Finding FREE NYC Documents during WikiTree Connect-a-Thon

The April WikiTree ConnectAThon added nearly 89,000 new profiles to the worldwide WikiTree. I was part of Team L'Chaim and mostly added ancestors and ancestors-in-law from my Jewish roots. Along the way, I discovered new documents and worked my way backward to older generations as well as horizontally to siblings and spouses of distant cousins whose lives I'd never researched. 

FREE New York City Vital Records

A huge help: finding FREE vital records from the late 1800s through early 1900s on the New York City Digital Vital Records site. This site has birth, marriage, and death records scanned in color from the originals. No sending away, no paying, no waiting. Immediately view and download if that cert is available. Not all are, yet.

Above, shown on the site, an ancestor marriage license from October 7, 1923 that gave me parents' names to extend my tree further back, and witnesses for my FAN club (friends/associates/neighbors). A pdf is downloadable...and/or users can print. Such valuable info on an original document signed personally by the ancestors I'm researching. Gold mine! You can read more about this excellent and free site here.

I started by obtaining the marriage cert number (not license number) on Ancestry, although it can be obtained by using the database search functions on Italiangen.org and other sites. The cert number, borough, and year are needed to get results.

Vital records reveal new facts and relatives

On the NYC Digital Vital Records site, I clicked "Search beta" and selected marriage cert, input the cert number, selected the city borough, and input the year. 

Not all of my searches resulted in finding certs, but about 75% did. I can redo my research later in the year to see whether additional certs become available. Did I mention this is a free search and free download?! 

WikiTree Connect-a-Thon This Weekend

For 72 hours, from Friday at 8 am Eastern US time to Monday at 8 am Eastern US time, WikiTree is holding a worldwide virtual Connect-a-Thon. 

This is an opportunity to "add missing relatives" to the giant, searchable, free family tree on WikiTree.

It's a fun "thon" because we can register to part of teams competing to add the most new profiles to the tree. I'm registered as part of Team L'Chaim, adding both Jewish and non-Jewish ancestor profiles from my line and my husband's line. 

I enjoy the sense of community throughout the weekend, and the opportunity to focus on adding profiles with bite-sized bios to commemorate those who came before. 

I'm also categorizing my ancestors to highlight specific aspects of their lives, such as "48th Highlanders of Canada" for my hubby's renowned bandmaster ancestor, Capt. John Daniel Slatter (1864-1954). If someone is searching for a member of that distinguished Toronto regiment, the category page here shows other profiles already on WikiTree. Ready to connect!

Mark Your Calendar for WikiTree 15th Anniversary Events

This is WikiTree's 15th anniversary year and the celebration will take place over three days in early November. 

Fifteen years of building a free, worldwide collaborative family tree, with more than a million genealogy folks adding more than 35 million ancestor profiles.

You're invited to attend any or all of the free genealogy presentations on November 3-4 plus a virtual party on November 5! Door prizes are part of the celebration too.

More than 30 speakers are participating, and the program also includes a panel discussion about artificial intelligence and genealogy.

You don't want to miss this special event! Take a look at the full schedule here.

Please mark your calendar and save the dates...including my presentation, "Keep Your Family's History Safe for the Future," on Friday, Nov. 3, at 5 pm Eastern. Watch my talk on YouTube with this link.

WikiTree Day Celebrations, Nov 3-5

WikiTree, the free site where participants add ancestors to build one family tree, is celebrating its 15th anniversary in early November. 

Everyone is invited to enjoy two days of free virtual genealogy presentations plus trivia quizzes, prizes, and more. 

I'm one of two dozen speakers speaking on Friday, November 3 and Saturday, November 4. Symposium speakers and topics are listed here. The virtual celebration continues on Sunday, November 5, with panel discussions, exploration of AI and genealogy, and of course a party is on the schedule, as shown here.

My 15-minute talk, scheduled for 5 pm Eastern time on November 3, is: 

Keep Your Family's History Safe for the Future! At times, the safest place for some family history items may be in the collection of a museum, library, archive, genealogical society, or another institution. Learn about the process for donating an ancestral artifact, from investigating potential repositories and understanding their collection priorities to documenting your item's provenance, approaching curators, receiving approval to donate, and signing a deed of gift transferring ownership to the institution. 

Here's where to register for WikiTree Day (did I mention this virtual content is entirely free?!). Mark your calendar to attend any or all events in November. See you then! 

Mid-Year Progress on 2023 Genealogy Priorities

 

Here we are, halfway through 2023! Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun prompt is to write an update on the status of our goals and priorities for the year.

At the start of my 25th year as family historian, I said my priorities would be: 

• Continue writing bite-sized ancestor bios - I'm slowly but steadily writing and posting more bios, mainly short ones, on multiple genealogy platforms. When I come across an ancestor or ancestor-in-law without a FindaGrave memorial, I jot a memo to create one, as I did for my husband's 1c1r Edward Sherman Lower and his wife, Jeanette Jenkins Lower. NOTE: I don't mention living people in bios, for privacy reasons.
• Research ancestors and FAN club members of particular interest - Yes, moving ahead with this especially in-laws. Just this week I went down the rabbit hole researching the cousins of my hubby's 2c3r Elfie Asenath Mosse. Fascinating family background--collecting colorful stories that I know will engage the next generation.
• Genealogy presentations - It was a busy first half for presentations, including my new Fold3 program, which I presented six times. The most-requested talk remains Planning A Future for Your Family's Past, which I'll be giving again in September for the folks at WHAGS (West Houston Area Genealogy Society).
• Genealogy education - I've watched a ton of informative webinars so far in 2023, including live talks hosted by various genealogy clubs. TY to the many thoughtful presenters who provide detailed handouts, which guide me in applying what I've learned even weeks after the talk. 
• Resume moving photos into archival photo albums - um, no progress yet but my Sis will be helping me in coming months. For now, old family photos are stored safely in archival boxes.

A top priority I didn't even have at the start of 2023 is to create professional photo books of specific ancestors, families, and/or events. Early this year, a young relative asked about our family's participation during World War II. Oh yes, I know a lot about that topic and created a small (6 inch x 6 inch) photo book filled with photos and stories. Currently, I'm creating my fourth photo book of the year, the longest book because I knew these ancestors personally and have lots of photos and anecdotes. 

More family history photo books to come and more genealogical adventures to come, including my second WikiTree Connect-A-Thon of 2023, beginning on July 14th. 

Bite-Sized Bios Show Up in Search Results!

 

I've been writing bite-sized bios of ancestors in my family tree and my husband's family tree and posting to multiple websites. Why? Because LOCKSS (lots of copies keeps stuff safe). I don't want these ancestors' names and lives to be forgotten in the future . . . posting brief bios now is part of my plan to keep family history safe for today and tomorrow.

Earlier today, I did an online search for my husband's paternal grandfather, James Edgar Wood (1871-1939), and my bite-sized bios turned up in the first 40 search results. As shown above, this includes both WikiTree profiles and Find a Grave memorial pages!

Not only are bios an excellent way to memorialize ancestors, they also serve as very good cousin bait. Anyone who clicks on these two results will see me as the page manager and be able to send me a note. I've posted bite-sized bios on FamilySearch and other genealogy websites as well.

Little by little, I'm continuing my bite-sized bio project, also memorializing siblings/spouses/in-laws of my ancestors, and making sure to include those who had no descendants. 

Really Brief Bite-Sized Bios From WikiTree Connect-A-Thon

During the weekend of April 21-24, I was one of 749 people who participated in the WikiTree Connect-A-Thon. The goal was to add as many ancestors as possible to WikiTree's free shared family tree, with a minimum of one source and a bit of biographical content. The camaraderie was wonderful and I enjoyed the opportunity to really concentrate on documenting ancestors during a defined time period. This is part of my plan to share family history across multiple platforms.

An amazing 76,995 ancestors total were added to WikiTree during the weekend. I added 107 ancestors, mostly from the paternal side of my family--especially in-laws of in-laws who were not represented at all on WikiTree but now are there.

Given the limited time I could spend on each profile, the bios were brief, more like a teeny nibble than bite-sized ;). It helps that WikiTree automatically weaves together a few facts into a narrative biography, based on what the user inputs on each profile.

The bio in the image above is representative of what I had time to write during a busy weekend of genealogy: This man was born in ___, son of ___ and ___, WWII military service, occupation, name of wife, number of children with her, death. Plus two specific sources, including one with a link to this ancestor's Find a Grave memorial page. WikiTree shows, at a glance, the names of his parents and his wife and sibling.

In the coming weeks, I'll be revisiting the new profiles to flesh them out with better bios and additional sources/links. And of course I'm continuing my bite-sized family history bio projects with posts on other genealogy websites. 

So Many Sites to Memorialize Ancestors

After 25 years of genealogy research, I've learned a lot about my ancestors--and I want to be sure this information isn't lost in the years to come.

For the past few years, I've been writing bite-sized ancestor bios and posting on key genealogy sites. The idea is to share family history more widely, and bios are also possible cousin bait. 

Above, four websites where I've posted the same bio and photo of my paternal grandmother, Henrietta "Yetta" Mahler Burk (1881-1954). 

Clockwise, from top left:

WikiTree is a free collaborative tree site that's growing fast and has the added benefits of sources and (if you wish) DNA connections. I also appreciate the ability to link to profile pages for each parent, each child, each spouse, each sibling. Plus WikiTreers are a friendly bunch!

MyHeritage.com is a subscription site that designates a place on each ancestor profile for a biography. If you want to learn more about how to post a bite-sized bio on MyHeritage, please read my article in the Knowledge Base. Bonus: MyHeritage has many nifty photo tools for enhancing/repairing/colorizing old family photos.

FamilySearch.org came online in 1999 and is the world's largest free collaborative tree site. Grandma Henrietta is well represented with photo, bio, research. A great site, and I'm glad that MyHeritage includes FamilySearch tree results when I research my ancestors.

Find a Grave, now owned by Ancestry, is another free place to post ancestor bios. I especially like that the 226 million+ memorial pages from this site are indexed and appear in search results on Ancestry, Family Search, Fold3, and more. 

Reader Diane asks whether I'm going to use Ancestry's new Storymaker Studio or MyHeritage's DeepStory for telling ancestors' stories. I tried DeepStory, and found it engaging but I do need more experimentation to refine the story and choose the right ancestor photo. It would intrigue the younger generation, but it can't be put on the bookshelf like a photobook, ready at any time for any audience. So far, I haven't yet tried Storymaker Studio but it's on my list to investigate this year.

PLUS: On Ancestry, there is a convenient space under "LifeStory" to type or paste in a full bio! I just did that for Henrietta Mahler Burk, as shown above. Another great way to share family history in narrative form.

Happy 142d birthday, Grandma Yetta, on May 9th. Your name, face, and life story are not forgotten! I'm currently creating a professional photobook about you and Grandpa Isaac, as a keepsake for your grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Adopting Orphan WikiTree Profiles

In the interest of LOCKSS (lots of copies keep stuff safe), I've put family trees on multiple platforms (Ancestry, MyHeritage, FindMyPast). Others are working on family trees on Family Search, so I only touch up profiles there and check that cousins who are very much alive are not yet shown as "deceased." Right now I'm waiting for FamilySearch to change the status of a 99-year-old cousin from "deceased" to "alive." Hey, I spoke with him a week ago and he's definitely alive! UPDATE: Only a few days after requesting this change, my cousin was officially declared "living."

Focusing on WikiTree

Currently, I'm adding and enriching ancestor profiles on WikiTree. Rather than upload a GEDCOM, I'm entering one ancestor profile at a time. The collaborative WikiTree tree is more than just names and dates--sources are required, and often contributors link to actual sources. By creating profiles one by one, I can review the sources I've already gathered and conduct fresh research to fill any gaps and sketch a bite-sized bio for each ancestor. 

Early this year I finally connected hubby's ancestors to people already profiled on WikiTree. Now I'm discovering even more of his McClure ancestors and in-laws on WikiTree. At top, the formerly orphaned WikiTree profile of Louisa Austin McClure (1837-1924), the wife of hubby's great-granduncle Theodore Wilson McClure (1835-1927). 

I immediately adopted her profile and began filling it out. Below, my work in progress, with a bite-sized bio and more sources. I still have more children to add, and more orphaned profiles to adopt...but this is a good start. (You know I married my husband for his ancestors!)

My first ancestral connection to someone profiled on WikiTree was through a cousin-in-law on my Farkas side. That profile had originally been created in 2011, and I adopted it this month. Fewer orphans means more recent research and enriched bite-sized bios. 

Connect-a-Thon Coming 

I'll be participating in WikiTree's Connect-a-Thon during April, concentrating on adding more profiles of my ancestors and their in-laws. See you there?!

John McClure's Parents Connect Him to WikiTree

One by one, I've been adding my ancestors and my husband's ancestors to the one-tree site WikiTree, double-checking sources and writing bite-sized bios so their entries are more than just names and dates, wherever possible. 

For my tree, I was given an incredible head start by many talented WikiTreers during the December, 2021 challenge when I was extremely fortunate to be the featured guest. Three brick walls smashed on my tree, plus intriguing clues for me to follow up!

Adding hubby's ancestors individually

Now I'm focusing on my husband's tree, entering each ancestor individually. This helps me slow down and analyze all research and relationships carefully, aiming for accuracy and searching for connections. 

At top, the profile I created for hubby's 3d great-grandfather John McClure, whose dates are approximate but birth, marriage, and death places are definite. 

Trying to add his father, Alexander McClure, I discovered that someone had already created a profile for this ancestor and for his second wife Martha [maiden name unk] McClure. 

Connecting to existing profiles 

Now my hubby's branch connects to ancestors who have already been documented on WikiTree, for the first time. That means I can collaborate with researchers working on mutual ancestors on WikiTree, examining their sources and building on their previous research while contributing what I've learned.

In fact, I was able to improve Martha McClure's existing profile and better approximate her death date by adding the above handwritten attestation from John McClure's wedding documentation. It shows his mother Martha McClure swearing her son was over the age of 21 on his wedding day, 8 April 1801, in Rockbridge county, Virginia. 

As I move upward and outward on the McClure branch of the family tree, I'm looking forward to collaborating with other WikiTreers. 

Friday and Saturday: WikiTree Symposium and WikiTree Day

On November 4 and 5, you're invited to hours and hours of free genealogy talks celebrating WikiTree's 14th anniversary. You can attend any or all sessions and learn from the experts!

Two sessions not to miss are the panel discussions about the future of genealogy with Eowyn Langholf (facilitator), Chris Whitten, Mags Gaulden, Daniel Loftus, Rob Warthen, Roberta Estes and Amy Johnson Crow. Also panel discussion with Eowyn facilitating and panelists Mags Gaulden, Jen Baldwin, LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, Kathryn Lake Hogan, and Thomas MacEntee.

You can join in some fun activities, including Bingo, trivia, and more. 

It's an honor to be speaking during the November 4th Symposium, at 10 am.

My talk, "Genealogical Clues and Cousin Bait on Find a Grave," was presented live and then available for 30 days on YouTube, where nearly 800 people viewed it.

Thank you to WikiTree!

Celebrating WikiTree's 14th Anniversary

 

WikiTree is throwing an anniversary party and all are invited to learn more about genealogy and family history topics--for free!

The anniversary is on Saturday, November 5 but the celebration begins on Friday, November 4. Lots of well-known speakers are on the schedule, plus trivia, door prizes, exhibitors, and more.

If you can't attend live, the videos will be available for 30 days so mark your calendar for this educational celebration.

Genealogy clues and cousin bait on Find a Grave

I'm honored to participate as a speaker on November 4 at 10 am. My topic is "Genealogy clues and cousin bait on Find a Grave."

Above, a little preview from my talk. Imagine you're researching on Ancestry or Family Search and you find summaries of Find a Grave records much like those shown here (my ancestor on left, hubby's ancestor on the right). 

Notice that both mention a biography on the memorial page. One mentions a photo. Very possibly cousin bait? Definitely worth checking out! I'll discuss these tips and more on November 4. Hope to see you then!

A Look Ahead to My Genealogy Projects in 2022

 

As 2022 approaches, I'm looking forward to making progress on a number of genealogy projects.

• Census research: I can hardly wait until April 1st, when the 1950 US Census will be released. I'm ready to browse with names, street addresses, and enumeration districts. If the surname search function is operational, so much the better. I can sort my listing of most-wanted ancestors alphabetically by surname or numerically by ED. This Census could help me solve some vexing family-history mysteries! A true highlight of 2022.
• Census research: On January 6, the 1921 Census for England will be released. My hubby had ancestors in London at that point, and I had paternal cousins in Manchester and London. Should be quite interesting to locate these people and learn more!
• Bite-sized bios: I'll be writing and posting (in public) more bite-sized bios for ancestors in my family tree and my hubby's family tree. For instance, I haven't written any public bios for aunts/uncles other than my Auntie Dorothy, who was a WAC, although all of these ancestors are mentioned in private family-history booklets sent to relatives. Also I'll be working on bios for great aunts and great uncles, and for ancestors who served in the military.
• Photo management: It's time (past time, really) for reorganizing old family photos. I bought one archival photo album as an experiment started scanning photos before slotting them into the album. In 2022, I plan to test a different type of album and increase momentum. Regardless of the albums I use, captioning is key!
• Research priority: Other than searching newly-released Census records, my top research priority is to follow up on clues uncovered by the incredible WikiTree team a few weeks ago. There are so many intriguing possibilities for improving my family tree and adding more ancestors/bios/sources on WikiTree.
• DNA matches: Who knows what the future holds here? Maybe 2022 will be the year I make a big breakthrough! I'm fishing in many ponds and keeping my fingers crossed.
• Presentations: It is an honor to be presenting virtual programs to audiences near and far. My talk about the 1950 US Census is currently the most popular. Until full indexing is complete, I'll be explaining the enumeration quirks and demonstrating the three-step process for finding ancestors through efficient, informed browsing. 
• Genealogy education: So many virtual learning opportunities are ahead in 2022. I'm thankful that once again, RootsTech will be all-virtual and worldwide, offering hundreds of talks on genealogy topics for all levels and all interests. I'll miss seeing my genie friends in person, but the next-best thing is having access to world-class talks without leaving home. At least to start the year, all of the genealogy groups to which I belong are hosting speakers virtually--especially convenient in the winter, when weather is iffy. 
  

Dear readers, I wish you a new year filled with successful genealogy research, interesting learning opportunities, and great progress on your family history projects!

- "Future" is the final prompt for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge of 2021. 

A Look Back at My Genealogy Projects in 2021

Staying close to home in 2021, as I did in 2020, it was a year chock-full of genealogy projects. 

Although I've been doing some research, I was particularly focused on documenting family history for descendants and to share more widely online. Genealogy is never complete...but anything I share is more than the family (and future researchers) had before. Why wait? I'm sharing now.

Also, I blogged, wrote, and gave talks about preserving family history, prepping for the 1950 US Census, perpetuating family history, and many other topics.

Highlights:

• I published a new edition of my best-selling book, Planning a Future for Your Family's Past, receiving highly favorable reviews from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Family Tree Magazine (UK), as well as from genealogy societies and genealogy bloggers.
• It was a real honor to be a featured guest during the WikiTree Challenge. The remarkable WikiTree super-sleuths smashed several brick walls (Burk, Farkas, and Kunstler) and provided concrete clues to help me continue the research!  
• I made nearly two dozen live webinar presentations to US genealogy societies from coast to coast, plus one talk in person. In addition, I recorded talks for the New England Regional Genealogical Conference, THE Genealogy Show UK (summer and winter), and the Virtual Genealogy Association Conference. Wonderful audiences! 
• It was fun being a #GenChat guest expert, sparking discussion about finding ancestors when the 1950 US Census is released in April. Also I participated in lots of #GenChat and #AncestryHour chats, occasionally chiming in on #ANZAncestryTime chats.
• I wrote an article, "Finding Heirs for Your Family History," published in the December, 2021 issue of Internet Genealogy magazine.
• I wrote an article, "Free and Almost Free Genealogy," published in the winter 2021 issue of Avotaynu, the International Review of Jewish Genealogy.
• I found new homes (museums, libraries, historical societies) for artifacts such as theater programs collected by my late father-in-law from the 1920s to the 1980s. Family is so happy about donating these items. More to go!
• Consulting with relatives, I wrote and posted (on Find a Grave, Family Search, MyHeritage, WikiTree, and elsewhere) dozens of bite-sized ancestor bios from my tree and hubby's tree. Good progress, with more in the works.
• My late father-in-law left hundreds of photos and negatives, which I'm slowly scanning, captioning, and sharing with relatives. To be continued in 2022, along with scanning my childhood photos. Scanning is easy, captioning is key.
• I helped my hubby record several family-history videos and prepare a number of written reminiscences, complete with photos. Lesson learned: For our family audience, videos are watched once, but printed materials live on.
• I expanded my virtual cemeteries on Find a Grave to share with relatives and keep burial places from being forgotten in the future. More to go!
• I expanded my knowledge base by watching talks all year, not just those fantastic RootsTech talks but also programs hosted by national, regional, and local genealogical societies. In my bunny slippers and headset! (PS: I'm excited to be a RootsTech Influencer--aka Ambassador--for 2022.)

My next post will be a look ahead to 2022, when I will celebrate 14 years of genealogy blogging.

Three Brick Walls Smashed by Remarkable WikiTreers

This past Wednesday, the remarkable WikiTree volunteers who worked tirelessly on improving my family tree were able to break three challenging brick walls. 

Overall, they improved many branches of my tree, adding people, lots of background, detailed sources, and dozens of clues for me to investigate! 

If you want to see the reveal as it unfolded during the WikiTree broadcast, take a look here. 

And here's a link to learn more about WikiTree's collaborative family tree. WikiTree is free, the emphasis is on connections, and it's a very friendly place!

Breakthrough on my Burk line

The WikiTree broadcast led with the news of an important breakthrough on my Burk line. 

When I first ventured into genealogy, my goal was to discover the where, when, and how my paternal grandfather Isaac Burk (1882-1943) died. In the process, I learned about my paternal great-grandfather, Solomon Elias Burk--but that was as far back as I could go.

Until now. The WikiTree team was able to discover the name of my great-great-grandfather, Meyer Burk, in Gargzdai, Lithuania, the place where my grandpa Isaac and his siblings were born (see WikiTree image at top). An exciting breakthrough! Because the name Meyer has been carried down in the Burk line through multiple generations, he is a most welcome addition--among the earliest of my ancestors on the family tree.

Breakthrough on my Farkas line

Yet another brick wall was busted when the WikiTree team uncovered a brother for my great-grandfather, Moritz Farkas (1857-1936). 

Digging really deep, the WikiTreers found evidence of Simon Farkas (b. about 1852), who is almost certainly Moritz's older brother. The names fit, the dates and places fit--Botpalad, Hungary was where a number of Farkas ancestors were born. 

This is an intriguing breakthrough because Simon's father was Ferencz, as was Moritz's father, according to the official birth records. Now I hope to learn more by tracing Simon's line, starting with the research notes provided by WikiTreers.

Breakthrough on my Kunstler line

One more breakthrough was the discovery of a possible brother for Samuel (Shmuel) Zanvil Kunstler, my great-great-grandfather. A little background (corrected): More than 20 years ago, a cousin visited this ancestor's grave and saw that the stone lists Josef Moshe as the father of Samuel.

This week, the WikiTreers found records pointing to innkeeper Herman (Hersko) Kunstler, in NagyBereg, as a possible brother to Samuel. The Kunstlers did, in fact, operate an inn, which confirms some kind of connection! 

Updated: Herman's father is Josef M., according to the records uncovered by the WikiTreers. Samuel's father, according to his gravestone, was Josef Moshe, whose father was Hillel. I'm going to take a closer look, but this is extremely promising.

Clearly, more research is in my future, a happy prospect for 2022. 

It was truly an honor to be a featured guest during the WikiTree Challenge.

I want to thank the many WikiTreers who worked so hard and dug so deep to improve my family tree.

This is my week #50 post for Amy Johnson Crow's #52Ancestors challenge. 

I've already signed up for the 2022 edition of #52 Ancestors! Follow this link if you want to sign up, too.

Honored to be a WikiTree Challenge Guest!

This is the final month of WikiTree's Year of Accuracy Genealogy Challenge.

The goal is to make the collaborative family tree on WikiTree as complete and accurate as possible, sources and all. 

I've been putting my ancestors on WikiTree little by little, adding photos and biographical details, and -- of course -- indicating my sources. 

During December, teams of WikiTree research super-sleuths will focus on three folks in the genealogy community: Mary Roddy, James Tanner, and me. It is truly an honor to be included in the 2021 challenge!

I can't wait to see what hidden treasures the WikiTree teams will uncover as they dig deep to improve my family tree. 

A few items on my wish list:

• Was paternal grandpa Isaac Burk descended from the Shuham family, as he wrote on his Social Security application? If so, he was related to his bride, my paternal grandma Henrietta Mahler Burk. She was a granddaughter of Rachel Shuham Jacobs. Sticking with this line, was Necke Gelle Shuham (Isaac's mom) the sister of Hinda Mitav? 
• Rachel Shuham Jacobs was my paternal 2d great-grandma. Her daughter Tillie Jacobs Mahler claimed to be 100 years old when she died in 1952. If so, was Rachel a young teen when she gave birth to Tillie? 
• Who were maternal great-grandpa Moritz Farkas's siblings? These would be children of Ferencz Farkas & Hermina Gross Farkas. Knowing more about these ancestors could help me connect my tree with Elek Farkas and his wife Rozsi. I believe Elek's daughter was Ida Weiss who married Herman Weiss, and I know their descendants were cousins to my maternal Farkas family. But what kind of cousins? Was Herman Weiss also a cousin to Farkas family?
• What about the parents of my maternal great-grandma Hani Simonowitz Schwartz and her husband, Herman Yehuda Schwartz?

Thank you in advance for any ancestor details you're able to add to my tree and any brick walls you're able to smash, WikiTreers!

Memorializing Moms in My Family Tree

_____________________________________________________

Sunday is Mother's Day, and also the 140th anniversary of the birth of my paternal grandmother, Henrietta Mahler Burk (1881-1954). I'm in the process of preparing bite-sized ancestor biographies, and decided to jump Henrietta to the top of the list in honor of her special day.

Using my research notes, I wrote a few paragraphs summarizing Henrietta's life as an immigrant ancestor and mother of four. I'm the manager of her Find a Grave memorial, which makes it fast and easy to update the page with a basic bio (see excerpt above). Previously, I had posted a gravestone photo and a head shot with digital caption showing her name and the photo's date. I used this opportunity to double-check Find a Grave links to other family members and add Henrietta to my virtual cemetery.

Then I posted Henrietta's bio on WikiTree, where her head shot was already in place on her profile. 

This version of the bio includes brief source citations inside square brackets, to be filled out later with more detail. 

Soon I'll be adding more relatives to Grandma's part of the tree, with sources and photos. 

WikiTree asks for an explanation when profiles are changed. I wrote: "enriching biographical sketch."

I've also posted Henrietta's bite-sized bio on MyHeritage. And on Family Search!

Posting bios and photos online keeps Grandma Yetta and other ancestors alive for future generations.

Happy Mother's Day to the Moms in my family tree!

Genealogy Progress in the Pandemic Year of 2020

With only days to go until 2020 is in the history books, I'm looking back at the progress I made with my genealogy projects during this year of the coronavirus pandemic. I'm putting ever more emphasis on sharing what I know with relatives and preparing my trees, photos, and materials so they are in good shape to pass to the next generation years from now. 

In particular, I've been creating a variety of bite-sized projects while continuing to work on longer-term projects. Getting a small project finished in a short time gives me a sense of accomplishment and keeps my genealogy fun and engaging. If you can turn any of your research into a small project to share with family, I encourage you to try this in 2021!

During 2020 my progress included:

Complete though not planned: My original 2020 plan didn't include focusing on hubby's Civil War ancestors. But when younger relatives expressed interest, I dug into the research and wrote about 15 ancestors who fought for the Union and 3 who fought for the Confederacy. Thinking like a reader, I included an illustration with every ancestor bio, and complied an index in case someone wants to look up a specific person (maiden names included). 

Complete though not planned: A fun bite-sized project: I created a family history coloring book for each side of the family. It didn't take much time and it was a delightful, quick way to share ancestor photos and basic genealogical information, in a format that encourages children to color faces and backgrounds. I also sent adult recipients the coloring book electronically so they can reprint whenever they wish.

Nearly complete: My long-awaited "Daisy and Dorothy" booklet about Mom (Daisy Schwartz Burk, 1919-1981) and her twin sister (Dorothy Schwartz, 1919-2001) is almost finished. The goal is to give the next generation "insider" insights and tell family stories that bring the twins alive as people. My research revealed  details that I either didn't know or didn't remember, a real plus to completing this booklet.

Ongoing sharing: I accelerated my plan for posting photos, memories, and life stories of ancestors on multiple genealogy sites as cousin bait and to keep these names and faces alive for future generations by sharing. When I post a photo these days, I include names, dates, and sources directly on the images (as shown above from my small but growing WikiTree tree). I've also been using various tools to tease out faces and details from old images. And I've been lucky enough to have cousins who share family photos and letters that illuminate the surprisingly intertwined lives of our common ancestors! My resolution is to continue in 2021.

Improving research and sources: Some ancestors in my trees had limited sources attached from my original, basic research. Now I'm researching more widely, adding more sources, and including captioned images, where available, boosting my trees' credibility. Rotating newspaper databases instead of sticking with just one has helped me uncover new clues, as well. I'm very grateful to the parking lot angels who have been so helpful in obtaining digitized images visible at FHCs only. My resolution is to keep this going in 2021.

Curating my genealogy collection: Practicing what I preach, I'm continuing to curate my collection by sorting and distributing selected items to extended family or outside the family. A cousin was delighted to have a 1911 postcard written by his grandfather to my grandmother. I also donated 1950s theater programs and 1940s war-related ephemera to a university, among other items. I resolve to do more curation during 2021.

Preparing for the 1950 US Census release: The actual release isn't until April of 2022, but I've been carefully studying the enumeration instruction manual and the blank forms. When the Census is finally released, I want to be ready to find my ancestors in the unindexed, untranscribed records (starting with my parents, who were recorded together in one household for the first time). Plus the Census has some fascinating quirks and insights into mid-century life in postwar America.

New presentations! It's been great fun doing virtual presentations to audiences near and far since the spring. I've been updating and reformatting every program with colorful backgrounds and easy-to-read fonts suitable for digital devices of all sizes. Two brand-new talks scheduled for 2021 are: 

• "Bring Family History Alive in Bite-Sized Projects" - this program will debut at the New England Regional Genealogy Conference in April. 
• "Get Ready for the 1950 Census Release!" - this talk has been scheduled for the second half of 2021, before the 1950 Census is released. 

Genealogy community. I enjoyed participating in #GenChat, #AncestryHour, and #OurAncestors Twitter chats during 2020 and I look forward to being a #GenChat guest expert in 2021. Also it was fun to follow threads in the new #ANZAncestryTime chat, which takes place live on Twitter when I'm asleep. I really loved attending the 2020 Virtual Genealogy Association annual conference (2d year in a row) and have it on my 2021 calendar (more news soon). I've learned so much and felt great joy connecting with genie friends on FB, Twitter, blogs, webinars/conferences, and more. I resolve to continue participating during 2021.

This is my #52Ancestors "resolution" post for week 52. TY to Amy Johnson Crow for another year of interesting genealogy blog prompts! Another resolution is to continue with these prompts in 2021.

To my dear readers, may your 2021 be healthy, hopeful, peaceful, and filled with genealogy breakthroughs. The new year should bring safe opportunities to be with family and friends in person!

Using WikiTree to Memorialize My Mom and Aunt

Today would have been the 101st birthday of my beloved Mom, Daisy Schwartz Burk (1919-1981) and her dear twin sister, Dorothy H. Schwartz (1919-2001). 

Recently, I found that a kind volunteer posted brief bios for both twins on the free worldwide family-tree site WikiTree. These bios are part of an effort to memorialize WACs, like my Aunt Dorothy, who served during World War II.

Above is an excerpt from Dorothy's profile, showing photos that appear on my blog and on my Ancestry family tree. 

WikiTree and Cousin Bait

Although I've heard a lot about WikiTree from friends on #GenChat and #AncestryHour, I've only just joined so I can add to the profiles of all the ancestors named on this memorial page, and expand the tree from there. 

WikiTree has video tutorials and detailed help pages for newbies like me. Also I know WikiTreers are quite happy to answer questions when people need help! I was warmly welcomed and offered assistance within the first hour of joining.

One of the best things about WikiTree is its ability to serve as cousin bait. The site even provides lots of ideas for maximizing the cousin-bait potential of a presence on WikiTree!

Photos to Personalize My WikiTree

At right is the first photo I'm posting for my Mom, a lovely portrait from about 1939. For easy identification, I added her name, dates, and a "courtesy" source line directly on the photo. 

On their special day, I'm remembering Daisy (Mom) and Dorothy (Auntie) with much love. 

Scan-A-Thon 2019: Photos Tell Family History Stories

During this weekend's big Scan-A-Thon (thank you to #WikiTree and #GeneabloggersTRIBE), I'm continuing my scanning of photos from my childhood and into the recent past.

Each picture tells a story. I'm planning to not only name names, but also identify dates and places, and explain the occasions and possessions that add to #familyhistory.

This photo just scanned is a good case in point. If you recognize that cute-ugly doll being hugged by this little girl, you'll know the approximate year.

Yes, it's the early 1980s.

The actual year is 1983. It's a year I won't forget, because local stores were sold out of Cabbage Patch Dolls, and shipments were few and far between. Yet two young relatives were longing, longing for those dolls. After family members scoured toy stores and added their names to waiting lists, I pursued plan B.

At the time, I worked for a retail industry group with ties to big department stores. I called my contacts to ask whether anyone could help me put my hands on two dolls (regardless of price). Nobody had anything in stock, but they said they'd keep me in mind. So I waited. And waited. And waited.

Eventually, an exec called and told me I could buy two dolls (!) at the regular price ($30 each) if I came to the store at the instant it opened the next morning.

Bright and early, he met me at the cash register with two dolls, already in a bag so other shoppers wouldn't know that I was buying just before the shelves were stocked that day. I happily forked over the cash and thanked him profusely, grateful to have not just one but two dolls. Sis and I wrapped and hid those dolls until holiday time.

You can see by the photo how well loved this Cabbage Patch Doll was! Even after the fad faded, the girls had fond memories of these dolls. Now they can relive the memory whenever they see this photo.

Also in the photo are crewel embroidery projects made by moi and gifted to this family. Although a small part of the story of this photo, crafts are an ongoing theme in my family. My maternal grandma was a master of embroidery and crochet. My Mom loved to crochet, she did petit point, and tried her hand at decoupage.

My sisters and I were all taught to crochet and sew at an early age. Sis was an ace seamstress, making her own stylish clothes. I quilt. We still enjoy crafting, and all members of the next generation enjoy crafts, as well.

By telling the story of these old photos, we can show the younger folks how many connections they have to their ancestors. In this case, it's a love of hand-crafts. And the memory of chasing after the toy of the moment for two much-loved little girls.