iFamily for Leopard, Updated!

I think I mentioned in a previous post that iFamily didn't seem to have any updates so I thought I would have to switch programs. Fortunately, this is not true any longer! There is an update available to previous owners so now my program has stopped asking me to check for updates. Frankly, I didn't even care what the updates were, I just wanted the message to stop!

After I updated, I started a new file that would include sourcing for everyone in the file. This was a lot easier than I thought it would be for my mother's side of the family. I actually reached the 4th great-grandfather generation (for my children), at least with names. But I did discover that I don't have my father's birth record so I am not able to go farther on that side until I get a hold of him. I also have nothing added for my husband's family for the exact same reason. Something to work on!

Cemetery / 3rd day

Today I spent a lot of time in the Zeeland Cemetery. This is a large cemetery. It started out overcast but got hot, again! My daughter was forced to come along with me and soon tired out and had to go to the bathroom. I think the bathroom was a ploy since I ignored it and she didn't ask to go when we did leave!

I actually had a map with the sections shown. I also had some of the plot numbers. This helped somewhat but the numbering system used never became clear to me! I still had to walk up and down each row looking for the names on my list. My favorite tombstone of the day is shown above. I am actually not related by blood to this person but I think we are related in spirit!

Visiting cemeteries

I have visited two cemeteries this week, one yesterday and one today. And I dragged/bribed my children to come along. They really didn't help a ton but it was nice to have someone there. And they did look for names! My daughter didn't want to look by herself so the two of them looked together.

Yesterday we went to the Beaverdam Cemetery. It was so HOT. I started taking pictures of every stone but that didn't last long with the heat. It doesn't seem like it would be a big deal to just take pictures but yes, it was! I did find most of the graves I wanted and the ones I didn't find might not even have stones. That is part of the organization problem. I probably have a listing from the cemetery records at the library, but not on my computer. Nor linked to my cemetery file. I have visited this cemetery before but it was before I had a digital camera so it was nice to have digital copies to add to my computer records.

I actually have two sets of direct ancestors at this cemetery. The de Vries pair do not have a stone. The only stone from that family is for the daughter who died in 1881. As you can tell from the picture above, the stone is very worn and difficult to read. The girl was named Jantje and she died when she was 20 years old. I haven't looked up a death record for her yet so I am not sure the cause of her death. Her younger brother died about the same age but I don't even have exact dates for him. The two surviving brothers are the ancestors that connect my parents trees.

The other couple are Jan & Jantje Beld. Their stone is also in bad shape but someone had added plaques since the last time I had been out there, about 10 years ago.

Today we went to the Benthiem Cemetery. This was my very first visit there. My direct ancestor, Reijer Sneller, is buried there but doesn't not have a stone. So there wasn't any big discoveries. All the pictures I took were for distant relatives or just very old stones. It was a very nice cemetery but was being mowed so there was a lot of grass clippings to move aside.

I also spent a lot of time adding the pictures and records to Find A Grave. This website is a collection of cemetery records and photos added by anyone who has an interest. It is a great site!

I am trying to decide if I should visit another cemetery tomorrow to make it three in a row or to swing by the library and make some copies from the cemetery records.

4th of July

This weekend we celebrate Independence Day otherwise known as the 4th of July. Since the 4th is actually a Sunday this year, we will be observing the holiday on Monday the 5th instead. (Really that means we have a holiday from work on Monday.)

While scanning slides, I came across the Bicentennial parade held in 1976. Since I was only 5 years old, I don't really remember this event but it seemed like a big deal. My Mom actually took like 20 pictures! The picture above is of my sister Deb. She is the one playing the flute in the red pants & blue shirt. I believe she is in middle school, 8th grade, going to high school in the fall.

Have a great holiday weekend!