Tag Archives: genealogy

New England Regional Genealogical Conference

After a few difficult years due to COVID, the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium (NERGC) was able to put together a very rewarding program, the 17th as a matter of fact. Dozens of experts from around the US and Canada came together to share their expertise in virtually every aspect of genealogical research. That would include basic family research, advanced research strategies, DNA, finding “lost” relatives, using on-line and off-line resources and on and on. The one attendee who, I believe, came the longest way is a colleagued of mine who hails from Australia.

This year signals my last term as president, a post I’ve held for about 6 years. I’m glad to pass the torch! At the end of June, we will be having the last meeting of the 2023 group then begin preparations for the 18th NERGC convention in 2025.

Over the years, we have grown from a small group that needed simply a large restaurant to produce the event. This year, the event took place in the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, Massachusetts. It’s the same venue that has hosted national and international entertainers such as Cher, Staind, John Mulaney, Celtic Women, and other. Upcoming are Amy Poehler and Tina Fey, Glady Knight, and Bruno Mars to name a few.

And that’s not counting the events that take place in the arena on the other side of the building. The Springfield Thunderbirds American Hockey League team, circuses, basketball games and countless other events.

Altogether this year, a little over 700 people attended. Admittedly, that’s a bit short of the last convention in 2019 where we welcomed over 1,000 attendees. Nonetheless, the speakers were dynamic, the exhibit hall was chock full, and the food served for the luncheons and dinners was beyond compare.

For those of you who have interests in genealogy and its related fields, keep an eye on www.nergc.org.

See you all in 2025!

Not the First…and Not the Last

I feel compelled to address the current pandemic and how it has affected many genealogical researchers.  For me, I spend most of my time in my office which is in the basement of our home. So being down there all day (and sometimes all night!) is not a big stretch. But I can completely sympathize with just about everyone else who more than likely aren’t mushrooms! Getting out every morning, going somewhere – anywhere – meeting people face to face is something I don’t think anyone after this is over will take for granted.

So how does this directly affect me? First, I was concerned that I would lose a great deal of business. But clients have been happy to meet virtually or at the very least, on the phone. Remember the phone??? With classes and lectures, I can tell you that I average about 2 Zoom meetings a day! I was pleasantly surprised especially by senior center whose program directors tell me that residents have grown fond of being able to participate in these types of meetings.

I had arranged to hold a fund raiser for our church which was due to start the week the pandemic hit. Rather than meeting at the church which was now out of the question, or cancelling altogether and returning the funds collected, I proposed a Zoom class. All but 1 person participated. They were “all in!” And it went smoothly once I helped anyone new to webinars get accustomed to the right buttons to push. I was happy, the participants were happy and, of course, the church was happy!

I happen to be involved with several genealogical societies. Not one meeting has had to be cancelled including the Board and Delegate meetings for NERGC 2021, the biennial conference of the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium. It was planned to be held at the MassMutual Conference Center in Springfield, MA where it was held quite successfully in 2017

MassMutual 2008

MassMutual Center, Springfield, MA

The actual conference next April is another story, however, as we work out what direction we will go in. We may go totally virtual for 2021 and then hopefully be back to normal in 2023. Or postpone 2021 into 2022. Either way, we’ll come up with a solution that will work for conference attendees, speakers and vendors.

Virtual meetings are not foreign to me at all. My first remote speaker was Pat Richley-Erickson a/k/a Dear Myrtle, your Friend in Genealogy. It was in 2014 and I was a nervous wreck! Pat had been doing webinars weekly which is how I became familiar with how it all works. Thanks to her support and the support of “Cousin Russ,” the event was a resounding success. When the speaker allowed us to record the presentations, we put the recording behind the members only paywall. All speakers appreciate that and only a few will ask us to leave it up for a limited period of time. I understand that especially with a topic that is dynamic and the substance can change as time goes on. DNA is a great example.

Below is the title slide from a presentation by Melissa Barker, a genealogist and the Archivist for the Houston County Tennessee Archives.

image

Melissa Barker, Genealogist, Archivist for the Houston County, Tennessee Archives

She presented her Power Point and supplied a handout. She was at her office in Tennessee and we were at our meeting room in Agawam, MA. This was just one of the dozens of recorded presentations I’ve been involved in.

With all the colleagues with whom I communicate, I believe most are soldiering along as much if not more than usual. There’s no libraries or archives or court houses to visit. Just about the only source in the short term for any kind of research other than emailing document requests is the internet. This is when I’m grateful for the enormous list of websites that are currently available for research, the Facebook pages that are a well kept secret for genealogists, the webinars that have always been available with many that had a cost attached to them are now free, genealogical societies that have adapted to virtual presentations are all resources that we are collectively taking advantage of.

Speaking of Facebook, I always ask the attendees at any of my classes to raise their hand if they’re an active user of Facebook. Mostly, I get surprised looks with about 25% of the class raising their hands. Sometimes I’ll ask them to guess how many of those pages are genealogically oriented. I usually get “hundreds” and sometimes “…maybe a thousand?” I want to mention Katherine R. Willson, a professional genealogist from Michigan, and her incredibly comprehensive list of genealogy related Facebook pages. You can access her website Social Media Genealogy here: https://socialmediagenealogy.com/genealogy-on-facebook-list/. There you can download a 419 page PDF file with links to over 16,000 Facebook pages! I don’t advise printing it! But getting that document on your computer or tablet or into your GoogleDrive account or other cloud storage that you are using will be a great tool for you to use. Imagine, 16,000 Facebook pages!

Our collective situation is certainly a life changer. But we can fall back on all the plagues and pandemics that have caused massive upheaval around the world. The Black Plague, Spanish Influenza, Covid-19 along with many more. The bad news is that they were all profoundly disruptive and caused tens of thousands of premature deaths of the young as well as the old. The good news is simple: humanity survived.

RootsTech 2021 – Here I Come!

Considering that RootsTec 2020 was so phenomenally successful (and no surprise), I’ve already decided that RootsTech 2021 is where I need to be next February 3-6 in Salt Lake City, Utah. This is a genealogist’s Nirvana! The largest, most well attended convention of family history researchers, vendors of genealogical products and software and a place where long distance friends can sit down for a chat. Name any facet of genealogy or family research and it’s covered here: presentations from noted experts, workshops, vendors or everything from A to Z including DNA. The Vendor Hall below on its own was chock full of new technology and much to learn about with the “latest” in just about everything genealogical!

One of the interesting aspects for me is the opportunity to meet, face-to-face, the many colleagues with whom I communicate via webinars, Facebook and other social media. Consider running into someone in the hallway or a lecture hall who looks familiar but until you strike up a conversation, it’s hard to really know who’s in front of you! For example, I participate in a weekly webinar called “Mondays With Myrt,” which is an hour and a half each Monday where upwards of 10 genealogy professionals gather to form the panel. Any number of folks both beginners and professionals can log in and listen, ask questions, answer questions, offer advice or share experiences. You can find nearly 1,000 archived programs from Dear Myrtle at YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=mondays+with+myrt. If you’d like to participate or just log in a watch live, click http://blog.geneawebinars.com/p/calendar.html to view the upcoming schedule. The programs begin at noon Eastern but the calendar will post the schedule as 10am Mountain time.

These conferences are certainly the most famous, well-attended genealogy conferences in the world. This year’s conference was the 10th in an increasingly successful event. The 2020 conference brought 30,000 genealogists of all stripes. There were beginners, professionals and world renown experts to where every subject under the sun was on display. Workshops on research techniques, lectures on some very specific topics such as Irish or Greek research, how to use the proliferating research websites, DNA and other topics. What are the tips and tricks to using www.familysearch.org, for instance, or how to use FamilyTree software. Bargains that you won’t find anywhere at any other time on dozens of worthwhile products.

And the featured guest speakers? Over the years, we’ve listened to Laura Bush, Scott Hamilton, Donnie Osmond, LeVar Burton, to name a few. This year’s speaker was three time Super Bowl Champion, Emmett Smith. And there have been others who have come to speak in front of audiences that would number in the thousands. Below is an image of the theater as the crowds file in. I have no idea what the ccapacity is, but it’s huge!

In addition to being able to attend several interesting presentations, I spent some time with a genealogy group called “Trace” in their Coaches’ Corner. A very successful program, the premise was for a number of professional genealogists to sit with other researchers for 25 minute sessions. These researchers ranged from folks who have just begun their journey to veterans who were simply lookinig for tips and tricks to recharge their own research. I have to say that I found the sessions I worked were very rewarding personally. When you tell someone something they either didn’t know or haven’t thought about for many years, their eyes light up! Each of the visitors was offered the opportunity to contract with Trace for deeper research with any of the affiliated professionals.

Of course, one of the greates benefits of being in Salt Lake City is the opportunity to do some very deep research at the Family History Library. Books, and books, and books in addition to a collection of micromedia that is second to none. Staffed with knowledgeable people who are always ready to help, I was able to locate some records that will complete at least 2 applications I’ve been working on for membership in the Sons of the American Revolution. It’s all good!

In closing, I’ll just say, “See you at RootsTech 2021!”

Happy Ending or Happy Beginning – A DNA Success Story

Standard DNA test kit from 23andME. Also available is the basic test plus health for additional cost.http://www.23andme.com

Debra knew from a very early age that she was adopted. Her mother and father provided an incredibly  loving environment where she could grow and thrive. And that’s exactly what she did! While it may sound unusual, when she was 3 years old her Mom sat her down and gently explained that some mothers were not able to provide for their children and for many reasons, those children were adopted by families who had the means and the love to help those children grow up. For this reason and as young as she was, she grasped the concept and simply went on with her life. 

Debra’s birth was a bit premature. As a result, she was kept at the hospital for several days to ensure that she was healthy enough to go home. But where was home? Her birth mother was either not allowed or was incapable of caring for her. That’s the short story of how Debra came about being adopted by parents who were very much in a position to raise a child in a healthy, happy home. 

Even with the knowledge that she had been adopted, she was loved by her Mom and Dad, she was healthy, happy and she had dreams for her future. 

My Heritage test kit http://www.myheritage.com

About ten years after her adoption, Debra’s parents decided to adopt another child. This time the circumstances couldn’t be any different. When they brought the new sister home, it was a tragic reality that Lisa had been the victim of a hostile environment. Lisa was covered with bruises, stitches and scars. Her “new” parents were very successful in again providing the same loving care they had been providing for Debra. After a brief period of adjustment, Debra became very close with her new sister, Lisa Marie.

Debra’s life was as ideal as she could have hoped for. Soon, she fell in love, married and had her own house full of children. She never dwelled on her own adoption issue. She was loved, secure, and looking forward to raising her family in an environment such as the one in which she grew up. As her children got older, she was able to discuss her history. With the knowledge that their Mom had been adopted, their curiosity got the best of them. The older kids insisted on knowing more… And more… And they wanted to know soon! 

The largest data base and reference population can be found at http://www.ancestry.com

Although I had known Debra and her family for many years, I was unaware of the fact that she was adopted. It was never an issue for her to discuss it with anyone other than her family and even at that, there wasn’t much discussion until the older kids began to get her to wonder about her birth parents. She will readily tell you that the search for her birth story would never distract her from the parents who raised her. But the curiosity began to creep in. As a result, she learned about a class I was conducting at a local library that was designed to teach the basics of DNA, the various tests available, how each of those tests can be used and the companies who administer them. As an enticement, I offered to “raffle off” a DNA test to one of the participants after the session. 

A graphic of the DNA double helix.

Frankly, I was surprised but pleased at the same time to see Debra walk through the door! We went through the presentation in a little over an hour. The attendees asked many great questions and I believe we all learned a lot. After the Q&A session, it was time for the raffle. I’ll give you a couple of seconds to guess who won! Debra took the test home, submitted her sample and as everyone who has tested can tell you, waited the 5 or 6 weeks it took for processing. Results in hand, the hunt began!

The good news is that she was uncommonly successful. Her first “hit” led her to a biological uncle who is a brother to her biological father. Uncle Jack was more than just pleased to hear from her. I suspect that Jack was aware that he had a niece out there somewhere and that niece turned out to be Debra. He was more than happy to help. He led her to her full biological brother named Brian who lived just a few towns away, close enough to possibly visit from time to time.

It’s worth noting that adopted children who choose to seek out their biological families can run into a myriad of problems. The parents they are looking for may have split up long ago and gone their separate ways or possibly even died; the siblings, if there are any, may live too far away to be able to develop any meaningful relationship or they simply are untraceable; contacting anyone may be a negative experience for the individuals being contacted; and, in many cases, you simply can’t find anyone in the bio family and frustration ensues.

Fast forward to Brian. He was thrilled to finally hear from the woman who turns out to be his full biological sister who he never had the opportunity to meet much less have any type of relationship with. The good news, no…the great news, is that Debra and Brian have not only met, but have formed a meaningful bond with one another. It shouldn’t surprise anyone that they are not only somewhat similar in appearance but share many common interests. The outdoor life appeals to both: fishing, hiking, spending a great deal of time outdoors. Since they live fairly close to one another, they meet often and spend a great deal of time together. 

But wait, there’s more. Her bio father left New England for the west coast. To date, Debra has been able to locate 4 half-siblings. One of them, Charles, has been very open to establishing some type of relationship in spite of the fact that he lives out west. Fortunately for Debra, she has been able to travel out there and meet him and talk about their individual experiences. Two of three other half-sisters, however, were less than enthusiastic about staying in touch with her. Regardless, Debra was very excited to make the progress she had made to put together the pieces of a life she never knew. 

Nuclear DNA known as autosomal DNA or atDNA. The 23rd chromosome is the sex chromosome. It can be XX (female) or XY (male). Moms always contribute an “X” while Dads can contirbute either an “X” or a “Y”.

Keep in mind that adoption notwithstanding, nothing diminishes in any way the relationship she has enjoyed her entire life with her parents who did the right thing in so many ways. And Lisa, the sister who Debra grew up with, has been a source of support in Debra’s efforts to discover her “other life” but has so far not expressed any interest in following the same path Debra has followed.

One final chapter to this story. Debra’s biological father has a sister who lives nearby. She is Debra’s aunt. The aunt has a daughter, a full first cousin of hers who also lives nearby. Debra’s daughter recently moved in to a new house. Debra’s cousin is her daughter’s new next door neighbor! They have all had the chance to meet and spend time together. 

The conclusion is a simple one: When and only when you’re ready to go out to make these discoveries, it’s well worth the journey in most cases. No one could be happier than Debra! And I am proud to say that I was a part of this great story.

Dave Robison

All the names in this blog have been changed to insure privacy.

Copyright © Dave Robison Old Bones Genealogy of New England

The URL for this blog is https://oldbonessearch.com/?p=4984

Genealogy Conferences – NERGC and OGS

Here are some updates on genealogy conferences and my personal involvement with at least two of them.

Landmarks in Manchester, New Hampshire

First, a little report on the NERGC conference held in Manchester, New Hampshire back in April. NERGC is the acronym for the New England Regional Genealogical Consortium. It’s a whole lot easier to just pronounce it “NERK!” An unbelievable amount of work goes into these conferences: venue, participating societies, setting the price of registration, speakers, food, vendors, and on and on! The Manchester event attracted nearly 120 speakers, as many vendors and over 1,000 attendees. The program included an opening session, single presentations, workshops, banquets, special presentations by featured speakers and on and on. But most of all, what everyone should garner from attending a conference is the comaraderie, the “elbow-rubbing” with other genealogists who are there for a common reason: To expand their knowledge of genealogy and family research.

Well, NERGC 2019 was a huge success. The 22 participating societies who contributed financially as well as with the volunteer efforts of their respective memberships were rewarded with a return of their investment as well as a share of the excess receipts.

So now what? Since NERGC is a biennial event with the next conference being held in 2021. While we try to produce the conference in cities all over New England, the size of the crowd of enthusiastic genealogists who attend demands a larger venue. So, we return to the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts.

A broad view of downtown Springfield, Massachusetts

We held the previous conference there in spite of all the construction that was going on in 2017. All of that is complete and with the addition of some unexpected features, the City of Springfield offers a more than adequate solution. At least 3 additional hotels are in various stages of construction, a new service of the PVTA is a free bus called the “Loop” will take passengers the length of Main Street with stops at various hotels, the MassMutual Center (which is the site for the conference), the Basketball Hall of Fame, and the Springfield Armory National Historic Site among other points of interest. And it’s free! And the MassMutual Center itself is practically a no-brainer for our style of conference: Meeting rooms on the two levels with an escalator and elevators to easily get from the lower level to the upper level. The banquet hall and vendor hall are right next to each other on the lower level. Very easy to get around.

So now here’s the big news (at least for me ) regarding the Ohio Genealogical Society’s 2020 conference titled “Unlocking the Pieces.” It will be held at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions in Sandusky, Ohio. The conference website is not yet ready as of today, 01 July 2019 as they are just putting together the details. But I’m giving the link here for “Unlocking the Pieces” which you can check on over the next several weeks.

One of the auditoriums at Kalahari Resorts & Conventions, Sandusky, Ohio

Now I’ve given classes, lectures and presentations all over New England including the last 4 NERGC conferences. Those are easier to get involved with as I’ve held various positions with NERGC: Society delegate, conference co-chair, commitee chair, and now a member of the board and its President! If I don’t take a slot to make a presentation in “NERGC 2021,” it’ll be because I’ll be too busy.

I’ve never ventured out of New England. I considered submitting for last year’s OGS conference but too many factors interfered. Since I’ve backed away from the Presidnet’s position at the Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society, Inc and the Connecticut Society of Genealogists, Inc, I felt as though I had the time to give it as shot.

Figuring that since I have no previous experience with the Ohio group, the “newcomer” so to speak, that I might get a shot at one slot, maybe 2 if I was really lucky. So I submitted a proposal on 10 or 12 different presentations with various genealogical topics from the basics up to DNA and a few other topics. To might great surprise, along with many other genealogists who I know throught webinars and various other social media, I was offered 3 slots! I’ll be delivering a presentation on researching in New England, what is required for a DAR or SAR application and a discussion of a little known organization that operated in the late 18th century, the “Ohio Company of Associates” who worked to get New Englanders to emigrate from Massachusetts and settle in southeast Ohio.

This is all about education. I blogged back in February about why anyone should attend any conference, genealogical or otherwise. The simple answer was this: You don’t know what you don’t know! You can’t argue with that one. So find a conference and go!!

My 15 Seconds of Fame Courtesy of Western Mass News

It doesn’t happen very often when I get a chance to brag. The upside is that a local TV station, Western Mass News Channel 40, came into one of my classes at the West Springfield, Mass Senior Center and took some shots of one of the session I was giving there. Actually, I don’t even think it was 15 seconds! OK, my 12.5 seconds of fame!!

The downside is, well, there is no downside…

At any rate, if you have absolutely, positively nothing to do in the next 12.5 seconds, click the link for an amazing performance. You can thank me later!! https://drive.google.com/open?id=1pzbgwKIs8G__SeE511PpUstySZh9uFi6

Genealogy Conferences – Another Level of Self-Eduation

I’ve talked about conferences many times. At Western Massachusetts Genealogical Society as well as Connecticut Society of Genealogisists we’ve had presentations about why you would want to attend a conference. My shortcut answer is this: “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Regardless of how long any of us have been researching our own families or the families of others, there’s always something new to consider. Especially now, in the electronic age. Don’t misinterpret that statement because “…it’s not all on the internet.” As a matter of fact, it has been estimated that only about 10% to maybe 15% of what’s available has been digitized and indexed to make it searchable at the dizzying number of websites that are available to us today. And the list includes straight-up commercial sites that charge a fee for membership, free websites such as FamilySearch.org, privately uploaded trees, and many others. In a nutshell, with the exception of FamilySearch (free), you get what you pay for. Many offer month to month subscriptions or 6 to 12 months at a time. In addition, sites like Ancestry.com further blur the options by offering graduated levels of access. European websites often offer a per document fee where you would buy a certain number of points to “spend.”

Why is the internet data so scarce? First, you are mostly blocked from seeing documents and records that haven’t been indexed. Indexing is the process handled mostly by volunteers where the words on the image are transcribed into specific fields in an electronic form. First name, middle name, last name and all the rest of the pertinent data that we’re accustomed to filling in on the search pages of various websites has to be made available so a computer can “read” the words. Now computers don’t read words, they interpret complex arrangements of zeros and ones then convert that into the words that we mere mortals can read!  And only digitized documents and records can be indexed. Once a record is indexed and uploaded, you can type in data that can be matched against an electronic record and show it to you in the comfort of your own home.

Now, consider the millions upon millions of documents that are generated each and every day! Babies are born, couples get married, folks die, people join the armed forces, apply for pensions, and so on creating a myriad of records that we will be searching for some day. Can you imagine the size of the backlog of paperwork we create in the 21st century? No wonder the percentage of available electronic records is so low.

So what does all this all have to do with conferences? Searching websites is mostly a self-taught process. Conferences offer the knowledge and advice of professionals who can dispense a wealth of knowledge to large groups of interested people. At genealogical conferences, for example, there is a very broad range of topics and speakers to deliver the messages. Lots to learn! From internet search strategies to off line sources such as libraries and other repositories and archives, DNA (WOW, that’s a hot topic these days), court house research, interviewing relatives, cemeteries, European research as well as other foreign countries, military records and the list goes on and on.

There is so much interest in certain topics that the classes or workshops offered with the best of intentions often fill up the first or second day registration is open!

The whole point here is to encourage you to seriously consider registering for as many conferences that would be reasonable for you. It’s not free, of course, and they’re not always in the next town over! So there are many considerations especially with regard to your time and the expense.

Some of the largest conferences are held in the largest cities in the largest venues than what is generally available. RootsTech is a good example. The initial registration is a little pricey and attendance would require an airline ticket and hotel accommodations for us folks here in New England. But there’s an important, well-attended “bargain” of a conference right here in New England. The New England Regional Genealogical Conference (NERGC) is a bargain.

Here are the featured speakers at the 2019 conference including Thomas D Jones, Blaine Bettinger and Cyndi Ingle.

Cyndi Ingle
Blaine Bettinger
Thomas D Jones

The 2019 conference is being held in Manchester, New Hampshire at the Manchester Downtown Doubletree Hotel at 700 Elm Street April 3rd to the 6th. Many more details including registration information is available at www.nergc.org. Registration will be open until March 30, 2019.

A “Found” Patriot

Heritage. As a youngster, I always wondered of the heritage that resulted in me.  The culture at home was a simple one when it came down to family stories and history. “What you don’t know won’t hurt you!” Well, I guess I won’t ask THAT question again!

What follows are a few descriptions of discoveries I’ve made since I began my genealogical journey.

My father, Henry Dunn Robison (Find A Grave Memorial# 33567770), went into the Navy exactly 3 weeks after Pearl Harbor at the “insistence” of his maternal grandmother, Gilma Cecilia Robertson Dunn. She went so far as to have his birth record destroyed (there’s no record of his birth to this day!), falsify his age and ship him off at age 15!

My father and the previous 4 generations had lived in Alabama and Tennessee. As I discovered years later, my 4th great grandfather, Hezekiah Robertson/Robinson/Robison/Robrson (Find A Grave Memorial# 7048152), was a veteran or the War of 1812 having served with the East Tennessee Volunteers then settled in Limestone County, Alabama. There were a few Confederate ancestors who served in the “War of Northern  Aggression.” One of my 2nd great grandfathers died at the Rock Island Confederate POW camp in Rock Island, Illinois (Find A Grave Memorial# 5092694). During World War II,  while Henry was in the Caribbean, his mother divorced her husband and moved to Massachusetts.  As far as I can tell, this was the reason they wanted Henry out of the way. The short version here is the “Granny” lived with us in Springfield for a while until she entered a nursing home in the mid-60s where she died in 1970.

I never knew my paternal my grandfather, Cecil Lee Robison (Find A Grave Memorial# 5092687), who remained and remarried in Alabama. I was only marginally aware of the fact that I even had a grandfather.  My father would make a 5- or 10-minute call “down south” around Christmas-time every year. I never saw “Papa Lee” nor did I ever speak with him. He died in 1964.  My first view of him was his obituary on the front page of the Anniston (Alabama) Star. While I shouldn’t have been surprised, he looked exactly like my father and it was a little unsettling.

My maternal grandfather, Clement Alexis Dickson (Find A Grave Memorial# 11132523), died when I was about 3 years old but my maternal grandmother lived until 1962. Of all of my grandparents, she’s the only one with whom I had ever had any semblance of a conversation.

The upshot is that my father didn’t care to talk about his side of the dysfunctional Robison family and my mother thought it best to hold the same line with regard to her side.

Now, enter the genealogist! I wouldn’t say that I was desperately seeking anything necessarily. But the lack of information led me to feel that we were all dropped off on earth by an alien spaceship back in the early 50s! Then, as I began researching for details, I was able to interview some of the prior generations of relatives: 3 aunts, 1 great-grandaunt and a couple of second cousins. If I only knew then what I know now!

In 2001, I got the bug to join a lineage society. If successful, that would “install” a heritage that was there all along but of which I was totally unaware. Maternal family lore stated that we descended from Pilgrims. Okay, but who, what, where, why, and when? There was a box of spoons that were allegedly made from the silver buckles of their shoes. Spoiler: hardly any pilgrims had silver buckles on their shoes! More on that some other time.

Paternal lore stated, well, nothing! But after a comparatively short period of time, I began to suspect that there was some validity to the Pilgrim story, underscore “some.” At the same time, I uncovered real evidence that my paternal lines stretched back to at least the War of 1812, as I mentioned earlier, and possibly the Revolutionary War.

So, here we go! Let’s join the Sons of the American Revolution. I downloaded an application and worked on it sporadically for about 15 years. Yes, not 5 or 10, but for 15 years, the application languished in my desk. In my defense, I was certainly busy with dozens of projects, nearly all of which involved genealogy. Then, in 2016, I was a co-chair for NERGC, a relatively large genealogy conference to be held in Springfield, Massachusetts in the spring of 2017. We normally brought in 2 featured speakers along with several dozen others. It was  my intent to solicit Kenyatta Berry, one of the very personable hosts of the PBS program “Genealogy Road Show.” It was to be filmed in Providence, Rhode Island. So off I went to Providence, Rhode Island. Short version, Kenyatta Berry became the third and very welcomed featured speaker. Score 1 for Dave.

In the meantime, many of my fellow genealogists were at the filming representing various clubs and societies in the vendor area of the venue. A friend of mine introduced me to the Registrar for a chapter of the DAR. I told her my story of profound procrastination with my SAR application. She eagerly said, “I can help!” OK, that’s great but I can’t join the DAR, I would qualify! She asked if I had a daughter which I most certainly do. As a result, my daughter is now a member of the Lexington Chapter of the DAR. For my purposes, I merely had to finish my SAR application, exclude my daughter’s generation and I could qualify.

But here, finally, is the most interesting part of the story: I have identified at least 24 ancestors who are age-appropriate to have served in the War, all would have been between their late teens to their early 40s. The specific ancestor we picked was a Patriot who had only most recently been identified as such. Timothy Blodgett’s (Find A Grave Memorial# 74484986) story involves mostly obscurity. He was a family man who, with his wife ran a small farm in Deerfield, Massachusetts while raising a small brood of 14 children. He was born in 1740 in Lexington, Massachusetts and was involved in the first battle of the War. The Lexington engagement occurred on 19 April 1775 then shortly thereafter came the battle at Concord. My ancestor was one of the registered Minute Men under Captain Charles Parker who confronted the British at Lexington, his hometown.

The singular reason that he was finally identified as a Patriot is that he lost his musket during the battle and petitioned for compensation at the Lexington Town Hall the following morning. The record of that petition was only discovered in 2012.

From www.wickedlocal.com:

     “Bill Poole, executive officer with the Minute Men, said he discovered Blodgett when he was researching local militia in the archives of Capt. Parker’s Company in Lexington. Blodgett had  moved to Shutesbury the year after the fateful morning on April 19, 1775 and his name was    never included on the official “muster roll.”

     But Poole said he found several documents confirming Blodgett’s post, noting he even           applied for a reimbursement from then selectmen for a firearm he lost on the Battle Green.     The young militia man lost the musket when he attempted to jump over a fence to while           fleeing from the Regulars, Poole said.”1

Here is the photo from the article clearly showing the addition of Timothy Blodgett’s name to the bottom of the second column:

Timothy Blodgett added to the Memorial at Lexington Green. Photo: http://bit.ly/Blodgett_Lexington

The proof of my ancestor came fairly easy as I already had nearly every document necessary. We used the documentation first for my daughter’s DAR application, then for my own SAR application. Success with both apps!

But wait! There’s more! In early 2016, I was giving a presentation on genealogy to the East Longmeadow (Massachusetts) Historical Society. It was a basic introduction to family research that was scheduled to begin at 7:00 pm. Apparently, the members of the East Longmeadow Historical Society are in the habit of showing up just a little late for their meetings. So at 6:58, I was “concerned” but not showing it. Then in walked our first guest. A delicate woman, a senior citizen, who I greeted with a smile. Her name is Ruth Washburn, my first guest that night. I smiled because I had at least one person for the audience. She said, “I’m so glad I could make it. I usually don’t drive at night.” I offered her a ride home as I was sure there would be someone there she knew but she turned me down, flat! As I walked her to the front of the room, I sat her in a seat that was directly in front of where I would be speaking. When I mentioned the SAR, I also mentioned that my Patriot Ancestor was Timothy Blodgett. At that moment Ruth gasped and covered her mouth. Naturally, I suspected that something was wrong. I stopped and asked if she was OK. With a tear in her eye (really…she teared up!) she said that she, too, was a descendant of Timothy Blodgett.

As it turns out, Ruth Muriel Blodgett Fisher Washburn is a very energetic 91-year-old cousin who, in her own right, is a well-established family historian.  She’s pictured here in front of the window that was in one of her cousin’s family’s home. When her cousin asked if there was anything in the house she would want, she said she’d love to have the window from her bedroom but knew it was impossible. She had spent a great deal of time at this house during the summers of her youth and remembered the happiness that the sunlight brought her when it came streaming through the multicolored window. The window is a real piece of art!

Ruth Muriel Blodgett Fisher Washburn

I’ve spent time with Ruth to hear her stories and learn more about the Blodgett line. She has an extensive database which she has been more than willing to share with me.  But more important to me than a database, she has extensive personal knowledge and a clear, sharp memory.

Now, if I ever have the time, I just might prove more Patriot ancestors from both my maternal and my paternal side.

And one more thing, I’ve found 4 direct Mayflower ancestors. All I need to do is prove those lines and I’ll have a unique way to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the 1620 Mayflower landing in 2020.

  1. “Lexington Minute Men add new name to monument,” website, (http://bit.ly/Blodgett_Lexington : accessed 18 July 2016).

The City That William Pynchon Built

 

2017 NERGC Conference “Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past”

April 26th through 29th will be a busy one for 1,100 or so genealogists. Speakers, vendors, professionals, hobbyists and the curious will converge at the MassMutual Center in Springfield, Massachusetts! The New England Regional Genealogical Consortium’s  (NERGC) conference is a biennial event that is 2 years in the making and is produced in various cities throughout New England.

My role as a co-chair for this year’s event consists of a great many responsibilities including marketing. As a result, I’ve brought my retail experience to the table and helped as much as I could in getting the word out.  Some of the unusual opportunities included the MassMutual Center itself which, for example, sends an “events update” email to a 25,000 name database. That sounded like a pretty good audience to me so I signed up to have our event included with a special offer for those registering through that site. We offered a “coupon code” to those registrants to claim a small gift as a token of our appreciation.

We’ve been placing announcements on multiple Facebook pages, Google+ Communities, Twitter, Pinterest, press releases to newspapers, TV stations, radio stations, and announcements at a wide variety of genealogical societies around the country…wherever we thought we might find an audience who could be drawn to an event such as ours.

Since I participate in a number of genealogically oriented Google Hangouts every week, I always get a chance to talk about the conference to an audience that is literally worldwide. These short promotions are courtesy of the Hangout host who, most of the time, is Pat Richley-Erickson and her cousin, Russ Worthington who produce the “DearMYRTLE Hangout” series.

William Pynchon – Founder of the Agawam Plantation

Here’s my point….finally! Among other genealogical societies, the Central Massachusetts Genealogical Society asked me to assist them with 2 issues: First, get them started in the use of virtual meeting platforms to bring a wider variety of speakers to their membership; and second, give my presentation titled “The City That William Pynchon Built” at their April meeting in Gardner, Massachusett.  I broadcasted the presentation from home to a room full of CMGS members in Gardner.  This link will take you to the YouTube channel where you can hear a brief history of the City of Springfield where our NERGC conference will be held.

William Pynchon was an English businessman who invested in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and arrived here around 1630. He then struck out to explore the wilderness of what we know today as the Pioneer Valley and the area along the Connecticut River. Well, without going into too much detail, if you have any interest in NERGC or the host city, Springfield, take a look at the video and leave your comments.

And by the way, at the time of this blog, you can still register to attend the NERGC conference. There will be over 70 presenters from around the world with 135 programs and workshops. There will also be 75 vendors with an amazing array of genealogical products and services. There is no need to register to visit the Exhibitor Hall.

After the conference, I will be glad to post the highlights with pictures and stories.

A view of Springfield from across the Connecticut River in West Springfield.

 

 

 

Search to Failure

Wilbraham Public Library Session III

For the past 10 years or so, I’ve been providing guidance in family research, both on- and off-line. For quite a while, I’ve advocated particular strategies that I find effective. Last night I spontaneously described it as “search to failure.” It just rolled off my tongue. Here’s why I think it’s a good strategy and a good description.

Just a few years ago, most genealogical search engines offered dozens of fields to be filled in so that you could locate the records of your ancestors. Early in my own research, I felt it necessary to offer up as much information as possible. After all, the fields were there waiting to be filled, right? Just like a job application or a mortgage application, the questions were there for a reason. But what I soon learned…or maybe not to soon…was that less is more. And the websites seemed to finally agree with me. Today, you’re offered far fewer fields to fill which, in my opinion, is a good thing.Let me explain the strategy that I teach.

Linnie Otto Peace Robison (1880-1954)

First, Grandma may have said that her grandfather was born on such-and-such a date, always used the name “Thomas” (for example) and he always, as far as Grandma knew lived in a certain town. My response is this: Well, Grandma, we love you but we don’t necessarily believe you! New researchers will go to great lengths to use exactly that information without deviation. Contrary to the “job application” strategy, I demonstrate my “search to failure” strategy using the name “Smith.” That’s it, just “Smith.” And I never ask for an exact spelling. As a matter of fact, in Ancestry.com for example, I ask for “Sounds like,” “Similar,” and “Soundex” in order to get every possible permutation. That’s the only field I fill and I use “Smith” because I already know the dramatic results. Tonight, I got 146,696,564 results. That makes me happy. Why? Because I know I’m on the right track. Be patient, I’ll get the results down to a manageable number and in a very short amount of time.

Now, I’ll ask the audience to give me any first name. It doesn’t matter what they give me, but let’s say someone says “Michael.” My response is “Do you know if it’s really Michael? Or perhaps it’s Mike, or just M or what if Michael was his middle name because he didn’t like his first name. How can we be sure?” The answer, of course, is that we can’t be sure about anything at this stage. But let’s use Michael, making sure we also use “sounds like,” “similar,” and “initials.”

Now we’re down to “only” 4,102,786. That’s significant even at the volume of returns. It’s only about 3% of what our original search brought. I explain here, that “Michael” is a filter and the filter, in this example, worked. Or so we think at least! Now I add another filter and then another. In literally no time, our 146 million number can be reduced to 6 or 8 results. But I want to end up with NO results. “Search to failure.” Why? I want to make sure that I’m using the most efficient filters. That last filter that wiped out all my results is not the end of the search, it’s the first “failure” that will force me to eliminate that filter then go back and refine, refine, refine what I’ve done so far. The point is this: I’m starting out my fishing in a big pond. If my first search includes so many filters that my first at-bat gives me nothing, what have I gained. But if I start out with huge results then whittle them down with one filter at a time until there are no results, I can by-pass Grandma’s data (without telling her, of course!) and hopefully come up with enough results that through principle #1 of the GPS, a thoroughly exhaustive search, I can determine which of the results is the target ancestor.

My point is “search to failure,” then begin to massage the filters in order to “search to success.”