Why Do You Do Genealogy, #2

There will be no computer classes this Sat., 30th. However the Library WILL be open our normal hours 9-5.

We will be closed Nov 28 and 29 for Thanksgiving Holidays. Our blog will resume on Saturday.

Genealogy tip for today:  Why Genealogy?

We are discussing reasons why Genealogy is important. Yesterday we talked about family stories. Today we are looking at the value of recorded history.

HISTORY – the Broad Scope to the past:

We already know that history is important. We teach all kinds of history classes in school and even offer majors in the field of history. So at some level we already believe that history is important. Genealogy is actually nothing more than history on a personal scale. Or to put it in different words, genealogy is a microcosm of history. Genealogy gives us a personal tie to our history.

It has also been said those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat it. In order to read it, someone has to put it down in some readable format so we can read it. How can we know what that history is if someone doesn’t record it to read? We can be that someone to put down our own family’s history.

Researching our personal history gives us a better grasp of history as a whole. I’ll never forget the day when I got thinking about the time period an ancestor lived. His life span include the Civil War, that meant he had no car or truck, not even trains yet, no electricity, no running water, no radio, no microwave – so many of the things we take for granted today. His life was much simpler but also much harder. He and his family traveled everywhere by horse or by some means of a wagon or device with wheels. What a different point of view I had of him when I realized this. When we think in these terms it helps to put people into context to better understand the world they lived in, determine what their living conditions were like or how they carried out their occupations at that time.

Given that genealogy is history on a personal scale it gives us a better understanding of family life, your family’s life, at that particular time. When done on a scholarly scale, it is a work that is cited, documented and dependable. The information that is recorded will be something that can be relied upon in the future for having accurate information. In doing a scholarly study it will also help sharpen your own research skills, improving your search skills the more you work on your personal history.

Some folks have gotten interested in genealogy because of researching a community’s history. Who were the people that settled here, where did they come from and what kind of trade or occupation did they have? How did that influence this town or community? Did it help or hinder the growth of the area? Often local groups will want to publish a history about their location. Doing research into the people that live there and their background identifies the community and the people that make it up.

Doing genealogy also passes on a sense of history to future generations. It also helps to foster a love and passion for history. If you don’t do it, maybe no one will, or no one in a long time. As does happen, records could be lost in the future that you have access to, today. Get it in writing while you have access to records that prove what you are writing about. We have enough lost records already. We need to do what we can to preserve information for our future families. They depend on us.

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

November 27
43 BC		Octavian, Antony and Lepidus form the triumvirate of Rome.
511		Clovis, king of the Franks, dies and his kingdom is divided between his four sons.
1095		In Clermont, France, Pope Urbana II makes an appeal for warriors to relieve Jerusalem. He is responding to false rumors of atrocities in the Holy Land.
1382		The French nobility, led by Olivier de Clisson, crush the Flemish rebels at Flanders.
1812		One of the two bridges being used by Napoleon Bonaparte's army across the Beresina River in Russia collapses during a Russian artillery barrage.
1826		Jebediah Smith's expedition reaches San Diego, becoming the first Americans to cross the southwestern part of the continent.
1862		George Armstrong Custer meets his future bride, Elizabeth Bacon, at a Thanksgiving party.
1868		Lieutenant Colonel George A. Custer's 7th Cavalry kills Chief Black Kettle and about 100 Cheyenne (mostly women and children) on the Washita River.
1887		U.S. Deputy Marshall Frank Dalton, brother of the three famous outlaws, is killed in the line of duty near Fort Smith, Ark.
1904		The German colonial army defeats Hottentots at Warm bad in southwest Africa.
1909		U.S. troops land in Blue fields, Nicaragua, to protect American interests there.
1919		Bulgaria signs peace treaty with Allies at Unequally, France, fixing war reparations and recognizing Yugoslavian independence.
1922		Allied delegates bar the Soviets from the Near East peace conference.
1936		Great Britain's Anthony Eden warns Hitler that Britain will fight to protect Belgium.
1942		The French fleet in Toulon is scuttled to keep it from Germany.
1950		East of the Choosing River, Chinese forces annihilate an American task force.
1954		Alger Hiss, convicted of being a Soviet spy, is freed after 44 months in prison.
1959		Demonstrators march in Tokyo to protest a defense treaty with the United States.
1967		Lyndon Johnson appoints Robert McNamara to presidency of the World Bank.
1967		Charles DeGaulle vetoes Great Britain's entry into the Common Market again.
1970		Syria joins the pact linking Libya, Egypt and Sudan.
1973		US Senate votes to confirm Gerald Ford as President of the United States, following President Richard Nixon's resignation; the House will confirm Ford on Dec. 6.
1978		San Francisco mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk, the city's first openly gay supervisor, assassinated by former city supervisor Dan White.
1978		Kurdistan Workers' Party (Parti Karkerani Kurdistan, or PKK) founded; militant group that fought an armed struggle for an independent Kurdistan.
1984		Britain and Spain sign the Brussels Agreement to enter discussions over the status of Gibraltar.
1999		Helen Clark becomes first elected female Prime Minister of New Zealand.
2001		Hubble Space Telescope discovers a hydrogen atmosphere on planet Osiris, the first atmosphere detected on an extrasolar planet.
2004		Pope John Paul II returns relics of Saint John Chrysostom to the Eastern Orthodox Church.
2005		First partial human face transplant completed Amiens, France.
2006		Canadian House of Commons approves a motion, tabled by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, recognizing the Quebecois as a nation within Canada.

Anders Celsius

Birthdays today

1701		Anders Celsius, astronomer who devised the centigrade temperature scale.
1870		Joe Mack, builder of gasoline-powered delivery wagons which eventually evolved into the Mack Truck Company.
1874		Charles A. Beard, distinguished American historian who wrote History of the United States.
1909		James Agee, Pulitzer Prize-winning author (A Death in the Family).
1942		Jimi Hendrix, influential rock musician.
1955		Bill Nye, scientist, educator, TV host; known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, host of the Disney/PBS children's show of the same name.
1957		Caroline Kennedy, author, attorney, only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy and his wife, Jacqueline "Jackie" Bouvier; named US Ambassador to Japan (2013– ).
1963		Princess Desiree of Hohenzollern.

Word for the Day

McCarthyism

PRONUNCIATION:

(muh-KAHR-thee-iz-uhm)

MEANING:

noun: The practice of making unfounded accusations against someone.

ETYMOLOGY:

After US senator Joseph McCarthy (1909-1957) known for making unsubstantiated claims accusing people of being Communists, spies, and disloyal. Earliest documented use: in 1950 in a cartoon by Herbert Block.

USAGE:

"This is the greatest case of rampant McCarthyism to ever hit organized sports. ... There was no hard evidence that three other first-timers on the ballot used steroids, but that didn't keep the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) voters from denying them entry to the Hall."
Bob Keisser; Extreme Thinking Common for Hall Voters; Daily News (Los Angeles, California); Jan 10, 2013.

Quote for the Day

I have learnt silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet strange, I am ungrateful to these teachers. -Kahlil Gibran, poet, and artist (1883-1931)

Today’s Recipe

Holiday Cooking

Roasted Pumpkin Salad (For the Vegetarian)

I know many people have an aversion to cilantro - feel free to leave it out. This will change the personality and flavor profile of the dressing, but it will still taste delicious.

3 cups of pumpkin (or other winter squash), peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
extra-virgin olive oi
fine grain sea salt

12 tiny red onions or shallots, peeled (OR 3 medium red onions peeled and quartered)
2 cups cooked wild rice*

1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons warm water
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 375.
Toss the pumpkin in a generous splash of olive oil along with a couple pinches of salt, and turn out onto a baking sheet. At the same time, toss the onions with a bit of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and turn out onto a separate baking sheet. Roast both for about 45 minutes, or until squash is brown and caramelized. The same goes for the onions, they should be deeply colored, caramelized, and soft throughout by the time they are done roasting. You'll need to flip both the squash and onion pieces once or twice along the way - so it's not just one side that is browning.

In the meantime, make the dressing. With a hand blender or food processor puree the sunflower seeds, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and honey until creamy. You may need to add a few tablespoons of warm water to thin the dressing a bit. Stir in the cilantro, saving just a bit to garnish the final plate later. Taste and adjust seasonings (or flavors) to your liking - I usually need to add a touch more salt with this dressing.

In a large bowl, toss the wild rice with a large dollop of the dressing. Add the onions, gently toss just once or twice. Turn the rice and onions out onto a platter and top with the roasted squash (I'll very gently toss with my hands here to disperse the pumpkin a bit). Finish with another drizzle of dressing and any remaining chopped cilantro.

Serves 4.

* To cook wild rice: Rinse 1 1/2 cups wild rice. In a medium sauce pan bring the rice and 4 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 40 minutes or until rice is tender and splitting open, stirring occasionally. You'll have enough for this recipe and some leftover.

ENJOY!

Now You Know!