Tag Archives: research

Ready….Set…Study!

Tomorrow is January 16, 2013. Not a particularly auspicious day, but it will be the first time I’ve been back in school in over 40 years! Well, saying that I’ll be “in school” is a stretch because in the 21st century you can be “in school” and in the living room at home at the same time. So, we’ve broken at least one of the basic tenets of physics: an object can now be in 2 places at the same time! And I’m here to say it works.

I’m not intimidated about taking a class even if it is Boston University, but I’m a little intimidated about the fact that it wasn’t cheap and I feel highly motivated to be successful…no pressure!!! Making a time commitment; doing the reading; writing the assignments; passing…and all in a mere 16 weeks. Wish me luck!

The class will be a very intensive course in genealogical research. In it, I hope to expand my knowledge of where to go to get the data I need and what to do with it once I’ve found it! It’s not good enough to just find something at somebody’s web site and transcribe the information. It’s all about documentation, sources and proof. There are certainly many challenges, many of which I’m likely not even aware of.

I’m always aware that I don’t know what I don’t know, and that’s what makes this new adventure so interesting. Since I obviously don’t know what I haven’t learned yet, the prospect of improving my skills in multiple areas is a pretty exciting prospect. Although I’m arguably a bit of an expert in my “other career”, genealogy can be a daunting field to undertake. Just reading blogs from other expert researchers over the past year or so shows that just having a subscription to a couple of genealogy web sites barely scratches the surface.

I’ll continue to post about the course….if I have the time!

Please visit Old Bones Genealogy and Family Research

“Lest We Forget” January 16, 1913…Clem gets the days mixed up!

This is the diary "Lest We Forget", a small 4X5 book in its 100th year!

This is the diary “Lest We Forget”, a small 4X5 book in its 100th year!

Here’s today’s entry:
We did a little better today. Weather was a little warmer about 10⁰ below. Steve and I walked to Carval (?) left Stony Plain at 1 oclock and got back at 3.25 PM. 17 miles. Cullerne went to Edmonton in the afternoon. I wrote to Jim Fisher.

[Note: At this point in the diary, Clem started filling in Saturdays’ log on Friday’s page. So he crossed out “Friday” and “17” and wrote in “Saturday” and “18”. Then he did the same for Saturday and Sunday, making “Saturday” “Sunday, January 19” and “Sunday” “Friday, January 17”. In the interest of accuracy and to maintain the way the diary was written, I have followed the exact transcription as it appears.]

January 15, 1913 aboard the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway….

….or what would become the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway! Clem mentions “the car” which is, of course, the railcar where they lived throughout the construction project.  No mention of the temperature today, but it did snow.  So much for today’s weather report!

Here’s today’s entry in “Lest We Forget”:

Steve and I in the car all day keeping on the fire.  Weather about the same as yesterday with a little snow.  No work all day.  I went out in the afternoon an (sic) started to clean the flat car.  I just got it cleaned when it started to snow.  All that work for nothing.  Cullerne came home on the mixed about 4.30 PM.  I wrote home to father.

 

Winter Scenes...Huge Snow Removal Car Up Front

Winter Scenes…Huge Snow Removal Car Up Front

I’ve never said, “…a little warmer about 15 below…” !!!

Below is the diary entry for January 14, 1913. There are a few words on this page that I can’t figure out, but I’ve come as close as I can. For example, I don’t know what a “clavor” is or an “elavor” for that matter. If anyone out there knows, post a reply! For now, it’s the best I can make out from the handwriting. Maybe a “clavor” is a railroad term or maybe it’s hard to read because his hands wouldn’t stop shaking from the cold! Good grief….15 below!!!

If you’re at all interested in the Grand Trunk Pacific, there’s an article at this link at Wikipedia.

Here’s the transcription of what he wrote 100 years ago today:

Weather a little warmer about 15 below. We stayed in the car all morning. Cullerne went west on the mixed he had some work on the line. In the afternoon Steve and I went out and staked out the clavors/ elavors at Stony Plain worked about 2 hours. After supper Steve and I had 2 games of Pool. Then went home to bed. 9.30 good hours.

Cold Snap Continues in “Lest We Forget” Saturday, January 11, 1913

The cold snap conitnues and yet Clem and Steve still made it “uptown” for some relaxation.

Saturday, January 11, 1913:

Same old story stayed in the car all day could not work as it was only 35 below.  We found it bad enough to go to our meals.  I had to get up at 5.30 to put on a fire or we might have been frozen.  Steve and I went uptown and played 4 games of pool then went back to the car.  The first pool we played for some days.

Wilbraham Public Library: Full House for Session III

Wilbraham Public Library Session III

Wilbraham Public Library Session III

This was Session III of “Introduction to Genealogy and Family Research”.  This session was titled “Becoming a Genealogy Detective”.  Maybe that why so many people showed up!  This crowd was double the number of people who attended Session II last December.  We managed to get through all the material planned for the night.  Lots of great questions and great audience participation.  Although the program was scheduled to end at 8 PM, only one person left at 8….everyone else stuck around for an additional half hour.       These sessions were held under the auspices of the Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society.  WMGS holds monthly meetings in Agawam, MA 10 months of the year where speakers on a wide variety of subjects make presentations which are free.  Membership is only $20/year.

Clem Dickson Diary “Lest We Forget” Wednesday, January 8, 1913

Keep in mind that when my grandfather, Clem Dickson, wrote this diary 100 years ago, he was working on the construction of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad in northwest Canada, a bitterly cold and primal wilderness .  He worked with the team that was responsible for construction westward from Winnipeg, Manitoba toward the team that began in Prince Rupert, British Columbia and worked eastward toward Winnipeg a total distance of about 1,500 miles.

[NOTE: I make no attempt to interpret what he wrote.  What I’ll be posting every day this year is a simple transcription of each page of the diary as he wrote it.]

Here’s the entry:

Stayed in the 7 spot all day and kept on the fire all day.  Weather was about 24 below and a cold wind blowing the same as day before and snow blowing.  Wrote two letters in the afternoon one to J/A/ R. Bob Dickson Nan(?)

Introduction to Genealogy—Becoming a Genealogy Detective!

Anyone near Wilbraham, MA tonight is welcome to stop at the Wilbraham Public Library tonight.  It’s the 3rd in a 4 part series “Introduction to Genealogy”.  Each week there have been more and more participants so feel free to call the library at 413-596-6141 to make sure there’ll be room!  Based on the popularity, I can see that there just might be some future programs.  The last in this series will be held February 11th where we’ll work on individual pedigree charts and whatever other subjects may come up.

This series is “sponsored” by the Western Massachusetts Genealogy Society (WMGS) in an effort to help people who are interested in family research and encourage them to take part in courses such as these and introduce them to WMGS.  Annual membership is only $20 and includes 10 monthly meetings held locally.

Over the full 4 sessions, we cover the basics of research, web sites (free and low-cost), definitions (soundex, vital records, etc), specific resources, naturalization, immigration, Ellis Island, name changes, spelling variations and “myth busting”!

Hopefully, some of you can make it tonight!  See you there.

Boston University: Genealogy Research Course On-Line

Today I begin a 16 week on-line course with Boston University to refine my genealogical research skills and, hopefully, learn, learn, learn! I hope that it pays off, mostly in the content that I’ll be able to present in the courses and classes that I’ve been conducting! Wish me luck!!

Old Bones on LCTV—Interviewing Relatives

Here’s the video of my interview with “Mrs Buttercup” for Ludlow Community Televisoion. I’m describing the value of contacting relatives for the purpose of learning about their childhood, where they grew up, what their family life was like, what games they played as children and dozens more questions. All of this in the interest of making the cold dry facts of genealogy research come to life by “putting some meat on the bones”, telling a real family story, give your family history some color and make it interesting.  Click this link and take a look: Old Bones on Interviewing Relatives for Family Research.  The sooner a good family researcher gets to their family members, the better the chance to capture the treasures of their memories.

Questions are tailored to trigger those memories.  Here are some examples: “Did you go to your grandmother’s for special dinners, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc?”, “Do you have pleasant memories of the aromas in her kitchen?”, “Can you still “smell them at times?”, “Did your family eat dinner together at the table?”, “Did everyone have their own place to sit?”.  These questions should elicit more than a one word response; they should be the foundation of stories as the person you are interviewing begins to remember their childhood and how they interacted with their family.  Good or bad, you’re sure to get some great stories.  When I interviewed my Great Aunt Sarah, we got to talking about some of the mischief she was involved in.  She admitted to me (and I was the first to hear her “confession”!) that she was the one who painted the neighbor’s cat blue when she was about 7 years old.  She never really liked that cat!!

If you’re going to take on this as a project and get some interviews, I strongly recommend using a digital recorder.  Get permission to use it in the interview.  Some people can be very intimidated by a recording device and small digital recorders can just sit on the table without microphones and other recording technology.  Very soon into the interview, everyone will just forget that it’s there.  After you get permission, ask AGAIN after the recording starts.  You may be getting along just fine today, but you want to make sure that the person’s voice can be clearly heard agreeing to taping the interview .  Not that you’re going to publish the recording or put it in the public donain, but it’s a good idea to get approval!  Take your time…you’re probably not going to get this done in one session.

I’ll be hosting some classes in the interview process and possibly record a “lesson” to post on YouTube wich I’d link here.

Stay tuned!