Category Archives: Thoughts and Musings

GRIP: Registration Day Recap

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

Phew – what a day, and the thing hasn’t even started yet. After a quick stop at Walmart for supplies, I picked up fellow genealogist and friend, Jean Hoffman, and off we went on the 2.5 hour drive to Pittsburgh. … Continue reading →

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Getting a GRIP on the Institute Experience…Like Right Now

Posted on July 22, 2012 by

Well kids, the time is upon us. Tom Jones awaits. Some of you have already set off for the ‘Burgh, others of us are making our final preparations. Most of my things are packed…and I do mean most of my … Continue reading →

Posted in Fun!, Thoughts and Musings | 1 Comment

One Year Ago Today…My Speaking Career In Review

Posted on July 20, 2012 by

Warning: This post is not entirely about genealogy and is slightly self-indulgent. One year ago today I made my speaking debut at the Ohio Genealogical Society’s Library summer speaker series, presenting the first-ever performance of “Using Deeds In Your Genealogical Research”.  Honestly, … Continue reading →

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Probate Files: Little Things Add Up, Pt. 2

Posted on June 24, 2012 by

In Part 1, we learned a little bit about the immediate family of Garret Staats. He was the second son of Abraham Staats, Sr and Sarah [--?--]. He had an older brother, two younger brothers and a sister. He died … Continue reading →

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Probate Files: Little Things Add Up, Pt. 1

Posted on June 24, 2012 by

At long last, I had an opportunity to sit down with some of my own research. How did I spend most of my time? With a fellow named Garret Staats, who is collaterally related to my 5th great grandfather, of … Continue reading →

Posted in Family Findings, Thoughts and Musings | 2 Comments

Researching Collateral Lines: A Visual Aid

Posted on June 13, 2012 by

I’ve started walking every morning. Today, I happened to pass this tree and thought it was a poignant lesson in genealogy. This tree shows the results of focusing our research exclusively on our direct ancestors and ignoring collateral lines. Doing so might … Continue reading →

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Lessons From Ephraim Cutler’s Store Ledgers

Posted on June 6, 2012 by

Yesterday, I finally had the opportunity to get to the Marietta College Library’s Special Collections department to do some research on my old friend (and 4th great-grandfather), Elijah Staats. I had been tipped by another researcher that there was a receipt in one of their … Continue reading →

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Big Genealogy Doings In Tiny Caldwell (OH).

Posted on June 4, 2012 by

As long as I’ve been doing genealogy, there has been no active genealogy group in Noble County, Ohio. Many times, I thought about trying to get one going, but living over two hours away was a bit of an obstacle. … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Thoughts and Musings | 2 Comments

Update – “CSI: Euclid – Disappearance of a Cemetery”

Posted on May 20, 2012 by

About a year ago, I posted about a cemetery once located a half a mile from my house that seems to have disappeared. Yesterday, I bumped into someone – completely at random – that confirmed my findings. Here is the … Continue reading →

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Finding Your Ancestors Titanic-Style

Posted on May 10, 2012 by

Yes, folks, I’m afraid it’s true. I’m here to make another analogy – the latest in a long line of analogies: puzzles, jalopies, basketball…and now sea exploration. Robert Ballard discovered the Titanic in 1985. He produced a documentary, “Save the Titanic” … Continue reading →

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