Idle Gossip Sinks Ships and Win the War Stamp

Over the years, Mom saved dozens and dozens of letters from a few close friends and relatives. I'm still transcribing a few every day. Just looking at the envelopes is an education in history. The envelopes of letters sent by one friend, writing from an Air Corps training camp in Goldsboro, NC, are stamped "IDLE GOSSIP SINKS SHIPS." The dates are late 1942 through mid-1943. The stamps are purple with an eagle holding its wings high and the phrase "WIN THE WAR." 2022 update: added image from Smithsonian.

FamilySearch Labs - Obsolete

Wow! Tom Kemp of NewsBank.com gave a wonderful talk to my local genealogy group last night. Lots of great tips and ideas to get us back to our keyboards for more research. Among the many online gems he mentioned was FamilySearch Labs, a site with lots of almost-ready-for-prime-time tools and resources. 

2022 update: This post is obsolete, as the site is no longer in operation.

Letters to my Mom

I'm transcribing letters written to my mother in the late 1930s and into the 1940s, by one of her closest friends and, later, by the friend's husband as well and a few other folks. What an incredible way to learn about my Bronx-born mother's thoughts, feelings, dreams, hopes, disappointments, and fears. Thank goodness for Google--I can look at the streets where Mom once lived, where her correspondents lived, and find out about places where they vacationed, such as Scaroon Manor on Schroon Lake, NY. That was pretty far from the Bronx, in distance and in other ways as well.

Mom's alma mater was JHS 60 in Bronx, NY and James Monroe HS in Bronx, NY. The JHS is no longer there, apparently, and James Monroe isn't a high school any longer. 

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, this was a busy and crowded area of the Bronx; it wasn't the "South Bronx" that today is so notorious for high crime, etc. 

One letter, dated August 1941, refers to the good men already being "with Uncle Sam"--an eye-opener because I was under the impression that the movement to join the armed services didn't happen till after Pearl Harbor, not before. How lucky I am that Mom saved this treasure trove of letters for decades.

2022 update: freshened links. 

Staying in touch with newfound cousins

When it comes to staying in touch with newly-found cousins, how often is too often? I'm connected to a couple of cousins via Facebook and post or send a FB note every other month to say hello if I haven't heard from them. I exchange e-mails with a couple of other cousins about 3-4 times a year or so. One cousin I call every few months to say hello and update her on my genealogical adventures. And of course I send ("e" or snail mail) season's greetings and new year's wishes to all my cousins. I've even met some cousins face to face! 

One cousin on my husband's side, an avid genealogy researcher, is in touch every couple of weeks; it's a real pleasure to hear that family's news, or share in the latest family-tree expansion, or at least get a "hello." Even if I receive only a forwarded joke now and then, I'm glad to be thought of and considered part of the family circle. 2022 update: This researcher and I are still in touch and we often share info, as well as updates on our own families!

Probably few relatives remain as excited about renewing long-lost family connections as I am, although most are delighted at the outset. Everybody's busy these days, with work or family or hobbies or just the details of everyday life. 

How often is TOO often to be in touch? I'm not just looking to fill out the boxes on the family tree. I'm genuinely interested in staying in touch and learning more about my family members, sharing memories of our mutual ancestors and enjoying the genealogical adventure together. 

What are your thoughts on staying in touch with relatives you've recently discovered in your family research?

Whose Mama? Who's Mama?

Going through a family photo album created in the 1990s, which just turned up, I found this small photo. On the reverse, in what looks to my eyes like a European hand, is one word: Mama. 

Whose mama is this? And who is Mama? No other clues are available on the photo and no other photos in the album are similar (nor was it near any old photos). Sadly, it could have been from either side of my family. The face doesn't look familiar at all. I'm going to ask a few cousins to take a look but I don't have much hope. 

This is one reason why I'm interested in Picasa 3.5's new face recognition feature. I haven't tried it yet, but Picasa claims that once I've started tagging photos on my hard drive, it will tag new photos automatically and allow me to filter searches by person. I'm going to give it a try soon to see whether it works just as well with old photos as it does with new photos.

2022 update: In 2016 I connected with UK cousins and learned that this was Anna Hannah Mitav Chazan. Picasa is, alas, no longer supported by parent company Google but I still have it.

The Burk Bag Tradition

Thank goodness, my mother always clipped from newspapers and magazines and sent the clips to family members. Remember this neighborhood icon that's being torn down? Remember when we were talking about the NYC school system? She'd put the clipping into her latest letter and send it along. When our family got together, she'd hand magazines or something else to each of us girls, in a shopping bag or some such. 

That tradition became known as The Burk Bag. And it's lasted well into this generation and the next, with tote bags always being exchanged when one family member visits with another. It happened yesterday when my sis and I exchanged Burk Bags. 

My nieces bring Burk Bags when they visit and of course leave with Burk Bags as well. I received lots of books (to read or donate to the local library's fabulous book sale) and some mag and newspaper clippings. Remember Frederik Pohl (I'm a sci-fi fan)? Here's the August 22nd NYT story about his receiving an honorary degree from Brooklyn Tech. Did I know that Brian Boitano has a new cooking show (I'm a skating fan)? Here's a mag clipping about it. In exchange, my sis got a tiny Burk Bag I filled with two magazines, a book, and a black frog for her new jacket. 

We went through some old family letters yesterday and found them filled with clippings too. Apparently my family went for this kind of thing during the 1940s (long before my time) and the spirit of The Burk Bag is alive and well even today.

Sometimes the Burk Bags are filled to the brim, sometimes they're pretty slender, but all are reminders of our family's tradition and how we think of each other even when we're miles apart.

2022 update: Burk Bags continue! We still carry on the tradition and everyone knows what a "Burk Bag" is.

Researching sideways

Researching sideways (as Toni McKeen calls it)--looking for all siblings in each generation and their spouses/in-laws and even extended family members--takes time but it can be very productive. It led me to finding 2d cousins I never knew about!

Here's what happened: my first-cousin once removed really loved her favorite aunt Anna, who married my grand-uncle Sam. I decided to research Anna's family and found that there was no surname message board devoted to her family's last name, so I got permission from Ancestry to start one. That was in June. 

Just two weeks ago, I got a note on that surname board from Burt, who told me he's related to Anna's family. He and I exchanged e-mails, I sent him a photo of Sam and Anna, and lo and behold, he gave me the e-mail of my second cousin Gary. Gary and I exchanged e-mails and the next thing I know, Gary's sister Bonnie called me to say how much she enjoyed seeing the photo of Sam and Anna--her grandparents! Plus Bonnie has some family tree info she got from a favorite aunt. 

It's wonderful to get acquainted with these long-lost cousins and hear their stories. And it's all because of researching sideways. Thank you, Burt, for taking the time to answer my query. More genealogy adventures are ahead, I'm sure.

2022 update: I'm still in touch with Gary and Bonnie, and although surname message boards are obsolete, I use other methods to research sideways.

Remembering Sept 11, 2001

On a 2-wk tour of Italy, I was sitting in the public room of a small hotel in Rome during afternoon siesta hours on September 11th. The TV was on in the corner, showing an Italian soap opera, and I was stitching a needlepoint stocking for Michael's first Christmas.

Suddenly the TV picture switched to a jet slamming into one of the Twin Towers, and the station replayed that clip several times as Italian newscasters discussed what was happening. The crawl at bottom of the screen credited CNN for the footage, and I quickly realized that any English-language commentary was being replaced by Italian commentary. But I did notice the word "live" and it became clear that the picture of the damaged Twin Towers was being broadcast in real time.

I found my husband and we found one of the tour guides, who joined the group gathered by the small TV. As we watched in shock, the second jet rammed the Twin Towers and our guide translated what the news anchors were saying. We sat numb and horrified as the first Tower collapsed.

By now many tour members were already on the phone trying to call friends and relatives in NYC, even though we'd already heard that the lines were jammed and calls weren't getting through. Instead many of us went to the nearest Internet point to check online news sites and send e-mails to our NY connections.

The rest of that day is a blur, although I know the guides suggested a quiet walking tour of one of the seven hills. For the next few days, whenever our group was in public, Italians would come up to us, ask if we were American, and express their shock over the attack and their support for us and our nation.

We were visiting the Vatican that Friday during the time when the worldwide period of silence was observed. Everyone in the Vatican stopped what they were doing and stood up, respectfully standing in place for three minutes with heads bowed, in silent prayer or contemplation or sorrow. Those few minutes brought a brief sense of peace, comfort and solidarity. Today, 8 years later, still sadness and sorrow, never to be forgotten.

Treasure Chest Thursday

This treasure chest post is about the treasures shared by genealogy teacher Toni McKeen last night. She has a treasure trove of tips and tricks for getting the most out of HeritageQuest and Ancestry, which she explained during a meeting of the Genealogy Club of Newtown, CT. 

I wrote down a few ideas to try with HeritageQuest, including using the advanced search to sort by age or other categories, searching by first name (that's an interesting thought), and capturing the Census page as shown on the screen for downloading and printing later. 

Toni brought some treasures from her family's chest, such as photos, birth and marriage certificates, and other goodies that she's used to climb her family tree over the years. Toni teaches genealogy at Founder's Hall in Ridgefield, CT and she also gives presentations around CT and NY. 

2022 Update: HeritageQuest is now "powered by Ancestry" which means its Census scans are the same as Ancestry's scans, for instance.

Genealogy Time Capsules

Ever think about the Census as a time capsule? Each one is waiting to be discovered 72 years later when genealogists and researchers can look back and see ancestors were living or working at a certain time and place, see who was living and near with those people, learn about their educational situation, the language they spoke, and so on. 

 We know where these Census time capsules are, we know when they're about to be opened, and we know how to peek inside and find data treasures that will help us piece together details of our family from years past. 

 I've come to think of a genealogy blog as another kind of family time capsule. I post names, photos, queries, comments about my family tree and--if Google never removes the blog or the links--they'll be here for decades or longer, waiting for some future researcher or distant relative to search out and read. As long as search engines can locate my blog's entries in the ever-expanding galaxy of web stuff, future members of my family will be able to see what I've posted. My blog isn't as well organized as the Census, and I'm careful to protect the privacy of living people, but still it can be viewed as a kind of time capsule about my family. 

Here's my concern: not all time capsules are found. From time to time, I read in news reports about time capsules that come to light accidentally--maybe buried at the start of some monument's construction and then found 52 or 78 years later during renovation. Or a school asks children to bring everyday items and notes to class for a time capsule burial set into a new building's cornerstone or at a new sports field's dedication. Too often the markers fade or aren't even set up to let future generations know of the treasures buried in the time capsule. 

 I deliberately include the surnames of ancestors and relatives I'm researching in the hope that these serve as markers to guide people to my blog.* But will my blog and the thousands like it be gone some day? If there are no new entries for 25 years, will a search engine able to find my blog when someone two generations from now wants to research the same surnames? 

 How can we, as family researchers, ensure that our genealogy blogs--the ones we use to describe family trees, discuss our ancestors, display old photos, and reach out to long-lost cousins--live on? How can we be sure that our genealogy blogs will be treated as family time capsules that can be found many years in the future?

2022 update: I'm posting ancestor photos and bios and broader family histories on websites where future genealogists are likely to search, such as Family Search. In some cases, I'm embedding links to my blog. 

*Also I added ancestor landing pages as tabs across the top of my blog, to capture attention and bring visitors to a summary page about each surname or family.

LOCKSS is the theory: Lots of copies keeps stuff safe! 

Surname Message Boards

I've had good luck with surname message boards (Ancestry, Rootsweb, etc.) over the past few years. When I connect with someone on a surname board, it's usually a productive exchange, although many responses only serve to clarify that the responder and I are NOT from the same family tree. Yesterday, after only 3 months, someone contacted me about a very unique surname posting. I'm hopeful that this will give us both more insight into our family backgrounds. 

2022 update: Brief queries such as these can be effective on Facebook pages devoted to genealogy, as well. I've joined FB groups devoted to specific locations (such as NYC and Adams County, OH) plus FB groups devoted to Jewish genealogy, Hungarian translations, and more. 

Here's what I've learned about using surname message boards:

1. The initial message must include sufficient information for readers to determine whether they should follow up with me. Thanks to a couple of anonymous readers of surname posts who gave me advice after my first few postings, I got better at this fairly quickly. Now I'm careful to include not just the surname and the given name of the person/family I'm tracing but also dates for the period in question, places (birthplace, immigration path, and/or residence), plus any special details that would jump out at the reader.
2. Be sure to tag the surnames mentioned in the message. Otherwise someone who's searching for the same surname may not connect with me. But I also have to avoid the temptation to include every surname I'm trying to research. Targeted is better.
3. Offer to share info. Why would someone answer my post if I don't plan to exchange info? They're searching for their ancestors, just as I'm searching for mine. Fair is fair.
4. It's a good idea to post new inquiries or requests later, especially when I find more information that helps me narrow the surname search. Although many boards allow revision of old posts, I prefer to post a new message to catch the eye of someone who's browsing or readers who've read all the older posts and only want to see the newer ones.
5. I have to check the message boards from time to time even if I've signed up for "automatic notification" when responders answer my message. Sometimes "automatic" isn't so automatic, so it's up to me to check for anything new.
6. When I get a response, I need to answer promptly and offer a few more details to keep the conversation going. If I'm lucky, the message-board connection will help me and the responder fill in spots in our family tree and maybe even allow us to do research together.

Do Distant Relatives Want to Hear from Us?

A few weeks ago I found the obit of a descendant of my grand-aunt Anna, and wrote a letter to one of the surviving relatives. I also sent a Facebook message to her son (he was listed in the obit, as well). Both of my notes were polite and enthusiastic, explaining that I'm researching my family tree, found what I think is a connection to their family, and would like to ask a couple of questions about where Anna came from in the Old World. Also I offered a photo of Anna if they'd like to see what she looked like. No answer. Does no answer mean "no" or does it mean "too busy to respond" or "don't want to think about the old days" or "don't want to talk to strangers" or "moved, no forwarding address" or what? I've never received a letter like the ones I'm sending, so I can't say how I'd react. Most likely I'd at least contact the writer to confirm that we are, in fact, related, and then go from there. My 2d cousin Harriet was delighted when my letter found her two years ago. She and I got together for a wonderful visit and we call each other now and then. But I never heard from my husband's distant cousins (presumably related) when we found them in NJ and wrote them last summer. On the other hand, when the Wood family genealogist and I located a long-lost cousin of theirs after doing a lot of pretty interesting research, we started an ongoing e-mail dialogue with photos and family details flying back and forth. It's been fun getting to know all these folks. So my question is: Do distant relatives want to hear from us? 

UPDATE in 2022: Social media has made it even easier than ever to research and connect with relatives. I'm having more success!

Yearbooks for Nostalgia and Family History

Nostalgia ... I searched for photos of my home town, the Bronx, and came across a number of sites that have class photos scanned from yearbooks. The Bronx Board has many of these. 

2022 update: Don't miss The Ancestor Hunt if you're looking for yearbooks--it has links to high school and college yearbooks from around the United States. Of course Ancestry has a good collection of scanned yearbooks (accessible by subscription).

Pappy sailed on the USS Niagara in 1920

Looking at US Census data for 1920, I believe my great-uncle "Pappy" Markell (the nickname used by some of my cousins) served on the USS Niagara, anchored in Mexico during the Census period of Feb. 1920. The Niagara was a yacht purchased by the Navy from Howard Gould of NYC. 

Following WWI, the Niagara stayed in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean waters during early 1920s . . . when Pappy was on board. More about the USS Niagara here. Pappy was on back on shore for good, it seems, by 1921 when he married his wife, known in the family as Sweetie. (updated 2022 with image and new link).

Great-Grandma Tillie

Great-Grandma Tillie Mahler died in June, 1952 at 99 yrs old, if her death cert can be believed (informant was her son Morris, but still...). Morris says Tillie's father was Julius Yaina and I know her maiden name was Jacobs. 

Cuz Ira had this full-length photo of her. She lived to see many grandchildren married--I know because her face is in their wedding photos. Wish I could hear her stories. 2022 update: This post is linked to the Jacobs ancestral landing page at top of my blog.