Friday, April 02, 2021

You may not see me for awhile

I've been sort of messing around with genealogy lately.  You really can't do much with it unless you pay a bunch of money so you can use one of the websites, so I wasn't getting far and, actually, pretty much gave it up.  Cliff's brother was here yesterday and said one of his granddaughters was trying to get some family tree exploration done as quickly as possible; she was given a two-week trial on Ancestry, and she doesn't intend to pay for a year when she's done with the trial.  I wanted to tell Phil some of my (few) discoveries on Ancestry, so I came in the house and looked for the person I was telling him about.  It must have been my lucky day, because I, too, received the two-weeks-free offer.

It's a whole different world!  My family tree is growing all by itself!  Okay, I do have to add them myself, but WOW.  

The timing is excellent, because Cliff sold a couple of old Oliver tractors he was going to use as a project last fall.  After buying his John Deere cab tractor, he lost all enthusiasm for projects.  He's sold both tractors, I think... I may come back later and tell you something different on that score.  Anyhow, after he sold the first tractor, he gave me half the money; actually, he begged me to take it.  He's offered some of his tractor money to me before, but I've always steadfastly held my ground and refused.  He seemed so serious about it this time, I accepted without too much fuss, just this once.  

Here's the thing:  I don't need anything, and I really can't think of much I want for any price.  So I decided to have some fun:  "Now that I have some money, I'm going to get another Schnauzer so Gabe will have a buddy."  "I know what I'll do... I'll buy some baby chickens!"  He only puts up with a dog in the house for my benefit; he doesn't care if he ever has a dog, and he would rather not have one in the house even if he did.  And he gets tired of having to set up a chicken house and all that entails. 

But today?  I'll see how this free trial goes, and perhaps pay them for six months at a reduced rate.  I asked Cliff if that was OK, and he said he didn't  care how I spent the money.  Trust me, he cared when I threatened to get another dog, or more chickens.

Wouldn't it be fun if I could trace my family clear back to my favorite king, Alfred the Great?  For it to be legitimate, though, people at a university need to find his bones and perhaps get DNA; click HERE to read about that.  

What I've found out is that a family tree almost builds itself when you can access the whole website, although I think it would be awfully easy to mess up, if one simply adds every suggestion they give you.

So if I disappear for awhile, it's because I'm hunting down a very prolific, apparently pretty lusty group of people.  And there are STORIES!  Also BIRTH CERTIFICATES!

That's what I'm up to.  Keep in mind, though, that my enthusiastic labors can evaporate and disappear at any moment.  Just put something shiny in front of me and I'm apt to head in another direction.

Obviously, one of the idiots who drove me off Facebook is now spamming my blog on each new entry.  I will be deleting his comment each day, but you may see the comment before I get rid of it.  Just so you know.  Doggone it, I can't unfriend him from my blog.

13 comments:

  1. Enjoy your 'hunt'. Our daughter Valerie has been using Ancestry.com for many years and has found many many relatives. It's very interesting. She has even corresponded with other family members searching as well. Back and forth emails comparing notes etc. I think her earliest dates are in the 1600s, so far. So have a great adventure in climbing your family tree.

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    1. A cousin in my mom's family has been researching since at least the year 2000, and that line goes way back. She used a lot of pictures, and even stories, from my blog. I just thought of another story I need to write and send her.

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    2. I work my family tree almost daily. I really enjoy it.

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  2. Ed and I will both tell you that it's much too easy to mess up and go down incorrect paths. Be careful of the hints and other people's trees, which can be full of errors. I had to lop off whole branches of my dad's tree when some cousins got a hold of the wrong Robert Grieve. I can't verify anything past him because he was illegitimate and so far impossible to trace with any accuracy. There were many of the same name around that area of Scotland and born at the same time. You WILL have fun in the search though. I've found many rabbit trails to follow that aren't even related to my own family. Enjoy!

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  3. I have come to the conclusion that Ancestry is useless other than a database for records. Their hints are so riddled full of errors and wishful thinking that it is like a virus and I would guess 95% of the trees on there are incorrect.

    They give you two weeks to get you hooked and perhaps so that you will ignore the warnings and they can charge you for the rest of the year. But two weeks is no where long enough to get a family tree back very far. One still has to do a lot of email requests to far away county courthouses to prove a connection and one such request will eat up months.

    Still, Ancestry is by far the best resource and probably is one of the easiest to functionally use and so I keep renewing it year after year.

    P.S. One of the best "new to me" sites I just came across for genealogy research is Linkpendium.

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  4. I have been tempted to try it but don't really have money to waste.My kids have all done it/

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  5. Everyone needs a hobby and it sounds like you've found your very favorite one, Donna. Happy trails down ancestral lanes. And I hope the troll that keeps bothering your blog falls off the face of the earth soon! Those idiots are such pains. ~Andrea xoxo

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  6. My daughter did some genealogy work on her husband's family and found out that one of his ancestors was a tightrope walker who took her show on the road and traveled the world. She went to the oil fields of Australia, and owing to the fact that she did her highwire act in very short skirts, had a gold mine named in her honor. She died in Brazil or some such place as a very old lady.

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    1. Fascinating! Sounds like someone should write a book about her.

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  7. I got a lot of my family history from a friend that had access to Ancestry and then shared it with me. It's a favorite pastime for a lot of people. I didn't find myself related to any kings though. Most were hard working ordinary people. Good luck and have fun !

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  8. I'm afraid I don't trust Ancestry ever since my husband sent in his saliva and got a result that just read 100% Asian. Uummm... Nothing about WHERE in Asia. It was totally useless. Anyway, I'm working on sorting through all our family photos and making photobooks for our kids and grandkids. It's such a huge project so I keep getting distracted.

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    1. I've learned Ancestry isn't the best site to choose.

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  9. I used to get a 1/2 off special occasionally but it’s been a long time. On find a grave someone had my grandfather linked to his second wife, that was actually his first cousin. He had a second wife after my grandmother passed when my dad was young, but not his first cousin. :-) Take care, Sheila

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