The Faces of Volunteerism

I make frequent trips to the Ohio Genealogical Society. 

Many times I'm there on Monday, when the facility is closed.

Each Monday, for at least the past five years, 

a group of volunteers have met to work on probate files from the Richland County, Ohio courthouse.

Volunteers meet each Monday at OGS to work on probate files.

Past-president of OGS, Sunda Peters (seated in green) has been the fearless leader of this group.

They are unfolding, unstapling, and getting massive amounts of folders ready for digitizing.

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A small portion of the probate files coming from the Richland County, Ohio courthouse.

These probate files are some of the earliest records in Ohio, beginning in 1813.  That's just ten years after Ohio became a state!

The box in the upper right corner represents the many staples and other items used to attach papers together.

They are currently working on the year 1900, and have about five more years of work to do.

FamilySearch has hired a contractor, who is at the courthouse filming the files that have been taken apart, unstapled, and put into manila folders.

Currently, she is on the year 1847, so Sunda and her staff are trying to keep her from catching up with them.

After they are sent to FamilySearch (weekly, I assume), they will be available for viewing, just like on a microfilm reader.

Then, they will be up for indexing.

That's how this process works.

Eventually, researchers will be able to search for ancestors by name, and bring up the actual image.

The final product will be probate files that cover the years

1813 - 1935.

Then, the project will be finished.

That's how it all comes together.

The Kentucky Research Adventures Never End

15 Sep 2016

MissPeggy and her sisters are at it again. This time,we are in eastern Kentucky, where I am speaking at a conference tomorrow.

Conversation in library:
First man: Well, if it's your baby you need to make things right.
Second man: Well, it just might be.
First man: What are you going to do to make it right?
Second man: Well, I can give her a goat right now, maybe another one later.
First man: That's a good start. It will let her know you're not going to leave her without something to get along with.
Second man: I don't want her to think I'm a knucklehead.

(I know. I shouldn't be eavesdropping. My sisters and I are trying to hold our faces together.)

And, our memories when we passed a familiar town...
Betty: Oh, this is where we followed a man on a horse!
Me: That's right. I turned around in a gas station and got behind a man on a horse. We followed him all the way into town.
Fern: It seems like something else happened here.
Me: Yes, we ended up in the middle of a parade.
Betty: I remember that! It seems like it was a noisy one.
Me: Betty, you had the trombone section beside your window.

We all nod our heads in fond and solemn memory.

16 Sep 2016

I'm fixin' on crying.

There is a young man in the library with us. He is trying to reconstruct his life.

First, his house was flooded and filled with mud. They tried to save what they could

When he finally got it all dried out, it caught fire and he lost everything.

Now, he is here with us trying to copy photos out of school yearbooks so he can have some sort of memory of his life. This is one of many things he's using, besides just trying to find any relative that may have a photo of him.

I'm telling you, I'm fixin' on crying.

AND

This is a library like no other I have ever been to.

They have fed us since we walked in the door. We have had grapes, cheddar cheese, bottled water, granola bars, plus pork chops. Yes, pork chops. Someone brought in extras they had fixed for lunch and asked if we all would like somethin' to eat.

Of course!

Then, she opened up this big tray and there were pork chops an inch thick, with mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and biscuits.

Now, she walks in with a box of donuts.

We don't ever, ever want to leave. Please let us roll out and spend the night, for we want to know what's for breakfast!

Oh, and we have found lots of genealogy, too!

17 Sep 2016

We enjoyed a wonderful dinner at the Ramada Inn in Paintsville, Kentucky. We enjoyed something we hadn't had since our grandmother was alive -- potato salad made with mashed potatoes.

I know it may sound a bit odd, but one bite into it brought back every memory we had of visiting her during the summers. The restaurant here had the absolute perfect blend of the pickles, two kinds of onions, etc. Oh, it was good!

Opening festivities tonight included a "Meet and Greet", again with all sorts of foods. I can't remember a time when I have grazed every moment since I pulled out of my driveway. (My mom used to get so mad at my dad when we traveled. She would pack it all up, and he would have it gone before we got out of town.)

There was a wonderful man and woman who spent an hour playing Civil War songs. Both of their voices were good and quite clear.

Another conversation I was part of today:

Man (from a county I'm researching in): Ma'am, what are the names of the people you're looking for?
Me: (I rattled off about a dozen from that county)
Man: I know ever (yes, ever) one of them.
Me: How do you know them?
Man: I drive past their graveyard.
Me: I know right where it's at!
Man: I drive a school bus there ever day.
Me: Are you serious? I've been on that road! Your front end meets your hind end comin' around those hairpin turns.
Man: I know, ma'am. I have to get out and pull my mirrors in.
Me: On your bus?
Man: On my bus. I have to squeeze between two trees. If they get much bigger I'm going to have to figure out how I'm going to do it, for I'm tired of getting out and bending those mirrors in.
Me: Which county do you drive for?
Man: Depends on which curve I'm on.

Good grief.

Later on...

Me (talking to an older woman): I think my tooth is flaring up on me.
Woman: Do you have any sheep dung?
Me: Sheep dung?!?! (trying to recall my mom talking about it)
Woman: I can bring you some tomorrow if it's still a-painin' you.
Me: Uh, no. I do believe I brought something with me to help it some.
Woman: Well, you just let me know.
Me: Oh, I will...

Now, I'm not telling you these things to make fun of the conversations I've had. Not at all. This is Appalachia, and sometimes things run at a different speed here.

These are fine, fine people with deep German and Scots/Irish roots. And, if I ever had to live off the land during famine or a depression, this is where I would want to be.

God bless them all.

AND...

Speaker at conference giving directions to his bookstore...
Man: It's just around the corner from...
Audience: ?
Man: It's two blocks from ...
Audience: ?
Man: It's just down the road from ___ Gun's Supply.
Audience - all in one voice: Oh! We all know where that is! We'll find your shop!!!

18 Sep 2016

Miss Peggy is reflecting after a whirlwind three days with her sisters.

After my sisters fell asleep Friday evening, I thought I heard someone singing. I went to the door, and went out to the hall (like an indoor courtyard) and followed the singing down to where I looked over an atrium. There was a bunch of people attending a Baptist convention, and they couldn't sleep. So, they got up, went downstairs, and started up singing. I stayed upon the balcony and sang right along with them.

As I got back to the room, I tiptoed back to the side of the bed by the wall and window, and got stuck. Something was sticking down my back in my nightgown holding me hostage. I called for Betty, and she jumped up asking what in the world had happened.

That stupid rod that you pull the curtains back and forth with somehow got wedged down my back, and was holding me like a puppet, not able to move.

She got me out of my fix, only to have the same thing happen about ten minutes later.

Fool.

The next morning, a couple were standing behind us at breakfast when the woman said, "You look so familiar. Were you the one on the balcony singing with us?"

Me: (Sheepishly) Well, yes it was. I apologize for being in my nightgown.
Woman: Well, honey...you looked a heck of a lot better than the folks at Walmart!

I have stepped up.

Breakfast was to die for this morning. It was all of the stuff I grew up on - bacon and eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, fried apples, waffles, etc.

After being interviewed by the local television station, I began my series of talks, beginning with "Following the Money Using Tax Records". I had these people hollerin' and slappin' the legs - over tax records! Probably because so many of mine were listed as "Distillers" on the actual records.

In between classes, a woman came up to me and asked me if I knew much about "those Mormons". I responded that I did, for I am one. She then proceeded to tell me all about "those Mormons" digging up their dead folks. I assured her that WE didn't, emphasizing that she was indeed talking to one. She said a friend of a friend of hers told her they did, so it must be true.

Honey, just go sit back down.

Soon it was time to leave. After eating and talking and laughing and eating some more and laughing some more, we drove with the beautiful moon shining on us through the hills.

We reminisced about an earlier time...

A turkey buzzard swooped down across the windshield, lodging in the front left fender.
Me: (driving Fern's Toyota van) Good grief!
Betty: What in the world was that thing?
Me: I think it was a teradactyl.
Fern: Is the van okay?
Me: I'm going to pull over and check.

Me...pulling feathers and body parts out of the grill. My sisters are freaking out.

I then noticed that the fender was dislodged from the main body. I cleaned out more feathers, snapped everything back together like Legos, got in the car and drove on.

Fern: Are you sure it's okay?
Me: Are we driving?
Fern: Yes
Me: Do you hear anything flopping?
Fern: No
Me: We're fine. Let's keep going and find us a cemetery.

I will miss my sisters when they're gone. Of course, I'm assuming they will go before me, which may not be the case. But, I can tell things are a bit harder for them than they used to be.

Perhaps, just perhaps, that is why I was born so many years after them.

The Music That Soothed Her

Music has always been a big part of my life.  I have written about my love for the piano, and my parents' sacrifice to buy one for me.  The blog post may be found here:  http://alwaysanxiouslyengaged.blogspot.com/search/label/Music 

I don't believe my mother's side of the family had much talent for music.  Mom had no rhythm or timing when it came to singing, and not very good pitch, either.  But, that certainly didn't keep her from singing her heart out.  I didn't notice anyone else in her family being blessed with musical abilities, either.

Dad was a different matter.  His dream was to always conduct an orchestra.  An elaborate stereo sound system always graced our home, where dad would be playing his "long-hair" music.  

I can remember some girls knocking on our door one evening.  They went to my school, but I didn't know them very well.  When I opened the door, they heard my dad's music and screeched, stating that I was one of the luckiest people they could imagine.

I believe that my dad could have been fine musician, if the opportunity and the resources had been there for him.  But, they weren't.

I recently transcribed my dad's journal, and placed the contents on FamilySearch.  I was reminded of something that he often talked about, and I blogged about on 12 Mar 2013.

"Dad always talked about his little sister, Betty, who died when she was 3 1/2 years old.  

Betty was born when Dad was two years old.  She was the sixth child out of eleven that would come to that family.

One day, older sister Mary was rocking little Betty by a pot bellied stove that had a pot of beans cooking and bubbling away on the top of it.  As she rocked Betty, she would "push off" with her foot against the stove.  Each time she pushed, the pot of beans would move a little closer to the edge.

It eventually moved too close to the edge and fell right on to baby Betty and Mary.  It mostly covered Betty, scalding her severely.

It took Betty three, agonizing days to die from the burns.  What a terrible death!  And, the terrible feelings that Mary must have had running through her 11 year old mind.  The helplessness of her parents hearing her cries must have haunted them throughout their lives.

One of my sisters is named Betty in honor of this sweet little aunt that died so many years ago."

But, I didn't finish that story.  

Dad mentioned:

"...and of course the doctors was not trained to treat severe burns in those days and the most the doctor could do for her was to give her Morphine to ease the pain till she died, We lived on Clark hill at that time, a part of Olive Hill.

 I was in school at that time but I believe my mother told us that after Betty’s burn quit hurting so bad that she was rocking her in that same rocker and Betty started singing a song that we all sang in church and at home from time to time and the name of the song was,

            Heavens bells are ringing and I’m going home

            Heavens bells are ringing and I’m going home

            Heavens bells are ringing and I’m going home, away to beauliland.

That song has come to my mind many times during my lifetime and something tells me that she went right straight to the presence of God, it would be hard to make me believe anything different."

It took little Betty three whole days to die.  Three whole days.  There was nothing they could do but give her morphine to ease the pain.

I, too have lost a child.  He was much older, but still my child.  There wasn't much to comfort me.

But, as I read Dad's journal, I began to think about the words that my grandmother sang to her little girl, probably hoping that the sound of her voice and the words to the song would comfort them both.

I tried to find the song, and I believe it may have been the combination of two songs.  Here are the words:

"Climbing Zion's Hill"

Oh, the heaven bells are ringing and I'm a-going home
I'm a-going home, yes, I'm a-going home
Oh, the heaven bells are ringing and I'm a-going home
Climbing up Zion's hill

I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill
I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill

[Instrumental break]

If you don't, my mother, you'll be too late
You'll be too late, you'll be too late
If you don't, my mother, you'll be too late
Climbing up Zion's hill

I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill
I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill

[Instrumental break]

If you don't, my father, you'll be too late
You'll be too late, you'll be too late
If you don't, my father, you'll be too late
Climbing up Zion's hill

I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill
I'm climbing, I'm climbing
Climbing up Zion's hill

And, I was even able to find a recording of a mountain woman singing this song -- probably sounding much like my own grandmother would have sounded.  It's only a couple of minutes long, but if you feel so inclined, please listen to a piece of Appalachian history -- one that my grandmother may have sung to comfort her grieving heart.

http://digital.berea.edu/cdm/ref/collection/p16020coll13/id/500 

Adding Them Up and Keeping Them Straight

I love my military ancestors.

Robert H. STEVENS
40th KY Infantry, Co., K

As I look into their faces, I often wonder the thoughts that may have been going through their mind as they left their homes and families; perhaps never to see them again.  The photo above is of Robert H. STEVENS, a veteran of the Civil War, and one who served as a POW.  He also suffered a pain in the side and a broken foot, perhaps from a sudden jar from shells from a cannon.  (information taken from the 1890 Kentucky Union Veteran's Census)

After picking up where my parents left off, I began to discover more and more military ancestors; so many that I began to lose count.  I really wanted to keep a running list of them, and prepared an Excel spreadsheet to do so.

First, I asked Mr. Kerry to give me a list of all of the wars the United States has been involved in, including the years.  In just a couple of moments, he handed me a list.  (Note:  We have been married nearly 39 years.  The trash has been picked up every week during the wee hours of Friday morning -- for 39 years.  Every Thursday, I gently nudge him and ask, "Kerry, do you remember whose coming tomorrow?"  His answer, after pausing to think, "Uh, your sisters?"  Sigh...But, he can remember every war America has been part of.)

I entered those wars and their years across the top of a spreadsheet, leaving a column on the left to enter their names.

Each time I find a new military ancestor, it is easy to insert his/her name on the left, and to write a very brief description in the war column.

I now have added ancestor #169!!  I could never remember all of them without a chart to help me out.

I have also included those who are currently enrolled in the military.

It's just one more way to keep me straight.  Perhaps it can help you, too!

Documenting Your Experience - It's Worth the Effort!

I need help keeping up with my own self.


When a "Call for Papers" is issued by a society, there is usually a section that asks for prior speaking experience.  In past years, I didn't really keep a record like I should have, and it was a difficult task to reconstruct all of those events.

So, I began a file in Dropbox to help me in that effort.  I call it my "Genealogy - Learning and Teaching List".  It looks like this:

Each time I attend a class or present a class via conference or webinar, it is recorded.  I looked back over my calendar, and using syllabi from conferences and webinars from various organizations, I put it together.  Let me show you what 2015 looks like:

Again, there are two divisions for each year -- one for learning and one for teaching.

Here is part of the file for learning:

The list goes on for several more pages.  It also includes conferences where I have attended classes.  As much as I love hanging out with genea-friends during these events, I am also there to learn!

The one I am showing below was the clincher for me:

Last November, I was reviewing my lists for 2015.  As I was adding up the various venues I had been part of, either in person or via webinar, I realized why I was feeling a bit worn out.  

The in-person events added up to 62.
The webinars accounted for about 15-20 more.

I made the decision to fulfill my commitments up to the end of June for this current year, and to spend the last half of the year working on my own.  That includes research on my own family, refreshing some of my lectures, and the development of new ones.

And, it has been wonderful!

I have made a trip to Kentucky, with another one planned in September.

I have refreshed about 1/3 of my current lectures.  The others are still in the works.

I am in the middle of developing four new ones, with a few more rolling around in the back of my head.

There have been some "Calls for Papers" that I have responded to, and when I do I include the cumulative experience that I garnered from compiling my lists.

Now, there is another reason I am keeping this type of a record.  As with any credentialing organization, I am required to renew my Accreditation through ICAPGen every five years.  Though I am not inclined to do client work anymore, I feel I must show that I am keeping myself current and fresh.

These lists do the job for me.

And, there's even one more reason.

I have talked with several genealogists through the years that would love to become part of the speaking circuit.  A few still have children at home, or for one reason or another are just not able to do it right now.

My advice:  Do the above!

Start where you're at, and begin to record and document every time you are asked to present a class anywhere.  It doesn't matter if it's:

• At your child's school
• Teaching a youth class at church
• Helping Boy Scouts on a merit badge
• Giving a class at the public library
• Speaking at a local genealogy society
• Demonstrating a skill at a local history fair (think spinning, churning butter, ropemaking, teaching about early settlers)
• Serving as a docent at an historical site
• Writing an article for your local state or county society

I think you get the idea.

All of these experiences count!  Most recently, a friend of mine was able to receive credit for two college classes because her cumulative list showed the advisor the needed field experience for teaching.  

Be sure to ask for a letter of recommendation from any organizer that you work with.  These can carry a lot of weight, especially if they keep asking you to return.

Your time and your effort count.  But, until you actually see it written down, you may not realize just how much you have done.

Every Opportunity Counts

I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people alive.

I was recently asked about my background, my education, etc.  I took a deep breath and gave my answer.

Other than high school, I have no formal education.  But, I certainly am educated.  Let me tell you why.

The opportunity to go to college was not there for me.  Being the baby of the family is not easy, for I didn't have a line of people encouraging me in that direction.  All of my sisters are educated, with nursing degrees and x-ray technician backgrounds.

But, I am not.  I was generally told college was for smart people.  And, I believed that.

So, I educated myself.

I worked at Bierce Library at the University of Akron for a number of years.  I could have taken classes for college credit for free.  But, I didn't.  I did take one class on how to play the harmonica from a man who used to play with Freddie and the Fendercats.  Now, I don't have the breath to even play the harmonica.

All I ever wanted to be was a wife and mother, and I really didn't think that would ever happen, either.  But, it did.  And, soon I was "stuck at home" with four children under five years old.

This is when I did my greatest amount of learning.  While the kids were napping, I was reading and studying.  I was expanding my musical talent, learning how to go beyond piano and organ and saxophone (from high school).  I acquired six-string and twelve-string guitars, a banjo, autoharp, recorders, and anything else I could get my hands and taught myself.

As the kids grew, we spent hours at the library.  Each were allowed to check out ten books - forty books each week!  Kerry and I would immerse ourselves in the history and reference section.

Our kids began to realize how books could open up the world to them at a very early age.

When my kids were in junior/senior high school, I was asked to be the Family History Director at our local ward.  At this time, I hadn't taken the time to learn to do the things the easy way (microfiche, microfilm).  I had always gone to the actual areas with my parents.

Long story short...that assignment led me to where I am today.  I have traveled the United States and spoken to the world.  

So, when asked about my background, let me give some advice:

1.  Always, always take advantage of every opportunity for learning that comes your way.  There are so many to choose from.  They range from conferences, webinars, and classes to local gatherings at the public libraries, local genealogy societies, and even public television.  Learning about the 1918 influenza epidemic helped me to realize how difficult it was for my grandmother and her sister to lose seven babies between them.  It enhanced the writings in my mother's journal, who happened to live through it and remembered it as a five-year old.

2.  Learn to recognize the opportunity in front of you.  It may come in a casual conversation with someone of advanced age, a class being held, a book at a book sale.  

3.  Make the time to learn.  If you wait for the time to come, you may be waiting a long time.  Set aside the time for your own education.

4.  Some opportunities are free - some may cost money.  We were a single-income family, so I had to be judicial in what I spent money on for myself.  It might mean only one trip per year with my sisters to do research.  It might mean borrowing a book from the library instead of buying it.  One of the best ways is looking through what I already had in my own home.

5.  Conferences and institutes are tremendous, if you can afford them and the travel involved.  I have been fortunate to attend many conferences, but had to sit back on many more.  With modern technology, I can attend some of the streamed sessions.  

The Family History Library is hosting a wonderful United States Research Seminar in August.  I would love to be attending it.  But, I can't.  However, there are at least twenty classes being streamed!  Take a look at it here .  I have registered for as many as I can.

6.  I am an Accredited Genealogist, and have been for the past fifteen years.  I made a choice between becoming Accredited, or going through the Board for Certification of Genealogists.  I chose the first, as it hones you in on a specific area.

I did not need to do this professionally.  But, I wanted to.  Some of my friends and colleagues were proud of my accomplishment, and let me know that.  But, I'm still the same Peggy as before.

My oldest child had left on a mission, and I had three more in various stages of junior/senior high school.  Acquiring this Accreditation was one of the hardest things I had ever done.  I thought I was good, but it polished me.  I am so grateful that I set that as a goal, and that I reached it.

There are many genealogy colleagues who are neither Accredited or Board Certified.  But, they are good.  Very, very good.  Neither of these are needed to do professional research or speaking at different venues.  But, perhaps it helps when the post-nomials are noted, for it shows you have gone a little further.

7.  I learn from my peers.  I have attended classes when I have sat in awe at the tremendous amount of information being shared.  I have learned things I didn't know that I didn't know.

I have also attended classes where the only thing I learned was how not to teach a class.  I am not saying that to insult the presenter.  I have known several whose brains are so full of knowledge that I am coveting them.  But, they didn't quite know how to convey that knowledge to others.  As they spoke, I took note of the attendees around me.  Again, I learned how not to teach.

8.  I am always in research mode.  Always.  When we travel, I am reading.  When we were waiting for children at piano lessons, swim meets, tennis matches, etc., we always had a book.  (We watched our parents do the same thing.)  We never go anywhere without a book to read or a journal to write in.  

9.  I have found that by helping another person, or preparing a new lecture - I learn more than anyone else.  I believe it's called *homework*.  

10.  Belonging to your local or state genealogy society benefits you in so many ways.  I am fortunate to live just a few moments away from the Ohio Genealogical Society.  I have blogged about it several times, and those are tagged in the right column of this blog.

One thing they have begun doing is having a series of summer learning sessions - for free!!!  Please check out what has already been offered, and what is yet to come:  http://www.ogsblog.org/2016/03/2016-summer-learning-sessions.html?spref=tw

If I follow the example of my parents, my in-laws, and Mr. Kerry, my learning will never come to an end.  In today's world, there is no reason to remain uninformed on a subject.  

We choose those things that are the most important to us.  For me, it has been lifelong learning.

So, don't be discouraged if you're not able to go to all of the events you would like to.  Instead, be grateful for the things you may have right in front of you.  Kerry's father counseled his children:

Always keep your mind active and learning.

AND, from one of my previous posts

When you're green, you're still growing.

When you're ripe, you're almost rotten.

STAY GREEN!

Treasures at the Ohio Genealogical Society

 I have been spending quite a bit of time at the Ohio Genealogical Society lately.  It's a treasure that is actually just down the road from me -- about seven minutes away.

After it's humble beginnings at someone's home, it moved to two other properties before building its new home.  The dedication of this beautiful building was six years ago.  It is conveniently located off of a major interstate.

I have done some posts about OGS before, but this time I just want to show you some photos I took there yesterday.  It was a perfect way to spend a hot, humid, Ohio afternoon.

This is the interior of this beautiful library.  There are rows and rows of books about Ohio, and about the states touching Ohio.

This is the obituary collection that I wrote about.
Al and Julia Hoffman spent nearly two years digitizing these for FamilySearch.  

These are the vertical files containing a bounty of information on families.

A closeup of some of those vertical family files.

This file contains unpublished manuscripts about the counties and localities in Ohio.

The computer room is phenomenal, with the capability of scanning microfilm and downloading it to a flash drive.

They have a marvelous collection of both city and rural directories.
I wrote about these in an earlier post.  You can read it here.

This is only a portion of their yearbook collection.

This file contains family charts that people have sent in to add to the collection.
I made sure Mr. Kerry's family is well represented.

They even have a lending library!  These books are duplicates of those on the shelves.

Newspapers dating back to the mid-1800's are stored in a temperature-controlled archive room.

All of these beautiful volumes contain naturalization records that the state didn't want, or perhaps didn't have room for.

Here are a couple of pages from some original tax records.
These are also stored in the archive room.

The ORIGINAL 1880 census for the state of Ohio!
Yes, I said the original.
I was able to look at one of the volumes, and was amazed at the clarity of the writing.
It's interesting that I could read it so well, but if I were looking at it on microfilm, it might be faded out.

This is the manuscript collection.
Many times, when someone dies, the family members will donate their papers to a facility like OGS.
They are housed in archive-safe boxes.

These are collections waiting to be sorted through and placed in the archive room.

I tried real hard to rotate this, but it kept converting back.
It's just one snippet of one of the many German newspapers that are housed in the archive room.
There aren't many around that can read the old German, so they aren't looked at very often.

These are just a few of the treasures from OGS.  I will include a few more photos later.

Hope you enjoy!

Ohio Lineage Societies Made Simple

Perhaps some of you remember a Facebook post from a couple of weeks ago.  I attended a "lock in" at the headquarters of The Ohio Genealogical Society.

Margaret and I spent quite a bit of time together talking about lineage applications for OGS, and the simple template that she uses for her own personal submission.  Being the example that a president of an organization should be, she was working on yet another one for a family line.

A class was recently held for those who judge applications in various capacities on either a state or local society level.  She then mentioned that another class would be held to teach people how to submit a lineage application as part of their ongoing summer education series.  I told her I would be there.

So, on this very, very hot summer afternoon, I sat in a cool, comfortable classroom expanding my learning.  Margaret did an excellent job speaking to a near-capacity crowd the process of determining and submitting an application.  She mentioned what was allowed to be used, and what was not.

I could tell by the questions that there were many whose wheels were turning as they were thinking about joining one of the societies.

Let me tell you about some of them:  (www.ogs.org)

FIRST FAMILIES OF OHIO (FFO)

•  This would include the descendants of an ancestor who was in Ohio prior to 1820.

CENTURY FAMILIES OF OHIO (CFO)

• This would include descendants of an ancestor from 1861 to 100 years back from the current year.  Example:  100 years ago is 1916.  So, it would include ancestors 1861-1916.

SETTLERS AND BUILDERS OF OHIO (SBO)

• This would include descendants of an ancestor who lived in the Ohio from 1 Jan 1821 - 31 Dec 1860.

SOCIETY OF CIVIL WAR FAMILIES OF OHIO (SCWFO)

• Open to direct descendants or collateral relatives of those who served in the Civil War.

And, a brand new one!

SOCIETY OF THE FAMILIES OF THE OLD NORTHWEST TERRITORY (SFONT)

• Direct descendats of anyone who lived in the Old Northwest Territory prior to 3 Mar 1803.
• This is the date Ohio achieved statehood.
• The ancestor could have lived in any part of the Old Northwest Territory:
• Ohio
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Michigan
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota (that little part east of the Mississippi)

Any of the information to join the lineage societies may be found here.

For those who are local, there are excellent submission booklets available (except for the brand new one).  If you visit the OGS library, you may want to pick one up just to see the amount of work you will be expected to submit.

They may also be downloaded at that same link.

The same information is found at the above link, but if you will wait a couple of weeks or so, all five lineage societies will be available using a PDF file on the website.  

Does it get any better than that???!!!

Margaret also mentioned a site that has an excellent pedigree chart that can be downloaded as a PDF.  I had Surface Pro with me, so I went right to the site, downloaded it, and filled it out as she spoke.  (I can sit there an fill out a complete pedigree chart with names and dates, but can't tell you what I had for breakfast.  I know...)

It is a nice chart.  Download it here.

Do yourself a favor and look over the applications, and consider being one of the dozens who are presented with certificates and pins at the annual Ohio Genealogical Society Conference.  

It's a wonderful way to polish and hone your skills, and to honor your ancestor.

A replica of the pin I have for Asbury MOORE
My Civil War ancestor from Ohio