Archive for April, 2011

 by Sherry Stocking Kline
April 28, 2011

I love the “Favorite Current Technology” Carnival Challenge, and can’t wait to read everyone’s posts. I know I will learn about some cool new technology to add to my gotta-have-it list!

 The topic for the next edition of the COG will be: Favorite Current Technology, and you can read more about it at Creative Gene and post your own blog post at Blog Carnival.

What’s your favorite technology of the moment? Do you love your iPad? Do you find yourself spending a lot of time on the site of a newly discovered database?

Do you have a handy new cell phone app you’d like to share with others? Are you learning a new piece of genealogy software? Got a new digital camera?

Tell us all about your latest and greatest technology and how it benefits your genealogy research or the recording of your family history. 

Deadline for submission is May 1st. 

After seeing all the ads on the television, doing research, reading reviews, and even tweeting “how do you like your Incredible?”,  I bought a Droid HTC Incredible. (iPhone wasn’t an option in my rural area at the time.) 

Now I understand why everyone who tweeted me back said “I love my Droid” because I think this phone is one of the handiest little gadgets to come along in a long time.

How do I love my Droid? Let me count the ways.

1.  First, I love that it ‘connects’ with my G-mail/Google account. When I update my G-mail contacts on my computer they’re immediately on my phone.  When I update my phone’s contacts, they’re immediately on my computer. Woo Hoo!   It’s all searchable and it’s all backed up on-line. (No more drowning the phone in cherry Coke and losing my friends & family!)

I love that when my friends and family call me, their photo flashes on the screen before I have time to read the Caller ID.  (After uploading the photos to my Google contacts.) It’s like a warm and fuzzy ‘hello’ from my favorite people!

I’m Gonna Love Having my Family History info in My Pocket!

2.  I can’t remember how many times that I’ve wished I had my family tree with me when I’ve gotten an unexpected research opportunity. Now, I’ve got my choice of one of the new genealogy family tree apps in the Android Market, such as “Gedstar Pro,” “Family Bee” family tree viewer, or “Families” by TelGen Limited.  I just have to choose which one to try and which one to buy.

3.  I just downloaded (haven’t tried everything out yet) the “Quickoffice” app. It was reasonable and I will be able to take Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and PDF files with me, and tweak them if I want to.  I think that’s going to be handy; I have a lot of Word files that contain family history.  The website states that it will sync with Google Docs, and Dropbox, (I need to go to Legacy Family Tree and listen to Thomas MacEntee’s webinar Dropbox for Genealogists again and create my own Dropbox), as well as Sugar Sync, Box, and MobileMe. (I sure hope I can figure that all out!)  

GPS Your Tombstones?

5. A while back, I downloaded “GPS Status.”  Now  I need to go back to the cemeteries, and get the latitude and longitude of family tombstones and add them to my Tombstone Tuesday posts and from now on, when possible, I will include the latitude and longitude coordinates along with my photograph.

Not only will that make it easier for others to find the stones, it will make it easier for me to go back and find them again as well.

6.  And speaking of posting on my blog, there are both WordPress and Blogger apps for the Droid, so if I wanted to (and I don’t) I could update my blog on the run.

7.  I also love that when I get an unexpected opportunity to stop at the library and do some genealogy research the Droid actually does a fair job of snapping a readable photo of the book that I can’t quite squeeze into the photocopy machine. And then, it lets me e-mail it home to be added to my genealogy files.

8.   I also like it that when I’m sitting in the courthouse trying to read the fine print in my ancestor’s will that my Droid has a magnifying glass app. (Yes, there’s an app for that!)  And actually, there’s more than one app, several of them are free, and most not only magnify, but they also shed more light on the subject while doing it.

9.  Did I mention that the Droid’s have “mobile hotspots?” For a few bucks more a month, your Droid can be the hotspot that your laptop needs to access the internet.  Pretty handy! 

 Patience is Not One of my Virtues…

10.  And number 10 on my list, but not in my heart, I love my Droid because patience is not one of my virtues. I hate to wait in lines, in doctor’s offices, or even in the fast food line.  I can pull my Droid out of my pocket, check my e-mail, text a friend, open up my Kindle or Nook app, my New International Version Bible app, or even my Bubble Breaker app, and the time passes a lot more quickly.

Did I mention I love my Droid?  

 I do.  Not just because it’s a fun little gadget, but because it makes my life easier, keeps me in touch with the people I love, keeps track of where I’m supposed to be and what I’m supposed to be doing, and I didn’t even mention the “Find a Grave”, Tweet Deck, Facebook, or Grocery List (handy to text your grocery list to your kids to pick up what you need!) apps that are also pretty nifty to use!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
28 April 2011

It’s a bit past Monday, but I didn’ t find this little tidbit until Tuesday, while volunteering to hunt for an obit for the Sumner County Historical & Genealogical Society’s requests. 

Unfortunately, after looking through the requested time period’s “The Monitor Press” (no longer being published) I didn’t locate the obit, but did find a cool little bit of news that tells me that my Grandfather and Grandmother, Warner and Carrie Jones and family, hosted a family gathering, when my mom was just a bit more than 15 years old.

The Monitor Press
Marshall Crawford Publlisher
Published Every Wednesday at
117 East Harvey Avenue
Wellington, Kansas
Bell Phone ………….143

Milan – Mr. and Mrs. John Roe and sons, Edwin and John from north of Argonia; Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Roe and daughters; Mr. and Mrs. H. H. Breneman and children, Hershel and Ilda Fern, of Wichita; Mr. and Mrs. O. C. Breneman, of Mayfield; Victor Breneman and Kenneth Jones, of Kingman; Mrs. S. E. Breneman; Miss Mildred Swain; Mr. and Mrs. Floyd Jones, of Milan, were dinner guests of Warner L. Jones and family Sunday.

It was neat to read this, and even neater to tell my mom, “I know what you were doing on a Sunday in September, 1937!” 

When I read it to her, she said “I know what I was doing, too!  If all of those people were there, I was cooking to help feed everyone!”

And if you notice, the article gave all of the out-of-town people’s home towns, and in one case, for a rural resident, even told what area they lived in.  What a help!  Now I know where these people lived (most likely) in September of 1927!

More Links:

Warner and Carrie Jones Photograph

The Victor Breneman Family

The Otto Breneman Blacksmith Shop – Mayfield, Kansas

Bernice Breneman – child of Mr. & Mrs. Otto Breneman

Constantine Breneman & daughter-in-law Carrie Breneman Jones & children

by Sherry Stocking Kline
22 April 2011

Summer is reunion time for many families, and ours is no exception!  

This is our year to get together, and I’m really looking forward to it!  After hunting down a cool place to gather, one with plenty of things for both old and young to do, (my mom insisted the place have a tornado shelter!!) the next thing to do is send out “Save the Date” invitations!

While playing with my Heritage Maker’s website (affiliate link at http://www.turnmemoriesintobooks.com/) to personalize our own invitations, I made several to choose from, and I’m posting one of those here. 

The Camp Horizon campground is a real campground in Kansas, (and is not pictured above) but the contacts, and family and reunion information posted here is fictional, not fact! 

 I substituted made-up names for our own names & info, so if you show up to attend our Jones Family Reunon on July 4th, just be warned — we won’t be there!

If you would like to use this template to make a “Save the Date” invitation like this one,check out my website at www.TurnMemoriesIntoBooks!  There are numerous templates to choose from in the template gallery, just do a search on Invitations or Save the Date. If you sign up for a Premium or Club HM membership I will gladly share the one shown above with those who sign up! 

I plan to post some invitations using the Basic Membership art work soon!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
08 April 2011

My thanks to Susan Peterson at LongLostRelatives.net for the Lovely Blog Award recognition.  Susan said, “I have recognized you with the Lovely Blog Award because of the graphic design AND content of your blog. If you want to accept the award, you may get the information here: http://longlostrelatives-smp.blogspot.com/2011/03/lovely-blog-award.html

Thank you, Susan!  This award is an honor, and it is very much appreciated!  Once again, Thank you for recognizing my blog!

 The rules of acceptance for this award are:

And now, it is my turn to pick other deserving blogs to be awarded!  This is a daunting task, as so many are deserving that it will be difficult to pick from them all!

And now, the envelope please:

1.  “Shades of the Departed” – a fantastic website designed, maintained, and written by none other than the Footnote Maven herself. 

2. “Footnote Maven” – a fantastic sister site to the Shades of the Departed, also designed, written, and maintained by the talented but secretive, elusive Footnote Maven herself.

3.   Genea-Musings is a great place to go learn how-to, and get blog hints, and you don’t want to miss his Saturday Night Genealogy Fun!!

4.   “GeneaBloggers”  is Thomas MacEntee’s website, and it is “the” place to go to find more blogging prompts than you have time to write about, technical info, GeneaBlogger’s Radio (is that cool or what?), plus the new stuff coming down the pike genealogically speaking!  Thanks, Thomas!

5.  “Roots N’ Leaves,” Joan’s lovely, fun, informative blog was  awarded a Top 100 blog from My Heritage.  You’ve got to read her conversation with her ancestor at the tea party!  Oh, if only!

6. “Reflections From the Fence” a lovely, lively mix of fun, fact, research and how-to!  I loved her Carnival blog about her favorite vehicle “Big Butt,” and how it got its name.

7. “Georgia Black Crackers,” a Family Tree Magazine 40 Best Blog, sharing African American history and how-to-do research and lovingly tended by Mavis Jones!

8. “Herstoryan” – a lovely and lovingly tended genealogy blog by another great story teller and stories’ keeper, Herstoryan.

9.   Jennifer at  “But Now I’m Found…” at  http://blackgenealogy-griot.blogspot.com/

10.  “Your Family Story,” a fun, cool blog written by Caroline Pointer.

11.  And  “Apple’s Tree” a lovely blog written by none other than Apple herself. 

12.  “Creative Gene” – Thanks to Jasia, the Carnival of Genealogy gets a great kick-off with an interesting topic each month! 

13.   “Dear Myrtle” blog has such great information each week!

14.   “Family Cherished” a lovely, informational blog.

15.   “Heritage Happens” – Cheryl Palmer’s lovely family history & genealogy blog!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
April 1, 2011

Week #13 – Sweets Week 13: Sweets. What was your favorite childhood candy or dessert?   
Have your tastes changed since then? What satisfies your sweet tooth today? This challenge runs from Saturday, March 26, 2011 through Friday, April 1, 2011

Deciding what my favorite Sweet Stuff was when I was growing up wasn’t easy!   Several things vie for first, but the most special sweet that I enjoyed eating at Christmas when Mom made pounds and pounds of it,was divinity! 

White, airy, sweet, melt-in-your-mouth divinity!

Mom knew just when to stop cooking the corn-syrup-rich mixture, when to pour it over the whipped egg whites, and just how long to beat it.  Mess up, and it will become a sticky caramel-like substance that tastes good, but you need a spoon to eat it.

Get it right, and it’s the food of angels.

Mom usually got it right.

A favorite with many, it was a ‘best-seller’ at the Mayfield Federated Church Lord’s Acre sale, often bringing high dollar bids.  It was also a huge favorite of my nephew’s as well.  For many years while he served in the Navy, Mom sent him a large box of divinity at Christmas time.  Once he confessed to opening the box, hiding it from everyone, and eating the entire three pound box all by himself! 

Can’t blame him for that!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
5 April 2011

The past year has been full of neat genealogy happenings!  I asked several family members if I might borrow their older photographs so that I might scan them, or I’ve asked if they might scan and send me digital copies, and so it has been ‘raining’ photographs and memorabilia!

My expectations were that I might be loaned 3, 4, maybe even as many as ten photographs at a time.

I certainly didn’t expect one cousin to bring a six inch thick folder of photos that took hours to scan, nor a California cousin I’ve never met who sent pages of photocopied photos, and last week, my cousin and her son came by to visit, and he brought a large box, too heavy for me to lift, chock full of pictures and albums!

Excerpted from a 70+ year old newspaper clipping:

Alone

Before I heard the doctors tell,
The dangers of a kiss
I had considered kissing you –
The nearest thing to bliss.
But now I know biology
And sit and sigh and Moan,
Six million mad bacteria –
And I thought we were alone.
 – Exhange

Isn’t that a hoot!

by Sherry Stocking Kline
02 April 2011

It’s time for more Saturday Night Genealogy Fun from Randy Seaver at Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun – the 1940 US Census. ”   I was excited to learn when the census was going to be released, and was just wondering about that this week! And since it is after midnight, only 365 days to wait! 

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  Know that the 1940 United States Census will be released for public viewing on the National Archives website on Monday, 2 April 2012 (366 days from today!).  My understanding is that, when it is first released, that there will be no indexes available – we will have to search them the “old way” – with known addresses, finding enumeration districts from maps and websites, and then go page-by-page to find our folks.  Eventually, there will be indexes available, but we don’t know how long after the release that will be.

2)  Which of your ancestral family members will be in the 1940 census?  Consider not just your ancestors, but also their siblings. 

3)  Where did your ancestral family members live in 1940 on Census Day?  Have you found all of the addresses in city directories or telephone books?  Please list the ones you know the addresses of, and the ones you need to find addresses for.

4)  Tell us about it in a blog post of your own, a comment to this blog post, or on a Facebook note or comment.

Note:  This idea came to me on Friday night while participating in the Geneabloggers Radio chat – we had a discussion of the 1940 census release.

1).  Eeek, no index?  I guess I’m getting spoiled!  Oh well, I can still search at midnight in my sweats!

2).  By 1940, my mom and dad had been married for nine years, had two sons, (my brothers) and were living on the farm (rural route, Mayfield, Kansas) where I grew up.

 By 1940, my dad’s father, Elmer Stocking,  had passed away two years earlier, and (I think) maybe my grandmother, Maud McGinnis Stocking, had moved from our town to Cedarvale, Kansas, to be near one of my uncles, Frank Stocking.  Grandma Stocking lived in Cedarvale until she passed away on February 28, 1962.

I can still drive to my grandma’s home in that tiny Kansas Flint Hills town, but I don’t know what her address was, and don’t even know if the little town had addresses.   I think getting addresses/locations documented is something I need to “fix”, not just on my grandma’s home, but on all our homes.  Many of my ancestors and close family members lived on farms, and that was well before the country got 9-1-1 addresses, so I will probably need to get farm legals or type in good directions.  GPS coordinates would be a good idea when I can go back to the exact spot and add those in.

By 1940, my great-grandfather, Roderick Remine Stocking, had lost his third son, thirty-seven-year old Roderick Porter, to an accidental electrocution, and he moved into Mayfield with his daughter-in-law, Myrtle Nyberg Stocking and her children.

On my mom’s side, her father and mother were still living, and lived on a farm just two miles straight east of Milan, Kansas on what is now known by locals as “the Old Highway” and is now  known as 20th Street South according to the 9-1-1 addressing.