NextGen Genealogy
Network Utilization
I recently joined the NextGen Genealogy Network Facebook
page. According to the website “The
NextGen Genealogy Network exists to foster the next generation’s interest in
family history and engagement in our community through digital channels which
virtually connect members throughout the world.” You can follow the conversations also on
Twitter @nextgennetwrk
I love this group because I started my genealogy research as
a teenager. I remember when I thought I
was the only kid interested in family history, and I would go to events and be
the only one who arrived by bicycle because I was too young to drive! And when my daughter was younger, I ran a Girl
Scout special interest group for genealogy.
We had classes and organized field trips to NEHGS and other repositories
in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Young people have a great interest in family history, and can be
enthusiast researchers. I was glad I
started early on my family tree, because I was able to interview people who had
memories and stories of the 1800s, including remembering their own grandparents
who had been in the Civil War, or who had passed through Ellis Island. Today’s kids find our memories of JFK,
hippies and Vietnam, September 11th and disco music just as
fascinating!
Just recently I was
shocked to realize that I no longer was the youngest genealogist in the room at
any given genealogy event. When did the
past 35 years creep up on me so fast?
Londonderry
Historical Society Acquisition
Lots of news from the historical society! A thirty foot section of rail and a switch
will be moved from North Londonderry to the Morrison House museum complex on
Pillsbury Road. The new rail trail being
constructed and paved in that section of the old railroad bed meant that many
miles of rail are being removed. The
Iron Horse Restoration Company will remove, move and re-install the track and
switch at no cost to the historical society.
Also, a bowl from the Morrison family was recently donated to the
historical society and will be on display inside the Morrison house. I helped out with the genealogy research on
this donation, and hope to do some more work on the genealogies of the three
different Morrison families who were original Nutfield settlers here. Read more about the railroad story here: http://nutpub.net/londonderry_times_newspaper/railroad-artifacts-to-be-placed-at-historical-society/
Wedding Instability
and Renormalization
Yes, we had a wedding! – well, two wedding parties on two
continents! I tried to keep up with the
blog by pre-posting three weeks of posts and stories ahead of time. It’s been difficult to catch up now that all
the hullabaloo has died down, and life comes back to a normal pace. I haven’t
been able to keep up with comments and email, and some correspondence was lost
when I tried to log on from Spain during this absence. If your questions and comments were not
answered in the past month or so, please resubmit your queries and I’ll try my
best to keep up.
Other things I have caught up on since we returned from
Spain.
1. I successfully migrated all my favorite blogs
from Google reader to Feedly. This was a good time to weed out blogs I no
longer follow, blogs that have stopped posting, and to add in new fresh blogs.
2. Started organizing my desk area after being
inspired by the new Facebook group “The Organized Genealogist”. Started
doesn’t mean much.
3. Finally planted my containers and window boxes
three weeks after Memorial Day. Late, late, late… the tomato plant already had ten tomatoes,
three bigger than three inches when it was attacked by a tomato hungry
chipmunk.
4. Put the sweaters in storage and got out the
shorts and sandals… just in time for a heat wave.
5. We had a vacation to recover from our vacation, a nice
short weekend in Vermont
6. Posted my 100th Weathervane Wednesday
post! http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2013/06/weathervane-wednesday-100th-weathervane.html
7. I started a new series of blog posts on “20th
Century Americana” , the first two posts were on the CCC and a WWII museum.
Stay tuned for more…
8. Coming soon, my 4th Blogoversary on
July 27th
“Postcard from a Stranger”
Implementation
Three years ago I posted a story about a postcard http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/03/post-card-from-stranger.html
. During World War II my grandmother
wrote a letter to my uncle, who was serving in Guam, but she dropped the
envelope in a department store. A
stranger found the letter and posted it for Nana, and was also kind enough to
send her a postcard telling her that the letter was safely on its way. Last month a niece of the stranger sent me an
email. The kind stranger was still alive
(in her 90s) and was thrilled to read my story online. This is not exactly a “cousin connection” but
I was just as thrilled to receive this email!
New England
GeneaBlogger News
http://nhgenealogist.com/blog.html Amylynne Baker Santagate of Hampstead, New
Hampshire has started her new blog “NH Genealogist” and also posted information
about her genealogy business. Good luck
to Amylynne!
Coming soon! There
will be a panel discussion of four New England GeneaBloggers on October 26th
at 10am, at the Nevins Library in Methuen, Massachusetts sponsored by the
Merrimack Valley Chapter of the Massachusetts Society of Genealogists. Yours truly, Marian Pierre Louis, Bill West
and Cynthia Shenette will be on the panel to discuss our genealogy blogs, how
we started, why we enjoy blogging, and to answer questions. It should be an interesting topic for
discussion, and I hope to meet readers and perhaps some new folks interested in
becoming GeneaBloggers?!
Congratulations to New England Geneablogger John D.
Tew! His blog “Filiopietism Prism” was
featured at NEHGS’s “Weekly Genealogist” newsletter online on June 12th. You can view this online at this link: http://www.americanancestors.org/enews-2013/ John’s blog is only about six months old,
but he has a lot of fans and followers already.
Catch the latest New England GeneaBlogger news at the
Facebook group at this link:
Collaboration
Catalyst
I just noticed I was getting lots of hits on my blog
from this page at Boston.com:
Thanks to the mystery person who put Nutfield Genealogy on this list for the “New England Blog Network”!
"New to Me" blogs I am following:
50 Shades of Genealogy---- http://50shadesofgenealogy.tumblr.com/
Photo Sleuth ---------- http://photo-sleuth.blogspot.com/
An Historical Lady -------- http://anhistoricallady.blogspot.com/
And This is Good Old Boston http://goodoldboston.blogspot.com/
FREE STUFF
Ancestry.com is offering FREE access to their New England records until July 21st! And here is a link to their new guide to New England genealogy research...
http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/us/newengland_vital/NEvitals-ResearchGuide.pdf
These free records include:
Mass. births 1840 - 1915
NH births 1659 - 1900
Mass marriages 1840 - 1915
NH marriages and divorces 1659 - 1947
Mass deaths 1841- 1915
NH deaths and disinterments 1754 - 1947
Conn. Hale Cemetery inscriptions 1675 - 1934
RI State Censuses 1865 - 1935
VT vital records 1720 - 1908
Mass, town and vital records 1620 - 1988
Mass, Masonic membership cards 1733 - 1990
FREE STUFF
Ancestry.com is offering FREE access to their New England records until July 21st! And here is a link to their new guide to New England genealogy research...
http://c.mfcreative.com/offer/us/newengland_vital/NEvitals-ResearchGuide.pdf
These free records include:
Mass. births 1840 - 1915
NH births 1659 - 1900
Mass marriages 1840 - 1915
NH marriages and divorces 1659 - 1947
Mass deaths 1841- 1915
NH deaths and disinterments 1754 - 1947
Conn. Hale Cemetery inscriptions 1675 - 1934
RI State Censuses 1865 - 1935
VT vital records 1720 - 1908
Mass, town and vital records 1620 - 1988
Mass, Masonic membership cards 1733 - 1990
New Projects Added to Family Search Indexing (of interest to New England researchers)
US (Community Project) Rhode Island - Naturalization Index of the District Courts (1906 -991)
US, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Probate Index 1881 - 1939
US (Community Project), Massachusetts, Boston, Crew Lists, 1891 - 1957
US, Maine - Vital Records Prior to 1892 for 80 towns
US, Massachusetts - State Vital Records, 1841-1920 (Part B)
Projects Completed, to be published at FamilySearch.org in the near future
US - Index to Volunteers of the War of 1812, 1812 - 1815
US, Massachusetts - State Vital Records, 1841 - 1920 (Part A)
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Copyright 2013, Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Heather:
ReplyDeleteThank you VERY much for the mention in today's post and your kind words -- much appreciated!
John
Heather, You do so many genealogy tasks at once that it astounds me! Maybe it's because you started with a teen-ager, but it looks like a full-time job to me. The fact that you interviewed early and learned the memories grandparents had -- that must be such an advantage! My last grandparent died when I was six years old. I remember him, but of course don't remember anything he said, just how kind he was to me.
ReplyDeleteThrough you, my impression of New England is that it's the best location for genealogy research.
Yes, no matter how many times I get frustrated or hit brick walls, I still think New England is a great place for genealogy!
Delete