Headstone photos needed

 Find A Grave is a great site for finding the final resting places of my ancestors.  I've created memorial pages for some of them; and as a volunteer, I've added photographs to the ancestors of others.  

For some of my ancestors, all I have is a photograph of their headstone.  That photograph brings life to my ancestor.  The headstone is tangible.  Seeing the headstone makes them 'real' to me in a way that names on paper cannot.

I'm planning a road trip to New York in April to see family members.  I'm beginning to narrow the focus of my research goals.  I made a spreadsheet today of all the family headstones that I need/want pictures of.  Just making that one spreadsheet has already helped me to prioritize the counties and cities that I'll visit.  

As I write, I know that Delaware County will be the first place I'll go and Otsego County is second and Ulster County will be third.  There are other counties that I'll fit in as I can or I'll save them for the next road trip.

Delaware County, New York 1856

My distant cousin, Jay Gould, surveyed Delaware County in 1856 and a large wall map was published.  In the middle 1800s, publishers believed that sewing the paper to a (presumably) cotton backing and 'laminating' the map with some kind of shellac, that the map itself would withstand the ravages of time.  It did to some degree.  My mother told me that the map I eventually inherited had hung for many years at Aunt Thelma's house.  

I haven't yet figured out who Aunt Thelma is. 

I unrolled the map and found it to be fragile.  I photographed it and emailed the image to the Delaware County Historical Society whose director promptly replied.  I promised the map to them but before I take it to New York, I want the information contained on it for my own personal files.  I found that using my flip-pal and stitching scans of individual cities is the best way for me to do this.

Hamden, Delaware, New York, United States

The map is creased in some places.  Little bits of the 'paper' has disintegrated.  The map is water stained and otherwise stained.  The 'shellac' has worn away.  The top of the map is separating from the wood frame.  This is a large wall map.  It covers the entire top of my queen size bed.  Because of its fragile condition and its size, I won't hang it on any of my walls.  The Delaware County Historical Society is the best home for it.

Not my family

Alexander McNeilly immigrated about 1880.  The earliest reference I can find for my 2nd great grandfather is the 1880 United States census living with a Rowland family.  I thought by exploring the Rowlands that I would learn more about Alexander.  The Rowlands appear to have helped several Irish immigrants over the years.  I don't see Alexander with them in any other census reports but I continue to follow the Rowlands and the Haddons and the Hetheringtons. 

The Spelling of a name

How many ways can a name be spelled?  The first time I see the name of my third great grand aunt, it is spelled Adina.  

1860 Adina P.
1880 Alphenia
1892 Cornelia
1900 Penina
1920 Perhine
1925 Perninne
1930 Pernine
1940 Diana P.

I looked at the spellings myself and they are as you see above.  I've checked family members and their ages to verify the correct families.  Census reports indicate that she is literate so I am baffled as to why her name is spelled differently in each report. The majority start with Per so I considered entering her in my family tree as Pernine.   I might presume that Adina is her first name and Pernine, or some form of it, is a middle name.  I believe that genealogical common sense tells me that the event closest to the event has a better chance of being correct.  I'll enter her in the family tree as Adina Pernine until I have more evidence of her name.

She's not a direct line ancestor.  I would normally not devote this much time and effort into her.  However, solving the spelling of her name is a challenge I will pursue!
 
 

Family History Library research

 I've been researching in the stacks for two and a half days because I like looking through books more than I like the films but I've run out of books to look at and started looking at films.  This is what just one of the films aisles looks like.  They are very long aisles.  See that little bitty stool at the end?  That's a full sized stool and gives you an idea of how long this aisle is.  There's just enough room for two people to pass if they each turn sideways and shimmy past each other. 

There are many dedicated and helpful volunteers and staff members to help you if you need it, but the patron is responsible for getting their own films and returning them when they are finished.  Each film has its own unique number from six digits to seven digits long. 

This is just one of my films in a film reader.  This one is fairly easy to read but this page didn't have what I was looking for so it was on to the next page and the next page and the next page, and so on.   When you find the information you're looking for, and I did, you take both film rolls, the original roll and the uptake roll, to the copy station where I take full advantage of the staff.  The image can be printed on the copier or downloaded to a thumb drive.  The image appears on a monitor and must almost always need some kind of adjustment, such as clarity or brightness or straightening or perhaps you just want to use a portion of the image and then you must zoom onto the portion you want.

Today is the last day for me to research.  I'll be back to the films first thing and study those til I run out of time.  If, and that's a big if, I have time, I'll go back to the book floor and peruse more books on the Schoharie County, New York shelf.

Traveling through New Mexico and Utah

Most of our driving through northwest New Mexico was dull and uneventful. We crossed a small section of Colorado before crossing the Utah border.  In Colorado, we were lucky enough to drive through Cortez, home of the annual Arsenault family reunion.  We were also lucky enough to drive through Dove Creek where Alice Marie DENNISON Arsenault was born.  There was a lot of snow on the ground but the roads were clear and 99% dry.  Driving through Utah is always a pleasure; the landscapes are simply beautiful.

We enjoyed flat land views such as this one and what I truly enjoyed is driving through the mountains.  There are many twists and turns and unique stops as the road takes me up into the mountains and back down on the other side.

Traffic starts to build from about Provo and increases the closer we get to Salt Lake City.  With six and seven lanes of highway, I turn the driving over to Jocelyn.  We made it to our hotel, the Plaza Hotel, with no problem and after a dinner at Squatters Pubs ,we are ready to call it a night

Traveling through Texas

West Texas doesn't usually hold much interest to travellers and it didn't on Saturday either.  Near Littlefield we ran into a dust storm.  Farmers had tilled their fields and the gusting winds picked up the dirt from those fields and blew them across the road. 

Albuquerque was our destination for the first night.  We got there late, ate dinner, and went to bed.  It had been a long day and we were exhausted.  From home, Albuquerque is about an eleven hour drive.

Road Trip

This morning I'm on my way to Salt Lake City.  I'm traveling with my daughter Jocelyn.  She has a business retreat to attend which makes a good excuse for me to spend a week at the Family History Library.  The plan is to spend tonight in Albuquerque and complete the drive Sunday; then Friday morning, we'll start the return trip.

The past week or two, I have focused on prioritizing my research goals.  I have five families to work on, one for each day of the week.  I have lists of sources I want to look at.  Having those lists in advance saves time at the library.  I don't want to waste time looking through the catalog while I'm there.  This library is so special that I want to spend as much time as possible reading through the resources. 

First Post

I suppose writing posts will become easier as I continue to write them.  It is my hope to create vignettes of family members as I learn about them; who they were, what their occupations were, who their spouses and children were, and where they lived.  

I don't expect much of myself as a blogger now.  My talent at writing and sharing will either improve or I'll scrap this whole project.  Time will tell.