language. This may be pushing it. Used Google translate feature on some Danish records.

49. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record. Who would have believed that the Danish immigrants would be the first (and so far, only) ones I would find. They changed the family surname every generation until they arrived in America.

50. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. And still have the printouts.

51. Used microfiche.

52. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.

53. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.

54. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.

55. Taught a class in genealogy. I love seeing the instant someone gets hooked on this hobby.

56. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.

57. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. Hmm. well, I've connected my kin to a published family history. I'm not sure that counts.

58. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century.

59. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents.

60. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.

61. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer. Well, I read an article about this once.

62. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.

63. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills. Bought this even before I ever heard of Elizabeth Shown Mills.

64. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.

65. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.

66. Visited the Library of Congress. On vacation, not to do research.

67. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower. Francis Cooke and Stephen Hopkins.

68. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. John Laymon

69. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone. Duh! Of course. And there's a lot who don't have tombstones.

70. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.

71. Can read a church record in Latin. Et tu, Brute. No thanks. 

72. Have an ancestor who changed their name.

73. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list. I'm moderator of the Cass County, Nebraska list.

74. Created a family website.

75. Have more than one "genealogy" blog. Like genealogy, blogging is addictive.

76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. Overwhelmed by what I found in my own boxes of Stuff.

77. Have broken through at least one brick wall.

78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.

79. Borrowed a microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.

80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.

81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the "Psychic Roots" variety. All the time.

83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. John Bellinger.

84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.

85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.

86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.

87. Use maps in my genealogy research.

88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.

89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors.

93. Consistently cite my sources. I can do better.

94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don't live in) in search of ancestors.

95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. If it's been digitized, yes.

96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more).

97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.

98. Organized a family reunion.

99. Published a family history book (on one of my families). Really want to publish a book on four generations of the Kelly family in America, but I haven't found all of the collateral lines yet.

100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research. It is very, very weird to learn of a family death via my Google Reader. It's happened a few times now.

101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.

102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance. Let's hope not.

103. Offended a family member with my research. Possibly, I don't know for sure. A cousin once asked that I not include her first husband (and the father of her children) in the family tree.

104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

So, how did I score? 62. More than I expected when I started this exercise.