Disaster struck

Okay not total disaster but not great either.  I have been working very hard to create a very sourced family using RootsMagic.  I was going along fine, not quickly, but fine until I started noticing missing people. Yep, names I knew should be there were not there.  I'm not sure if I accidentally switched files or what but it was a big problem.  So I tried to fix the problem by merging an earlier backup with my current file.  Basically I just made it worst.  Now I had multiply people and everything was just mixed up.

Logic thing to do?  Just start over again.  The good part of this is it is going faster the 2nd time because my family logs were much better.  So that work didn't go to waste!  And I have a way to make sure I don't mess up again.  Before every backup on RootsMagic, I keep a spreadsheet of certain key file summaries to make sure that I'm not loosing any additional information.

Making progress on my Genealogy Do-Over

I have been working on my do-over since 2015.  After 2 years and a few months, I have accomplished two very important goals.  I had an overwhelming amount of digital information that needed to be logged and added to my rootsmagic tree.  I am very please that I have complete not only 1 surname, but 2 surnames (out of four).  I'm still working on the remaining files but I also still have a lot of paper not digitized at all.  So sorting and scanning is still in the future.  But I am very pleased with my progress!  

Why I deleted my Ancestry.com Family Trees

I have had an account with Ancestry.com since Mar 2002, that is 15 years folks.  Some of that time was via a membership and other times not.  My mother did a DNA test through Ancestry.com and she also got one for me, a few months later.  When my mother first got her test results, I was able to see the PUBLIC family trees managed by people who were related to my mother.  A lot of people don't have them but it was nice to have the option to browse DNA matches tree.

A few months later I did my DNA test through Ancestry.com and guess what.  Yep, I couldn't view the family trees from anyone except my own.  When I click on the link, it sends me automatically to a membership screen (see below).  All I wanted to view was a tree that someone created and posted in the public trees.  Why does this require a subscription?  Why does Ancestry think that my research should only be viewed by members?  

Since my DNA results are there, I do still have an account.  But I will not be purchasing a membership anytime soon. Frankly, Ancestry has gotten so huge that even a basic search returns too many results to manage because it includes tons of internet sites as well.  So if you are interested in finding relatives via DNA testing, I would recommend using a different company.

UPDATE: Aug 20th - just found out why my mother could view trees and not me.  Nothing was changed by Ancestry EXCEPT my mother actually bought a membership.  I'm not even sure she knows what that means.  So still would not recommend Ancestry.com DNA.

Keeping it all Together

I have been working hard (when I have time) at reorganizing my genealogy files and making sure to source, source and source again for everything in my tree program.  Part of that organization is my need to see what I'm missing easily, without having to go through all the people in my tree.  So this is my master ancestor listing:

(I ONLY have direct ancestors on this sheet.  Adding more would just cause chaos.)  So I have the generations listed on the left, then the ahnentafel number, the last & first name of the ancestor, then all the primary records, then additional information and finally all the census records.  It is color coded at the name level to match the binders I have for each family.  When I find a vital record, I change the font to green.  If I know that person is not going to be in a certain census, I gray out that field.  I actually really love just viewing the chart!  It really appeals to the part of me that loves lists!

I didn't come up with this chart on my own.  I started with another chart a genealogist had used (and offered it to everyone in the group) and then I've just kept adding things.  The last thing I added was Military/Draft field so I can keep track of military records.  I am positive I will never ever complete this chart.  I can keep on adding names without running out of space.  And there is always something I cannot find.  But I will keep on hunting!

Organizing Genealogy Photos: Part 3

After scanning and placing the photos into a sort file, I than go back to organize.  Each family unit has an individual file.  (Once a couple is married, then they become a unit but their younger pictures stay with the parents.)  Each picture and a backup tiff file are placed into the correct family unit.  But I also wanted to capture the information on the back of the photos as well as giving additional information.  So I turned to Bento again.

I use Bento to organize my other genealogy files so why not use it for pictures as well?  I created a database to record the family name, the subject, the type of photo, who gave me the photo, where it is stored and a bunch of other information.  This way I can keep a visual record along with as much other information I need to store.  Plus since I have the surname as a separate field, I can sort the records by name.  This makes it easier to share specific family pictures.  Another important field is where the photo is stored.  Each of my archive boxes are listed, along with some places like my mother's heritage album.  Now I have a record of what is in each box too!  So this might not be a perfect way to organize pictures, but so far it is working out pretty well.

Organizing Genealogy Photos: Part 2

The next step is scanning.  I already had a flatbed scanner, an Epson Perfection V300.  I had purchased this scanner a number of years before because I could scan slides as well as regular photos.  It has worked really well for me and I can scan to tiff or jpeg formats.  But it is not fast.  It actually seems to take longer to scan than when I first got it!  Since the Flip-Pal had recently come out, I though that smaller scanner would be great for all the snap shots I had.  The only thing is that the Flip-pal only scans to jpeg.

Usually I scan older or larger pictures with the Epson.  This way I am getting a really clean scan and I already have the image as a tiff.  This does take time but I can scan a few smaller pictures at a time and the scanner automatically finds the edges so there isn't a lot of cropping.  (I like to listen to different podcasts while doing the scanning since I don't have to think really hard about what I am doing and it makes the time go faster!)

I can scan wallet size or snapshots with the flip-pal and move much quicker through a stack.  I scanned over 300 pictures in just a few hours.  I do have rechargeable batteries since it does go through batteries.  After scanning each photo I store the digital file into a sort folder on my desktop for the next step.  Each photo does need to be cropped since the scan is of the entire glass, not just the picture.  I stack the printed photos so that they will be in the same order as the scanned images.  This does save some time when it comes to organizing the photos on my computer.

Organizing Genealogy Photos: Part 1

some of the photo boxes plus the slide box

Organizing photos is actually pretty personal in that everyone has their own system.  I had been scrapping and scanning my own pictures since I had kids but there was a lot of pre-kids pictures that was just stashed in boxes. Then my mom gave me a ton of photos that she had from her mother and I needed a system.  I did search the internet but not a lot really seemed helpful.  Then I asked my father-in-law for his pictures because I knew they were just in boxes in the top of the closet and I wanted to discover that side of the family.  Now I really had a problem and needed to find a solution fast!

First off I don't have a lot of extra money so I knew I had to do all the scanning and organizing myself. So the first problem I had to tackle was where to put the pictures after I scanned them.  I just could not return them to the plastic bags or boxes or old albums since they would get more damaged that way.  I knew I needed to get archival boxes (and already had gotten 1 box for old slides) but how many?  At this point I decided that I needed to divide into four groups.  My parents are divorced so having their family pictures separate works and my mother-in-law had also died so that seemed to work okay as well.  So I purchased four regular size boxes for each family surname (Groenhof, Naber, Green, Vorce).  But I also had quite a few pictures that were bigger than the standard size picture box.  So I purchased three boxes for pictures up to size 12x9.  (The reason I went with three is because my side just didn't have a ton of large pictures so I could easily store them in one box.)  But I also had some really large pictures of my kids as well as heritage pictures that needed a bigger box. So I purchased one box (19.5 x 13) to hold all those really large pictures that would not be brought out much.

I wrote on the side of each archival box the size so I would know which box fit which picture and added initials of the family (G/N for my side).  Plus I labeled the four small boxes with the family name as well.  So now it was time to start scanning!

Scanning Update

A corner of my room circa 1982

So I realized the other day while looking for older Tulip Time pictures, that I have been doing so much scanning for other people that I hadn't scanned my old photos.  Now I don't have THAT many.  My personal pictures start about the time I was in middle school and received my own camera.  (And a lot of those photos are really not that great.)  But now that I have the Flip Scanner, I can go through them pretty fast.  So that is what I have started to do!  I'm just going to scan, crop and dump into the correct years folder and deal with them later (probably).

This picture shows the turtle I made in shop (which I don't remember doing), the pot I painted (and don't remember) and the dolls I collected (and still have) which are sitting in an old shelf which I wonder where it went!

Goodbye GenLias

So my favorite dutch genealogy site is going to be replaced soon.  GenLias is being replaced by a new site that is currently in Beta, WieWasWie.  I did test out the new site and the search function is not as versatile.  But some of the records do have the original documents scanned and attached.  But I was not able to open them to get a better view.  Plus the site doesn't have an English option so it is difficult to figure out what is happening.

The new site supposedly has the ability to create online trees.  I didn't see if the records could be attached but the would seem to be a logical outcome.

In other news, my computer has used up all the disc space and I cannot seem to free up enough space.  This has slowed the scanning process down a LOT!

Last Day of May

It is hard to believe that today is the last day of May!   This picture is from the Holland Tulip Time Festival's, stem festival. My daughter and two nieces are the only ones who still want to have their pictures taken.

I have once again been waylaid to a different task.  I started scanning photos but now my computer is acting up so I am afraid to add more files.  So now I am digitizing videos.  It is actually a lot of fun to see some of those old videos!  But now I am using up the memory on the other computer.  I just cannot win.  What I need is a new computer with a HUGE amount of memory!

Next week is the last day of school for the kidos.  That will guarantee that I will not be able to get anything done all summer.  Well it is exciting for them to be moving to different schools in the fall, I will miss my free days!

Finding a grave

This past year I again spent sometime looking in cemeteries and finding grave stones.  My father-in-law even took me around to different places.  There was one stone we found that I actually had seen before, years ago.  Sophia Devilla Ward (I always liked her name) was not buried near her husband since he had died many years before her and in a different part of the state.  Looking at her stone reminded me that I needed to find his stone as well.

So I went on to the Find-a-Grave website and did some searching for the name Tillotson buried in Michigan.  I found their baby first.  Ruby had died in 1843, and there was another Tillotson listed but the first name was weird, Abrarel.  So I contacted the person who had added the memorial and she went and took a picture of the stone.  Now the stone is really hard to read but she thought it could be Asahel.  Plus the death information matched what I already had.  Yeah!

I still need to make the trip down to see the graveyard for myself and take a high resolution photograph.  I want to see if I can make out the writing on the bottom of the stone.  But it would have taking me a long time to find the right cemetery without Find-a-Grave.  Plus this husband and wife are now linked electronically on the site.  It makes me feel better :)

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!

Fresh Start Tree

A "Fresh Start Tree" is starting a new family file with sourcing for EVERY person and event. And, yes, I have contemplated doing this for a long time because I really want to have a clean tree. Today Genea-Musings posted discussing the problems with his tree and how he doesn't really want to start fresh. But he comments about another blogger, Amy Coffin, who did start over. So I went to her blog. (Turns out she is a Librarian also!) She started fresh with a new genealogy software program and went from there.

I really think that my work with Bento will make sourcing a lot easier, if or when I start fresh. I could start right now but I don't have a new genealogy program to use yet. My current program, which I love, is iFamily for Leopard but there isn't going to be any updates unless the program is sold to someone else. It has been over a year and there has been nothing new. But Dick Eastman blogged about a new program called Branches. He was very impressed with it after giving it a test go which makes me excited! But the downside is that there is only a Windows version available. At least there is talk about a Mac version unlike Roots Magic which I would love to use, if I could use it on Mac without running Windows. I don't want to pollute me Mac :)

Online backup Update

I signed up for Mozy backup in February. It is now two months later and I have not had even ONE successful backup. I am just done with it. I am not even sure if I have successfully canceled my account since their online information doesn't even matchup with their own documentation. Despite my frustration, I will try to explain the main issue: My backup would stop without any error message. The best I could get from the support staff is that there is a connection issue. For awhile, it was their issue but even after it was fixed, it still happened. So I spent a lot of time sending emails back and forth and almost any directions given by support didn't match up with what I was able to access using their downloaded software. My suspicion is that support was using a PC while I have a Mac BUT if you offer the service for both, than provide proper support for both.

Since I still think doing an online backup is just a really smart idea, I am going to try a different service, Backblaze, which was mentioned by Eastman's genealogy blog. Right off there is one big difference. You receive a 15 day free trial, unlimited backup. So I am currently doing a backup to test out the backup process. Another plus about Backblaze is that some of their team members are former Apple employees. This gives me hope since I believe that once an Apple user, always an Apple user!

Online Backups

I have a lot of information and pictures stored on my laptop computer. I would be lost and devastated if I lost everything on my hard drive. More so now than ever before since I don't even have prints of the last few years of my pictures, just files on my computer. So I have a MacBook which does backups all the time. This is great! If something happened to my hard drive, all would not be lost and I could restore from my backup. But what if something happened to my house and I lost my computer and my backup? This is what has been bugging me for a while.

I listen to the Genealogy Guys podcast and they have mentioned several time that they do online backups with Mozy. So I decided I would give this service a try and signed up for a two year time frame. Mozy would backup my computer when I scheduled it and all would be good. I knew it wouldn't be a fast upload, I do have a lot of information, but I believed it would be a good backup.

But I have been having problems with the backup process. It actually takes DAYS and DAYS for a backup. The first time I ended up stopping the backup because I thought it was stuck. I started it again a few days later and it just kept on going and going. This time I was patient and waited it out, checking periodically on the status. Finally it reached 100% and I thought, "Oh Good! It's almost done!" But no, it kept right on going. It was almost up to 120% when I finally stopped it because I totally do not understand why that happened!

So I ask myself, what can I do to speed up the process? Well, the "easy" answer is to clean up my hard drive. I am not always smart about what file type I saved. I do have a lot of .tiff items. So I have been working on changing those over to .jpg which takes up less space. At least, I have been doing this for everything but my pictures. I still really want those at .tiff but maybe I need to store those on a separate hard drive and just have jpg copies on my computer. Ultimately, this is what I want to do but what a huge project!!!

Update

So I was listening to the Genealogy Guys and George mentioned that his New Years resolution was to organize his paper files. Which he did. Now I have been working on organizing computer stuff into Bento but my paper files are so not well organized. Or I should say, they are in folders but I really do not have any idea what I have. So I not only need to reorganize the papers so that I know what I have, I also need to scan and update my Bento file so that they are linked to each person. So I decide to start redoing my files. I have been pulling all the files apart and adding to Bento. I did find I have a lot of stuff I printed off the internet so that means I need to go back and digitally link to my computer rather than all the paper. Serious amount of work.

But I did add some obituaries to my files and this is one of the ones I found. This is the woman in the picture from the last posting I did!

Genealogy

Although this blog hasn't had much content on my family history, I might start. This is kind of a test run. (The picture is of me with some of the kittens taken in the 70's.)

I am currently focusing on organizing my genealogy materials since I hadn't been very good about that up to this point. I am using my lovely MacBookPro along with iFamily for Lepoard and Bento. Of course I haven't even started on my drawer full of files. What I have been doing is locating census records and sending a digital copy to my computer for transcribing into Bento, among other records. I have created a number of "Libraries" on Bento which are connected to a main listing of people in my tree. I love Bento since I can link files and add pictures etc. I would love to show this to people so if you know me, ask and I will bore you for hours!

PC Magazine's Top 100 Undiscovered Websites

Here is a link to PC Magazine's Top 100 Undiscovered Websites - check it out!