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Looking at Ancestry’s New Ethnicity Estimates
Posted on April 15, 2022 3 Comments
Ancestry has a new feature which I would love, if it got it right for me or my husband. I applaud the attempt, but it just isn’t ready for prime time with the results for us. I share this detailed discussion to caution others in accepting it as a fact. It may get some people […]
Let’s Talk About Death
Posted on April 11, 2022 1 Comment
Family Historians and genealogists should be ever mindful of what happens to all their hard work and accumulated books and files when they depart this life, for good. Some recent deaths and illnesses of family and friends reminded me the best time to prepare is long before we think we need to.
My Woman Warrior: Pioneer Mother Catherine Adeline Stewart Murphy Mosier
Posted on February 28, 2022 4 Comments
The impetus for this blog post was my writing challenge to resurrect one of your women warriors. A woman in your tree whose story lies hidden in the names, dates and places. I have spent the last few weeks on Catherine. I offer this as an example of what is possible to resurrect a woman […]
EVERYTHING is a Working Theory: Beware of Sacred Cows
Posted on January 21, 2022 1 Comment
The Patchwork Genealogist tweeted “is this sufficient proof” and it made me think of all the times I have had to revise my tree or lop off a branch because new, or better information became available. My Blog post Keeping it Accurate was on correcting errors from long standing genealogies that have been proved wrong. […]
Keeping it Accurate: How Do We Correct Genealogy Errors?
Posted on January 19, 2022 9 Comments
Note: It’s a bit ironic that the Queen of typos and mistakes wants to write a blog post about them but I need to make a distinction between errors we unknowingly commit and those that we ignore or worse yet promulgate for some other reason. We all make mistakes and we all inadvertently pass on […]
What Got you Started in Genealogy?: Writing Challenge
Posted on January 10, 2022 2 Comments
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 […]
How to be a “You Cannot Fail” Genealogist
Posted on January 4, 2022 2 Comments
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 […]
Paleography for Genealogists Part 2: Transcription of a Warwickshire Deed from 1675
Posted on December 13, 2021 Leave a Comment
The 17th century document arrived quickly and I have to say it is much easier working off the two originals! That said this has been a very challenging endeavor but I have greatly improved my deciphering skills. Feels as if anything in English is now a piece of cake. So for those of you who […]
More Gophering for SHELDON Origin Clues: The Technique works for any Surname
Posted on November 24, 2021 3 Comments
In our search for the origins of Isaac SHELDON of Windsor, Connecticut and John SHELDON on Kingstown, Rhode Island As I wrote previously we gophered deep down on the early settlers of Windsor Connecticut who came with Rev Ephraim HUIT / HEWITT in our gopher networking (from my earlier post). Please note the HUIT or […]
Getting in Trouble in Early Rhode Island: John SHELDEN / SHELDON of Newport & Kingstown
Posted on November 13, 2021 Leave a Comment
I have come to love the ancestors that got into mischief and survived to be my ancestors. Such is the case of my dear John SHELDEN and one of the first records of him on these shores. I, like my cousin Dale SHELDON find his escapade a delightful insight into our ancestor. Newport From The […]
Wheaton Wood 