OH WOW - I totally slacked!

My last post was in October 2015, over 4 years ago.

I have been busy with my kids & my family.

I have been making & selling things as a way to bring some income while keeping up with my wonderful kids doctors appointments.  Two years ago this April we went through a rough time with our youngest. She was having a hard time in school and an even harder time telling anyone about it. She decided she need to cut herself & spent 10 days in a pediatric psychiatric hospital. The longest two weeks of all our lives. But now 2 years later she is a happy and wonderful and making it through without medication. We/she is aware that this is something she will have to stay on top of for the rest of her life but she is really truly doing great.

So now our life is going in the right direction it's time for me to get back on track.

New Records

Are you a member of Ancestry.com?  I have been for many, many years.  I love getting emails saying that I may have new records.  I have been getting more and more of those emails lately.  Which makes it super fun.  Who doesn't love presents or surprises.  

One new record on a relative, kind of, sort of answered a question about a relative.  My great grandfather came from Italy, got married and had 4 girls.  But I noticed that most of the census records have him living separate from his wife and kids.  Sometimes in other states and often hours away.  I figure he went where the work was, which is probably still true.  Or at least I will kind of continue to think that.  But apparently that is not all true as the document below shows.  He was arrested for abandoning his family.  So he wasn't even getting money back to them.  Which of course answers the questions of why he is not on census records with them.  But this also makes me sad, knowing my grandmother and family probably grew up struggling.  

I will admit that it does make me wonder.  Did he have other relationships?  Does he have other kids out there? Isn't it funny how when you find something new it can answer questions and then create more.  This is the joy of genealogy, continuous questions!  I love the thrill of the hunt!!  

Have you found anything new and fun??  I would love to hear more stories!!  

 Sing Sing Admission Records

How to reach me

Want to chat??  Have a question??  Need some help??  Get in touch with me!!!  I will be happy to help. 

Google Hangouts - familyhistory75

 

Skype - genealogylady75

 

Twitter - @familyhistor75

 

email me at familyhistory75@gmail.com

 

 

I can help with your research or putting your research together!!! 

 

Check it out

My items on Ebay

 

Genealogy Binders

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221878614025?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

Starter Packets

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221903607865?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

 

My Facebook Page

https://www.facebook.com/reynasgenealogy

 

My Webpage

https://sites.google.com/site/genbinders/home

 

 

Click on a link to learn more!!!!

What did you do with your 4th of July weekend??

Happy 4th of July!!! <yep a day late>

So what did you do with your weekend?

Did you BBQ?

 

Go to the beach?

 

Go camping?

 

Spend time with your family?

Did you watch fireworks?

Or a parade?

 

Did the reason for July 4th or Independence Day come up in your conversation over the weekend?

Are we thankful for our country and all that the men and women have done over the hundreds of years to make this our country?

239 years ago on July 2nd we became independent!!!  We broke away from Great Britain's Rule.  Ever wonder what life would be like if we were still under another country's rule?  The early settlers came to America to find freedoms.  And in that search they gave us our own freedom.  Something we still have today.  We have the right to our own opinions and voices.  We will not always agree with one another and that is ok.  That is great even.  Because sometimes great things come out of disagreements.  We should always be thankful that we do not have to conform with everyone else.  We should always be thankful that we get to be who we want to be.  We should be thankful, not judge and not be mean or nasty to others for being who they want to be or believe how they want to believe.  That is what makes America great.  Maybe someday we will all learn to no bully, tease or torment others for being different.  We shouldn't be hateful or fearful of others because they want to make a stand for what they believe in. 

Basically it's America!!!!  Be how want to be, believe how you want to believe and DO NOT let other bring you down with their own opinions!

 

And yesterday I explored my county and found new places to research and explore!!

Oh the weather!!!

I live in Central New York.  Not too far from Lake Ontario.  Normally for June we get a couple of inches of rain.  This year we got almost 10 inches.  It has rained almost everyday.  This weather has made it difficult to do any outside research at the local cemeteries.  And this is really the only time of year I get to do it.  Otherwise we are buried under 6 feet of snow.  The crazy weather. 

Just means I have to stick to doing research on the inside.  I am very excited that I should be getting my own vehicle soon.  Which means more exploring and researching.  That is very exciting to me.  Having one family car is very tough on a genealogist. 

How is your summer going?  Have you done any research yet??  What have you discovered? 

I am excitedly currently working on 2 Genealogy Binder Projects.  One binder I am in the 6th generation.  Almost all of the generations have been in Utah.  We are finally starting to spread out.  I was very fascinated when one of their relatives was born and raised in the same area of New York that I am my family are from.  It makes it feel like a small world!!

Have you found any living relatives recently??  Will you meet with them??

Genealogy Binders

I created a website for my Genealogy Binders.  Nothing super duper.  But lots of options.

 

I hope you check it out and pass it on!

 

Thank you.

 

Reyna's Genealogy Binders

https://sites.google.com/site/genbinders/

 

 

Father's Day June 21st

So Father's day is less than a month a way, what do you have planned??  A BBQ??  Breakfast??  Fishing??  Just hanging out??  Sharing family history??

 

My sister-in-law asked me a while back to do her a favor for a gift for her father for father's day.  She asked me to do research on her fathers side and put together a binder.  Starting with her father it goes through 5 generations. 

 

Now because you double your numbers every generation you go back I kept it limited to information on the parents.  While there is plenty of information on the children of each set of parents I would probably need more than one binder or a really big one. 

 

It only required research in two state; New York and North Carolina.  North Carolina has a wealth of information online (through Ancestry).  Which is good as I live in New York.

 

The binder is divided by generation than sub-divided by family.  There will be photos that we could get our hands on included.  It was a very fun project (still in progress).

 

So what are you doing for the fathers in your life?  If your having a family get together talk to all your family members and collect research information for yourself and to share later.  Put together something to give to family members of research you have already done.  Do something fun and family history related!!

What are you doing today?

Are you working on any genealogy projects today?  What about this weekend?  When is the last time you picked up your genealogy and worked on it. 

I am currently working on a couple of projects for other family members.  I like when I have something to do on the side.  It help clears my mind.  Then often when I go back to my own I find something new. 

I am helping my sister in law put together a notebook for her father for fathers day.  It's been fun because my own genealogy mainly keeps me in New York and Connecticut. He fathers roots are based in North Carolina.  There are still a lot of family cemeteries down there and I am impressed that they are still in good shape.  I find a lot of cemeteries here in rough shape.

The other project in for a half uncle.  It is something his wife has me working on. 

So what project are you going to work on today and this weekend.  Come on you know you want to pick up one!!!

Don't forget to check out my other blog at:   http://giantgenealogyproject.blogspot.com/
with daily themes.

 

 

 

 

Happy Easter 2015

Happy Easter to my blogging fans.  I hope you are having an awesome day with family and friends.  Just my kids and I today enjoying each others company.  

I have been looking forward to spring.  But I am beginning to believe spring will not be coming here this year.  I am near Oswego NY!!!!   And it is snowing today.  Yep totally snowing.  Thankfully not hard enough today to stick.  I did wake up to over an inch or snow yesterday :(  When it is cold it makes it hard to go out and do anything.

Hopefully I can go out soon.  Maybe I need to start traveling to warmer climates to do some work.  Make some new friends and find new adventures :D

Happy Holiday!!!

Enjoy this picture from yesterday April 4th 2015

What is Genealogy?

What is genealogy?  Genealogy is the study of a families history or lineage.  The study of one’s ancestors.  A look into your roots, your backgrounds.  Those who choose to study their ancestors do it for all different reasons.  Some people what to learn about medical backgrounds.  Sometimes we want to see if we are related to anyone famous.  Often we just want to learn about our roots, what make us up.  Where did our family come from and then pass this information on to our descendants and share it with other family members.

Are you interested in genealogy?  What peaked your interested?  What is your ultimate goal? Are you new to genealogy or have you been working at it for awhile?  Share your stories here.  Maybe you will find someone with similar stories or will find someone that will is where you need to be an can help you research. 

Lets make some new long lasting friends.  :D

I am Reyna 39 (oh that is hard to type lol) mother of 4.  Started genealogy research in 1999 when I found out I was pregnant with my first child.  I got hooked hard and fast.  I am a genealogy junk.  My surnames are Thomas, Bryant, Calovi, Balcom, Cash, Bliss, and there are a few more.  My ancestors are from the Cooperstown area of New York, Dutchess County, NY & Litchfield County, CT.  I live in Oswego County, NY.  Let me know if I can help.  

Learning Something New Everyday!!

 

Today I decided to jump onto my Family Tree Maker and look over all those little leaves.  Not too much new for me except a new record on my Great Grandfather.  He came to this country in 1908 from Italy.  His records have been sketchy at best most times.  Most of his records do not show him with his family.  On census records his wife and kids were always in one spot and he was in another.  He was a lumberman or construction worker so I never thought too much into except he would be where the work was.  That makes sense.

 

Well recently they have uploaded records from Sing Sing Prison and I was totally surprised when the little leaf lead me to a record for my great grandfather.  I clicked on it thinking it was a mistake, misspelling or someone else, but it was not.  It was my great grandfather.  I was extremely impressed with the amount of information on this record.  A lot of which I already knew, some I did not.  I thought he spent most of his time in extreme eastern NY (on the CT boarder) or in Connecticut.  But this record has him in Binghamton NY in 1931.  The total other direction. 

 

He apparently was sent there for abandoning his children under the age of 16 and willfully omitting to furnish necessary food, clothing and shelter.  He spent a year there for that from what I can gather.  I knew that he had 4 daughters.  I did not know that 2 children had passed away.  It tells me who his last employer was.  Also he address when he was arrested. 

 

This was a new find for me.  I hope not to find another one but at the same time I kind of do.  It is an interesting resource.

 

Has anyone else found something similar?

 

 

 

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Find My Past Free Preview

Have you heard of the website Find My Past??  Yes or No now is a great time to get to learn more about them.  From mid-day today til mid-day Monday they are letting you search their world records for free.  Now I am personally going to take advantage of this opportunity.  I have played around a little with this site but nothing major.  I want to see what they have to offer.  Are they similar to Ancestry.com?  Do they have the same records?  Will I be able to find more? 

http://www.findmypast.com/?ref=logo

 

This what it looks like.

So doing a search for my great grandfather who came to America from Italy produced the following results.

 

As you can see the first 3 results are extremely similar (the last name was spelled in correctly upon arrival and has been that way since.)  I already have these records and have had them for a long time.  The rest are just letters. 

I will keep searching and share with you my results.

Creating A Book

I started this blog to help others become interested and familiar with Genealogy.  As I wrote I felt it would be better served in book form.  So here I go.  I plan to publish myself.  I am going to put the book into a 3 ring binder form.  So you can add and subtract where needed.  Here is the page I created at Kickstarter to help me achieve this goal.  Please go ahead and check it out.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1613188837/365-days-of-genealogy?ref=nav_search

I would love for you all to share this with everyone you know and encourage them to join my blog. 

I am finally (almost) officially settled into my new home.  Just waiting on the carpets to get done.  But my computer is up and running and while files are still in boxes (to make them easier to move until the carpets are done) I have access to what I need. 

I appreciate everyone who joins my journey.

Where have I been??

I apologize for not keeping my blog up for awhile.  Yeah a long while.  One reason is because I have been working on my 365 Days of genealogy book.  I decided to my blog into a book/workbook.  This is still a work in progress.  

Also I am a mom of 4 kids who keep me very busy.  Thankfully they don't all have social lives or I think I would be crazy by now.  But with school, doctor appointments, dance and anything else I am very busy.

So its time for me to be back.  It will not be everyday at first as we are now in the process of moving to a much bigger place where I will have a real office.  Woot Woot  That alone is so exciting for me.  I will be able to do more and keep things organized and basically go to work.  

I am hoping to get back on my theme without giving too much away.  I hope to add videos on current news and more.  I am also running my other businesses making crafts.  I make tutu's and t-shirts.  I am also a Perfectly Posh & Thirty-one consultant.  Those always keep me busy.  But I am excited to be back and really hope to be more engaging.

Memorial Day 2013

While my husband was at work yesterday (Sunday, May 26th) a fellow coworker says to him, "What is Memorial Day?"  The coworker did not ask my husband because he didn't know what it was, nor did the coworker think my husband was that stupid.  But of course my husband answers him with the answer of to honor those who have fought for our freedoms.  The coworker says "then why do some many people NOT know that, why do they think it’s just a long weekend, a time to BBQ or the first day of summer."  Heart breaking isn't it?  It seems the younger the person the less they know about this country as a whole.

I am from New York State.  Not the city but grew up 90 minutes north in the valley of the mountains.  In elementary school we learned all about the Erie Canal.  We learned songs about it and the importance of the canal to the state.  I took a college course a couple of semesters ago about the history of New York State.  I was very sad to see that more than half the class knew nothing about the Erie Canal (or anything about the state).  I now live literally 5 minutes walking distance from a part of the canal and my fellow classmates all lived (and most were born) in this area.  An area that is extremely rich in state history.

Another thing that is disturbing to me is to see so many news reports of people messing up the Star Spangled Banner.  REALLY!?!?! Well besides the fact the a good singer would take the time to learn ANY song before singing it in front of a crowd people, but its the national anthem.  When I was in middle school the music teacher drilled it into our heads.  We had to learn it.  It is not an easy song to sing when it comes to the notes, but really we can't take the time to learn the words. 

I went to a couple of my local cemeteries today to say Thank you, to appreciate all that they did for me and generations to come.  I was pleased to see so many others there today to.  I took my daughters with me (9 & 5), we discussed why they do not have school today.  What the day is about.  We look at each soldiers stone talked about the branches they fought with and where the fought (if it was on the stone).  We talked about great grandfathers and their roles in the wars they fought in.  We talked, we respected, we were thankful.  Now I know the 5 year old probably forgot the conversation less than 5 minutes after it was over.  My 9 year old will forget by next Memorial Day but we will be out there again next year giving our thanks.

So thank you to all the men, women and children who have fought for the freedoms of this country.  Without all that they have sacrificed who knows how we would be today.  Thank you to the current men and women who still put their lives on the line for this country.

 

Is it Spring?!?!

Is it Spring yet?  If it is, you would never know it if you live in Central New York where on and off the past couple of days we have had freezing rain, snow and high winds.  Oh it has not been fun.  Which is kind of really bumming me out because I can not wait to go exploring some cemeteries.

I did venture out to one of the small rural cemeteries in Volney the other day on my way home from running an errand.  While it was over cast, cold and wet, I was more upset by how run down the cemetery is.  This is an old cemetery and the newest stone that I could see was from 1971.  The rest are much much older, 1700 & 1800. 

I was looking for a certain stone that is a request on the Findagrave.com website.  But I unfortunately could not find that stone.  I unfortunately could not read many of the stones.  I am think about starting a club or organization to help restore cemeteries.  Some of which just need someone to clean them up.  Some need a little more work than that, while others are going to need a great deal of work.

Here are some examples of what I found.   



This here is a broken headstone.

 

Not only is this one broken but it has been lying there so long that it is starting to get buried by grass and dirt.

  

 

As you can also see many of these stones have been there so long that you either can't read them at all or they are barely readable.

 

I know that this is not the only cemetery in the area like this.  I know there are others in much worse shape.  It makes me sad because there are people here trying to rest.  They are our loved ones, other human beings who did their part to creat this country.  This is not how they should be treated.  I am sad because information is lost.  I am sad because what will happen to my stone a couple hundred years after I am gone.  Are we really a nation of not caring??

 

I think it time to find a group of volunteers who would be willing to go out and start cleaning up these places, fix the stones that can be fixed, save what we can.  Maybe we can find records of what stones that are unreadable and place plaques on them so others can see who lies here.

I have begun the process of redoing my blog.  While I work on the finer details of my 365 days of genealogy project.  I am hoping my fans/followers of this blog will join me on my new blog.  I hope to see you there.

Thank you

Reyna

http://giantgenealogyproject.blogspot.com/ 

Find A Grave Website

I recently became a member of Findagrave.com.  Some of it was because I had pictures of my family families headstones and wanted to share.  I know how difficult it is for us when we are not near ancestors burial grounds.  Sometimes we would like to see where they are buried.  I signed up to take photos at my local cemeteries.  The requests have been pouring in.  The only problem is I signed up at the wrong time.  I live in Central New York and we get several FEET of snow every winter.  We have our first storm come through yesterday and received almost 2 feet.  Many of the cemeteries do not plow or make path ways through the snow for people to visit.  Also if they have a small ground stone or just a little thing it is more than likely buried.  I feel bad as many of these requests will have to wait until the snow melts. 

And this is why we have long metal flags on our fire hydrants.  LOL  I am nice enough to dig the one in my yard out so that it is accessible in case of an emergency.  Not everyone is so nice.  Oh well. 

As much as I appreciate the while Christmas I am always thankful when the it melts and spring arrives.  My children seem to love the snow more though.  Probably because its cold, there are no bugs and you can do more with snow. 

The new year is almost here.  I hope everyone had a great 2012 and will have an even better 2013. 

Old Photos

I have always loved photography.  I love when I am able to get my hands on old family photographs.  I have manged to collect a few over the years.  It is always nice to put a face with an ancestor. 

For example this picture above.  This is my great grandfather, William Henry Thomas, and great grandmother, Ella May (Giddings) Thomas.  There are 4 children in the photo but they are not really in the photo.  If you take a close look at it you will see that the children were suppose to be in another picture.  Maybe even two separate pictures.  If you take a really close look at the child in the middle you will see a boys face through the girl.  You can see the girl on the left end is sitting on something that isn't there and the you can see right through the girl on the right.  Of course I do not have the negative for this photo but I would have to guess either something happened while taking the photos or it was not developed correctly.  But still a facinating photo.  It is labeled with names, including 3 of the 4 kids and it states where is was taken.  At a lake in Brewster NY in either 1918 or 1919.

 

 



This is another one of my favorite photos.  This is my husbands great grandfather Joseph Michael Schneider.  He is taking a ride on his horse drawn fire truck.  See people always watch where the fire truck is going.  This is taken in Sandusky, Ohio.

 

 

So I would love to hear from others.  What do you think of these photos??  Do you have old photos??  What are your favorites??