I'm not missing - honestly!!

Hello everyone.

Sorry I haven't posted very much lately, but about 3 1/2 months ago, our household was turned upside down with an addition. I won't go into what's exactly going on - privacy and all that - but we now have a small child staying with us. It wasn't planned on, as we're still trying to find and research our way to learning about surrogacy to have our own child, but the little guy's here and staying with us. It was only supposed to be a visit but has turned into so much more.

Taken from https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/0d/b9/4c/0db94c221b3a8ac323ccf0719e6b1852.jpg

Then the entire household came down with chest infections, so its felt like its one thing after another.
Alas, things have now settled down a bit, I'm not able to get back to doing my blog posts and looking for work, so I can pay for things around the house as well as get back to doing genealogy.

Taken from https://youtheman77.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/im-working-on-it.jpg

Check back....!

My Top 10 Genealogy Tools

I belong to a blog by GeniAus and recently she posted her Top 10 Genealogy Tools. She got the idea from a post from Pauleen Cass in which she listed her Top 10 Genealogy Gateways.  One of the topics brought up was what other Australian Genealogists would put on their Top 10 list. I have read GeniAus' list which is very common to mine. 

That being said these are the applications and websites I use to research and compile information. I think the hard part will be to keep it to 10 - let's see how I go...

1. Ancestry - I started by putting my information there. However, since the upgrade they did about 1-2 years ago, my tree is all messed up. Further, people get on there and "borrow" things without putting credit or asking if they could use or take them. I'm a type of person who shares, but to just take things and not ask? That's just not on or right. Because of this, as I start to clean up the tree (yes I've just started and it will take me awhile) I'll be taking information off but leaving the event there. If the people want the event, they can contact me or find it themselves. 

2. Excel - Because of what happened on Ancestry, with the "borrowing" and the upgrade, I started to write up timelines for people. This way I could put links in there and I'm finding its nice to be able to add in history and anything else that relates to the person. I started to do this before Ancestry and the upgrade which includes SOME (not all) history facts. Anyhow, many times hubby and myself had found information which didn't have citations listed, gaps of information, and we can point things we have to do for the person. I find it very useful. 

Example of my timeline I use in Excel

3. Geneanet - This is a very good site for people who have ancestors from different areas of Europe. In fact, I found my father's cousin 1x removed and people on there also helped open up my maternal great grandfather's ancestry as I didn't know where to look. Before I knew it I had my maternal side going back to the early 1700's. The downside is in order to go look at some things on the site, you have to pay, so to go any further, I'll have to wait. However, the kind people on there gave me some ideas were to go to look for information which I am grateful for.

4. Dropbox - I started to use this in order to transfer files to work on for work, then it morphed into a topic in the classes I started to teach. Now I put my research (or used to until it filled up the site and now I have to look for more free room) there. I also do a backup on a external hard drive. Remember you can never have too many backups! Its great to use if we're out and about and need information on one of the relatives - I can just go there and all the information is listed. 

5. Newspaper sites - Trove - My husband first used and told me about this years ago. Its a great resource because you can not only find articles about possible relatives but you can also do searches on areas, countries and about things going on in certain areas, religions, etc this way it might prove or disprove a story passed down from generation to generation. Trove is Australian, but it is a worldwide search. Others I use are Elephind and Google newspaper archives (they are not adding new things on there but its still there to search).

Example of what the Trove screen looks like

6. Blogger/Wordpress - This is great to either do searches like you would do in Trove and sometimes you might even find a relative! This is what happened to me when I was searching for information on a place one of my relatives owned and someone had a blog about the family. I learned a great deal about the family and even commented on a few of the articles. It wasn't until a few years later one of my long lost cousins and I connected. These are also a great way of sharing your research.

7. Pinterest - People use this for arts and crafts type of thing, but have you thought about searching for your ancestor's names, places, and surrounding of the places on here? I found pictures of what houses/farms looked like back then, as well as soldiers and people around the areas of my ancestors. It also helped with at least one of the stories that were passed down about a hotel. 

8. Facebook - I know people use this to keep others updated with what is going on with their lives, but there are groups on there which can give you tips and tricks with where to look, what's available, what's not available or sometimes even help you with information. Further, its also a great way to share your information on your ancestors with others in your family. This way everyone can see it and comment on it. I have 3 groups set up for this and its very valuable as many new stories or memories were shared and because they are all closed groups, everyone feels very comfortable with sharing information there. 

9.FamilySearch - Its free which is a HUGE bonus. The not so good bonus is while things are there, much of it is not indexed so you have to flip through entire books of information to find that one possible piece of paper, but sometimes this opens up huge flood gates to other information. A great case in point is my great grandfather. Once I had the help of Geneanet people, then I could go to FamilySearch and find documents as I knew the areas to look. I was able to find many documents about my great grandfather - including him being illegitimate and this was only because his father - my 2x great grandfather was drafted into the army in Beligum. From there I was able to get other information and go backwards. This led to another cousin which had gone to the church and found another relative's information and was able to take us back another generation! 

10. Search Engines like Google - It might seem pretty innocent, but have you tried to just type in your ancestor's name? Then add a country or an area and this will narrow it down. I've found obituaries for family and then added people to my tree because of this. This allowed me to track down part of the family none of us knew about other than my mother's "yeah we came from there I've been told". In fact, I found a whole side of the tree this way. I found ALOT of information by doing this and I'm slowing putting the family back together again. A good browser is Chrome. I do not use it all the time, but if you are going to use Search Engines, try using one that is in the language of the country you are searching for, and by using Chrome, you can click and choose Translate to English and it will do it pretty well.

Tips:
My one tip if you are just starting out, is first start a tree. Then for each person on the tree do a timeline of some sort. This will make you figure out what you know and what you do not know both with the people's names and also their information. The next step is to figure out what gaps there are and then to decide where to get the information.

An example is you know your parents and grandparents names but that is it. That's fine. Then you need to take out a piece of paper and just write the information and stories you know. When this is done, then you take a fresh piece of paper and take the information you've just written down and try and put it in date order. Oldest at the top to most current at the end. Then you can see what information you have, what you don't and what stories you have to prove or disprove. Some people colour/color code these, others (like me) write it in the timeline what you are missing and what needs to be found. An example would be "1920 federal census needs to be found" or "need to find ship manifest for this person" or whatever information you are looking for. 

This is an example of how you can highlight things you have done and need to do using a timeline.

Once this person (above) is done as far as you can go, then you move onto the next person and keep going. Don't forget to add things like World War 1, World War 2, Treaties, governmental changes (from Polish to Russian and then back to Polish with a year is a great example)Then you will be hooked and your free time is gone as well. *grin* 

Good luck!

Why Of My Flesh and Blood for my Genealogy Blog?

Johnny Cash's "Flesh and Blood" song from his album I Walk the Line was an influence of part of the title and the Of My is because this is MY family's history and  no one's else.

The words are: 

"Flesh And Blood"

Beside a Singin' Mountain Stream
Where the Willow grew

Where the Silver Leaf of Maple
Sparkled in the Mornin' Dew
I braided Twigs of Willows
Made a String of Buckeye Beads;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.

I leaned against a Bark of Birch
And I breathed the Honey Dew
I saw a North-bound Flock of Geese
Against a Sky of Baby Blue
Beside the Lily Pads
I carved a Whistle from a Reed;
Mother Nature's quite a Lady
But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.

A Cardinal sang just for me
And I thanked him for the Song
Then the Sun went slowly down the West
And I had to move along
These were some of the things

On which my Mind and Spirit feed;
But Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need.

[SPOKEN]

So when this Day was ended
I was still not satisfied
For I knew ev'rything I touched
Would wither and would die
And Love is all that will remain
And grow from all these Seed;

[SUNG]

Mother Nature's quite a Lady
But you're the one I need
Flesh And Blood need Flesh And Blood
And you're the one I need. 

From Azlyrics

Seriously, when I started writing so much about my family's genealogy, it was overwhelming on the one site blog I was using and that blog's purpose was not to only exist for that purpose, so I decided to start this blog and its only purpose was to discuss my family's genealogy and some interesting and yet frustrating subjects I have come or will come across and this gives me a place to vent. 

Besides, I'm still looking for ongoing family, so I figured if someone who is family stumbles across this blog, they have a way to contact me. Then later, as the term of no issue came up for myself and my husband, it was a way to have the information out there for the future generations even after myself and my husband are gone. Why? Because the way it stands now, we have a no issue or we cannot have children, so our genes and memories of us will be gone after we are. This way, the information I've found can live on and any future generations can find the information I've tried to so hard to find.  
 

A picture quilt is a great way to remember ancestors

Before the no issue issue, one of the groups I'm involved with dared us to share what we've uncovered about our families. I sat down and thought of ways I could share information and this was one way to share information of generations past. This dare also lead me to create a few groups on Facebook (Gauquie/ Larson, Wojtkowski/Slepowron/Gardner, Ostrzycki, just to name a few) so information can be shared this way as well. Besides, what's the use of doing all of this work when it just sits there and no one learns from it?

An online timeline of your ancestors

Finally, on top of the above reasons (as if it weren't enough), I have started to put together my grandmother's documents and images of her life along with other information which might have affected her and her family, but its very slow going. First, I'm not confident enough with my writing to attempt something to big and, as one of my past managers have told me over and over, I'm a perfectionist. To do something that is not perfect would annoy me and frustrate me. Guess what? I hate to admit this but she is and was right. I'm still struggling and will continue with it, but its taking me a really long time to do this. 

Overall, the reason why I have this blog - its because things that are written here are because these people are OF MY FLESH AND BLOOD. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't exist and I have to pay homage to this fact.

Anzac Day 2016

I believe I have written here about ANZAC day before.

ANZAC Day is in relation to Australia and New Zealand's soldiers who fought in World War 1 (and in particular in Turkey) and how badly they were shot up on dawn on 25 April 1915. I think the entire time I've lived here I've only missed 2 or 3 ANZAC day sunrise ceremonies in Melbourne at the Shrine of Remembrance. Last year, 2015, was a big one and we had organized to meet up with my father in law, uncles in law and other family members for the service and then we went out for cuppas after.

2011 Anzac Ceremony after sunrise ceremony finished

Normally, my father in law, myself and my husband go into the ceremony, then we come home to watch the parades on TV, while I make breakfast. Then I put on a roast in the slow cooker and then go in and catch a nap as we get up about 3am to leave by 4am to get a parking spot and good standing position.

2007 ANZAC service

This year is going to be different. We are going to go to a country service this year. The good thing is we can be much later than normal which means more sleep. The bad thing is its going to be very small - we think.

ANZAC day was started for World War 1 but since they are gone and most of World War 2 are gone as well, they have now decided to honor ANY soldier who fought in ANY war which means Vietnam and the current situations in Iran, Iraq and that area of the globe. Right or wrong this is what has been decided.

Usually I stand there and think of everyone I am related to who has served and who we have lost because of them serving.

This year I get to add one more proud soldier to the list - Prosper Valère Verhaeghe. He is my 2nd cousin 3 times removed on my mother's side. He served in Ypres, Belgium. He thought he wouldn't make it back, so his son was named after him. Thankfully, he came back from there and continued to be a baker and own his own bakery until his passing in 1975.

 My hat is off to you kind sir for your valuable service.

As per normal, I would like to thank and think of everyone else within my ancestors who has fought in wars and served over so many years.

I have also found:

• my great uncle Alfred Wotjkowski 
• my grandfather Mathias Schmitz 

also served.

There can be others I haven't been made aware of - yet. If so, drop me a line and let me know!