Archives

Who Gets to Write History? Who Are We Keeping Out?

A bit of a kerfuffle over who gets to write history and ask why, along with a series of emails with an Oxford educated historian and a local political scandal has me thinking about the parameters genealogists are “supposed” to operate within when writing our family histories. People act as if “facts” are truth. Sadly […]

Read More

It Matters: Intergenerational Family Trauma

Okay not your ordinary genealogy topic…but reading my grandfather’s letters and his mother’s diary [Lulu: A Soprano’s Aria]. We can’t help but wonder how much trauma gets passed down through families and the sometimes maladapted ways we deal with it. I am talking the spectrum from Wars, to early loses, abuse, dysfunction the whole gambit. […]

Read More

Writing Challenge: What Reminds you of your Grandmother

What is something that always reminds you of your grandma? This was a question that was asked by Connections-Experiment in a Twitter post. My first reaction was instantaneous. Grandma’s Trinket Chest. Before I tell you more about this former candy box, as we all know we have at least two grandmothers. I only had the […]

Read More

What Got you Started in Genealogy?: Writing Challenge

This gets asked periodically, especially on Twitter and I usually reply with my true, but fairly rote answer. But thinking about what got you into Genealogy might be a good  exercise for all of us, whether beginning or seasoned, genealogists. It does not matter how well you write or whether you plan to share this. You […]

Read More

Music & Dressmaking, Singing as I Sew: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 30

Sat Feb 1 – Nothing particular to chronicle Sun “ 2 – Mrs Miller Essie & Herbie came over to look at a house and call on us. Lolita and Charlie also came had a very pleasant time. Mon “ 3 – Eilenes birthday J [Jessie] & I were almost ready to go to town […]

Read More

How to be a “You Cannot Fail” Genealogist

Confession Time. Everything in my life is a combination of trial and error, and that includes Genealogy. I started writing the past year of Blog posts by accident. It was in response to a blog post, by my now friend, Paul Chiddicks, in his article The Top 10 Sins of a Genealogist. So now after […]

Read More

2022 Genealogy New Year: The Anti-Resolution Resolution

It must be my contrarian nature, as I am not one to make promises  I won’t keep. I get things done but not usually in a systematic, “finish this before starting that” fashion. Remember I am a firm believer in gophering. And gophering is all about going for one thing and ended up somewhere else. […]

Read More

I Love You California: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 29

[Published January 1 2022 103 years later. Back then it was the Spanish Flu, now it is Covid-19 Omicron] Jan 1 1919 Wed – This ought to prove an easy date to write just two 19’s. Jessie is about well now. We put out the wash I did yesterday and cleaned house sorting magazines for […]

Read More

The Tea Kettle Sings Merrily. All is Calm. All is Bright.: A Soprano’s Aria Chapter 28

Nov 29 – J. did not go to work so we washed the laundry and went down to Oakland. I could not get Milos Christmas box there so we did a little shopping and came home. J. went to S. F., Found Eilene sick in bed. Got Milos sox that Mrs Johanna Wahl knit for […]

Read More

Christmas Expectations

A fellow blogger Genea- musings asked: What are your most vivid memories of Christmas times past?  The expectations would begin right after Thanksgiving with my Mother’s long Christmas gift list. Then every Christmas Eve starting around 2 in the afternoon we would load up the car with Christmas packages for friends of my parents and […]

Read More