Just What IS Genealogy?

 

Genealogy tip for today:  Just What IS Genealogy?

This is actually a very broad question which raises more:

Is it just a pedigree chart showing who was the father or mother of whom?

Is it little stories you’ve heard here and there?

Is it research?

Is it history?

Is it legend or documented facts?

Is it personal or is it part of a wider audience?

Genealogy as art

I’ve been reading a lot of other blogs recently, seeing what’s new, what the latest is, and just what others have to say. One blog in particular caught my eye. It is a blog that I highlighted when reviewing blogs: Genealogy’s Star. James Tanner talked about some of the background, basic knowhow you need to begin this journey. And, it’s a trip, alright!

James goes on to explain how his family cultivated in his early life a desire to learn new things. It started of all places with the family’s set of encyclopedias. When I was in high school I had a girlfriend who was what we would call today a nerd. She got me interested in learning a new word each day in High School study hall. I don’t think we got out of the A’s, but that was my first introduction to what an aardvark was!

Here's a family tree!

Do you read a lot?

Do you even read the dictionary?
Do you visit your library on a regular basis?
Do you try to educate yourself of new things?
Do you watch documentaries on television?
Do you have a sense of curiosity and wonder?

If you answered yes to any of these, you are on the right track. If this is not you, you are missing out on a whole 'nother world out there that is just waiting to be discovered. Your life is richer for it and so is everyone else’s when you do. Let me encourage you to do so, if you haven’t.

Do you remember having to write those reports, essays and later papers when you were in school? That was preparing you for the life before you and, obviously at that point you had no way of knowing what lay ahead. Now that you’re interested in researching your family history, you have probably already learned some of the skills you need – note taking, notecards, outlines and basic composition. I guess you could call these "pre-skills" to doing genealogy.

There are a lot of foundational things, habits if you will that all go into what genealogy is all about. If you have these under your belt, you have a leg up on what this is all about, already. This should boost your confidence!

 

Happy Hunting!

 

 

COMING SOON - 

Our Library's Foundation board sponsors every year a Conversation With event, bringing in a well known author. This year's author is Debbie Macomber. It will be held at the Roger's Little Theater on Friday, October 11th. You can go online to www.rplfoundation.org or contact the library for your $39 tickets.

 Tickets include meeting the author, 1 signed copy of Starry Night (not yet released), appetizers and drinks. Come join us, meet the author and help support our library as well.  

If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide to you is helpful in anyway.

 
 

Today in History

1470 Henry VI of England restored to the throne.
1760 Austrian and Russian troops enter Berlin and begin burning structures and looting.

A different perspective


 

1779 The Luddite riots being in Manchester, England in reaction to machinery for spinning cotton.

1781 Americans begin shelling the British surrounded at Yorktown.

1825 The first Norwegian immigrants to America arrive on the sloop Restaurationen.

1863 Confederate cavalry raiders return to Chattanooga after attacking Union General William Rosecrans' supply and communication lines all around east Tennessee.

1888 The Washington Monument, designed by Robert Mills, opens to the public.

1914 Germans take Antwerp, Belgium, after 12-day siege.

Moments before the assassination

1934 In Marseilles, a Macedonian revolutionary associated with Croat terrorists in Hungary assassinates King Alexander of Yugoslavia and French Foreign Minister Louis Barthou. The two had been on a tour of European capitals in quest of an alliance against Nazi Germany. The assassinations bring the threat of war between Yugoslavia and Hungary, but confrontation is prevented by the League of Nations.

1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt requests congressional approval for arming U.S. merchant ships.

1946 Eugene O'Neill's play The Iceman Cometh opens at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York.

1949 Harvard Law School begins admitting women.
1950 U.N. forces, led by the First Cavalry Division, cross the 38th parallel in South Korea and begin attacking northward towards the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.

1983 The president of South Korea, Doo Hwan Chun, with his cabinet and other top officials are scheduled to lay a wreath on a monument in Rangoon, Burma, when a bomb explodes. Hwan had not yet arrived so escaped injury, but 17 Koreans–including the deputy prime minister and two other cabinet members–and two Burmese are killed. North Korea is blamed.

1999 Last flight of the Lockheed SR-71 "Blackbird" stealth reconnaissance aircraft.

2006 North Korea reportedly tests its first nuclear device.

Birthdays today      

1837 Francis Parker, educator and founder of progressive elementary schools.

1859 Alfred Dreyfus, French artillery officer who was falsely accused of giving French military secrets to foreign powers.
1873 Charles Rudolph Walgreen, "the father of the modern drugstore."
1879 Max von Laue, German physicist.
1899 Bruce Catton, U.S. historian and journalist, famous for his works on the Civil War.
1909 Jacques Tati, French actor and director.
1940 John Lennon, musician, singer, songwriter; one of the Beatles ("Imagine," "Give Peace a Chance").
1941 Brian Lamb, journalist, founder of C-SPAN cable network.
1941 Trent Lott, politician, Republican Senate Majority Whip (1995-96), Senate Majority Leader (1996–2001) and Minority Leader (2001-02); resigned during controversy over making remarks that praised Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign that had called for preservation of racial segregation.
1948 Jackson Browne, singer, songwriter, musician, producer; member of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ("Running on Empty," "Take It Easy").
1974 Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, writer, radio host; prominent figure in Modern Orthodox Judaism.
1979 Chris O'Dowd, comedian, actor (The IT Crowd and Family Tree TV series, Bridesmaids).

Word for the Day

xanthodontous

PRONUNCIATION:
(zan-tho-DON-tuhs)

MEANING:

adjective: Having yellow teeth.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek xanthos (yellow) + -odon (toothed). Earliest documented use: 1862. Also see Xanthippe.

USAGE:

"Nary a xanthodontous smile in sight."
Emme Nelson Baxter; Volunteers Deserve a Hand in Tough Times; The Tennessean; May 3, 2009.

 

Quote for the Day
Imagine there's no countries, / It isn't hard to do, / Nothing to kill or die for, / No religion too, / Imagine all the people / living life in peace. -John Lennon, musician (1940-1980)

 

 

Today’s Recipe

 

Treats, No Tricks!

Jell-O Blood Worms

These edible Jell0 Worms are a BIG hit for our Halloween Dinner. The first time I served these up the kids really freaked out. My daughter couldn’t even look at them at first, but after some coaxing and a little good natured teasing, she ate one. Then much too her surprise, she liked them.

They take a little effort to make, but I think they are worth it. Plan to make these at least a day ahead of time.

 

Jell-O Blood Worms

Ingredients:

100 flexible plastic straws

 

(The straws with a bendable neck make the most realistic worms by adding ridges to the worm. Place bendable necks of straws at the bottom of the container).

an empty, cleaned 1-quart milk or orange juice carton to hold straws.

(The straws will fill up to the height of the container, the taller the better.)

 

1 package (6 ounces) raspberry or grape flavor gelatin
3 envelopes unflavored gelatin
3 cups boiling water
3/4 cup whipping cream
12 to 15 drops green food coloring

waxed paper

 

Instructions:

1.  Combine gelatins in a bowl and add boiling water; stir until gelatins completely dissolve. Chill until lukewarm, about 20 min.

2.  Meanwhile, gently pull straws to extend to full length; place in tall container. Wrap together with a loose rubber band to hold straws together.

3.  Blend cream and food coloring with the lukewarm gelatin mixture. Carefully pour into container, filling straws.

4.  Chill until gelatin is firm, at least 8 hours, or cover and chill up to 2 days.

5.  Pull straws from container or, if you’re using a carton, simply tear the carton away from the filled straws. Pull straws apart. Run hot tap water for about 2 seconds over 3 to 4 straws at a time. Starting at the empty ends, push worms from straws with rolling pin, or use your fingers.

6.  Lay worms on waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Cover and chill until ready to use, at least 1 hour or up to 2 days. Worms will hold at room temperature for about 2 hours.

 

 

ENJOY!

 Now You Know!