How can I keep my kids/grandkids busy this spring break and summer? Or, I guess the more "politically correct" way to say this: "What new skill may I teach my darlings in order to keep their busy little minds and bodies occupied?"
One day last week, my mother got a surprise in the mail. She received a large envelope of pictures from one of her cousins who lives in Springfield that we had not heard from in years.
Many of these pictures once belonged to my great-grandmother and featured my grandparents, my mother, and her sister as children. My mother loved going through all the pictures – so many memories. But most of all, she was thrilled to hear from her cousin. Sharing family photos and stories is a great way to reconnect with family that you don’t see often.
Midwest Genealogy Offers Great Help for Ancestry Search
On a recent daytrip to Jamesport, MO we ventured over to Trenton, MO to see the Crowder State Park. This is supposedly named after a distant relative of mine, Enoch Crowder, who was a Major General in the U.S. Army. He was instrumental in developing the Selective Service Act during World War 1 and was also an ambassador to Cuba.
Ellen’s interest in genealogy began when she started her career at MCPL. She joined our staff in 2006, when we were still in the "old building." She was a big help in our move to the Midwest Genealogy Center in 2008.
Finding an ancestor who was the first U.S. Marshall sworn in, in what was then Oklahoma Territory, has been a high point in Ellen’s research. She ran across his name while searching the surname Degges. There could only be one Cookman Degges, and sure enough, she was able to connect him with her family.
900 Miles from Nowhere: Voices from the Homestead Frontier
With springtime weather upon us, can a genealogy road trip be far behind? Maybe it is time to take what you have learned from your research and set off to follow in the footsteps of your ancestors. There is nothing quite like visiting the towns or farms they inhabited to help see through their eyes. You don’t want to miss the local cemetery, either!
For those of you researching ancestors in Central and Eastern Europe, as well as for travelers, I recommend reading The Hidden Europe: What Eastern European Can Teach Us by Francis Tapon. This is a new book published in 2012, gives entertaining insight about countries across Eastern and Central Europe, from Eastern Germany and Finland to Turkey and Russia. Together it takes the reader through 25 countries. The audience will learn in a humorous and open way how people in these countries see the world, what they think, and how they feel about the things.
Read Genealogy Periodicals in an Unlikely Database
The Midwest Genealogy Center has a very large selection of print (hard) copies of genealogy periodicals, necessitating a trip to the Library to read them. Two of my favorites are Internet Genealogy and Family Chronicle, and I am always delighted when the next new issue arrives here. Each issue of Internet Genealogy is full of web links you can glean genealogy information from. Family Chronicle is a good periodical to read that provides instructions for searching a wide variety of genealogical subjects and places.
