I am fascinated by old letters. One of my websites
PastVoices<http://pastvoices.com>reflects my determination to bring
these poignant old letters online. Now we
have a very interesting call to genealogists to dig into their closets,
their attics and their basements to look for love letters.

MyHeritage.com is calling upon the British public to delve into their attics
and shoe boxes to find ancestral love letters, and submit them via
www.myheritage.com/loveletters. Participants are also welcome to submit more
recently-written love letters and messages for consideration.

The best submissions will be featured on the special competition webpage
within MyHeritage.com, with the most romantic British love letter of all
time – as chosen by Wendy Holden (author of The School For Husbands,
Beautiful People and Gallery Girl) – being announced on Friday Feb. 25th
2011. Full competition terms and conditions online

To provide inspiration, MyHeritage.com has teamed-up with a number of
leading UK museums and archives – including the British Library, The Royal
Naval Museum, and The Imperial War Museum – to obtain scans (and
transcripts) of significant British love letters from the past 500 years.
These includes 17-year-old Margery Brews 500 year old love letter, and
poignant missives penned by an unknown World War Two airman based in
Yorkshire. The historical British love letters can be found in an online
gallery at www.myheritage.com/loveletters

The initiative is part of a drive by MyHeritage.com to encourage people to
collect and preserve their family memories online – past and present.
Romances between older living relatives and ancestors, often illustrated in
love letters, are a critical point in every family’s history. With over 54
million users around the world, MyHeritage.com has become the leading place
online for creating and sharing a family tree.

Details may be found at
http://blog.myheritage.com/2011/02/oldest-love-letter-in-history/

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/02/calling-all-romantics-bring-\
out-yer.html>at
2/17/2011 11:02:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Interview with Curt B. Witcher
Genealogy Center Manager Allen County Public Library

Lamar Tyler and I sat down with Curt B. Witcher a few minutes after his
keynote speech at RootsTech. Curt was on fire during his keynote speech. He
was animated and passionate and a joy to listen to. One of the points Mr.
Witcher made was that genealogists should not be afraid to take the next
step beyond gathering information. After gathering the information it is
important to analyse it, study it, organize it and SHARE with others.

Mr. Witcher was still on a dynamic roll when he sat down with us and it was
obvious that he is passionately dedicated to the idea of technology making
genealogists lives easier and making it easier for us to share what we have,
or what we discover, with others.

Lamar started the interview off by asking how we can show our readers that
it isn’t necessarily a huge task to start one’s genealogy. Curt responded
that there isn’t a better marriage for technology than genealogy because
emerging technologies make it possible for researchers to search millions of
records quickly. Researchers can text, post on Facebook, fill in blanks in
their family trees and quickly and easily share that information with
others. Others can then add their own information.

He added that technology has taken genealogy from researchers seeking,
seeking and seeking for long periods of time without finding anything, to
seeking and finding quickly. With more success more quickly we can start to
put our stories together to share.

Curt feels that the boomers are the key – they expect things to happen
quickly and fairly easily and they have vitality and excitement.

I mentioned that there are two groups of genealogists who might want to
share their stories or photos or documents. The first group are those who
have personal items (photos, documents, letters etc). They have never
thought about sharing these items with others. The second group are people
like me who have larger collections that they have put online. But these
collections are still quite small and scattered. I asked Mr. Wichter how we
can encourage the first group to share their memories and how we can help
the second group to expand so that more genealogists can access the
documents.

Curt’s responded with the answer that he would like to see that dialogue
initiated and continued between technologists and genealogists. He called
small collections “walled gardens”, closed off for sharing easily with
others. He has not yet found one good way to share more easily and that is
why RootsTech was a great way to start the dialogue to try to find
solutions.

He noted that sometimes family members who inherit research or personal
documents do not know what to do with it. Often they don’t want it and the
privacy issues frighten some. But he believes passionately that it is
powerful to know who you are and where you came from, and in fact it can be
life-changing. He asked a rhetorical question which resonated for me

*“What is it in the human pysche that connecting to family and ancestors
makes you realize you are part of something bigger?”*


Curt mentioned that Wikipedia is a good example of sharing and sourcing
where people post articles and others quickly add to them or correct them.

Lamar wanted to know how we can encourage young people to become interested
in genealogy. Mr. Wichter pointed out that young people already know the
technology part. They are tweeting, texting, and setting up Facebook pages
already. So we have to show them they can do the same fun stuff with family
history! We need to encourage them so they end up wanting to know more.

I wanted to know about Seniors and how we can encourage that group when many
are very frightened of technology. Curt suggested that a trusted
organization or a trusted invidual needs to show them the way. Seniors can
get confused on complex sites and they often worry about identity theft or
privacy issues. So someone like a grandchild can help them overcome those
fears.

Curt ended our interview by explaining that technology can add an extra
layer to our relationships. Family history and sharing keeps memories alive.
It takes a family – children, parents and grandparents, to share and
communicate and that sharing is a powerful tool.

For more background information on Mr. Witcher and his many involvements in
the genealogy community, please see RootsTech Keynote
Speakers<http://rootstech.familysearch.org/keynotes.php>

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/02/talking-to-curt-witcher-alla\
n-county.html>at
2/19/2011 08:21:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

My maternal grandmother used to tell me stories. Stories of her youth, her
brothers and sisters, her parents and her growing up years in Ramsgate, Kent
England.

I thought I knew almost everything there was to know about Grandma Ruth. I
loved hearing about her father who drove a coal wagon, but who suffered from
epileptic seizures, often during his deliveries. His horse knew the route so
well it would carry on house to house until the route was done, then bring
my great-grandfather back home.

Her mother ran a boarding house. Grandma was sickly as a child and developed
a tick, a nervous little cough and shake of the head. One of her brothers
died as a teenager. And on and on it went. Grandma told me the same stories
so many times I had them memorized.

I was lucky when I began my genealogy quest into her lines, I knew her
grandparents' names, I knew where her ancestors were born, where they lived,
what their occupations were. I knew all about Grandma's siblings, in fact I
met several of them during my own childhood.

But yesterday I decided to search the 1911 census online on
1911census.co.ukI hadn't done this before because I figured I wasn't
really going to learn
anything new so why pay for credits to see the image(s). I say images
because my maternal grandfather was also born in England and he too would be
in that 1911 census as a teenager. But I was pretty darn sure there was
absolutely nothing *new* I could add to my knowledge of the families from
the 1911 census.

I was wrong.

The 1911 census for 10 Chapel Place, Ramsgate showed my grandmother Ruth as
a 17 year old. Her siblings at home were as expected - Lilian, 25 and
Sydney, 12. Her grandmother Sarah Simpson, a 70 year old widow, lived with
the family. And her father David and mother were also listed, her mother's
occupation shown as a boarding house keeper. But there were two surprises
and a few interesting new facts.

*Surprise #!:* my great grandmother who I knew as Sarah Jane Simpson, listed
herself as "Jane". I'd never heard her referred to by her middle name. Since
she is the person who signed as having filled out the form, I'm going to
assume she knew what name others called her.

*Surprise #2:* My grandmother Ruth was listed as being a milliner in a
showroom. I never knew she made and sold hats! Why didn't she ever talk
about that? I have seen photos of her beautifully dressed as a youngster and
as a married woman. Her two little girls were also in beautifully crafted
outfits that I was pretty sure she had made personally and I saw her knit
and crochet and tat and do all kinds of beautiful sewing but I never knew
she made her living at it. I have an entirely new mental picture now of my
grandmother as a teenage girl.

*New Fact*: I knew the family lived at 10 Chapel Place in Ramsgate but I
never knew how many rooms they had in their home. That information is
provided in the 1911 census. I see that my great-grandmother Sarah (I mean
Jane!) Simpson wrote that there were 14 rooms in the house. That's a pretty
big place for 1911 England! But this number was crossed out and in an
entirely different handwriting was written the number 7. Still pretty big.

The instructions for counting the number of rooms states "write below the
number of rooms in this dwelling (house, tenement or apartment) Count the
kitchen as a room but do not count scullery, lobby, closet, bathroom; nor
warehouse, office, shop" I was intrigued. I'm pretty sure there was no
office, warehouse or shop there so what rooms did Jane count to get from 7
to 14? They had to be rooms referred to as scullery, lobby, closet or
bathroom. She ran a boarding house so presumably there were extra bedrooms,
each having its own closet. But is that what was meant by "closet" in 1911
England?

A scullery is a separate room off the kitchen which held tableware so I'm
fairly certain great-grandma's house had one of those.  She probably had a
lobby (what we might call a foyer or entrance hall). But that's only more
rooms beyond the final count of 7.  I'm assuming she had a parlour (a front
living room) and perhaps an informal living room. She had a kitchen and I
suspect a dining room due to having boarders. So that makes 3 or 4 rooms.
Bedrooms - she must have had at least 3 for family  and at least one extra
f(she had one boarder in 1911). So we come to the final tally of 7 rooms. If
Jane added the scullery, lobby and one closet for each bedroom (4) we get a
total of 13. To get that first number of 14 rooms we might add that informal
living room.

Boring? Not to me. I can now form a pretty good mental image of my
grandmother's home in 1911. I don't need to know the actual layout of rooms,
although I would love to! I can still picture my grandmother rushing
downstairs from her bedroom (no doubt shared with her older sister Lilian)
to the kitchen to partake of breakfast before heading out to the shop where
she worked.

And so I learned another valuable lesson and yes you CAN teach an old
genealogist new tricks! Never never never assume you know all there is to
know. Leave no stone unturned, gather details and enjoy your journey into
the past.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/02/things-i-never-knew.html>at
2/22/2011 07:52:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sorry everyone but my computer glitched and mail was sent before I finished
it.

The Registrar General for Scotland has announced that the 1911 census will
be released on www.ScotlandsPeople.gov.uk<http://www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk/>on
*Tuesday 5 April 2011.*

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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone

I've been quiet for a few days as I've not been well. It turns out that what
at first looked like a bad cold was really an allergy to our new baby
piglets! I'm feeling better now as we have put them in a garden shed with
heat lamps and the house is once again spic and span clean.

I discovered something interesting today on Ancestry and wanted to share it
with you. First a little background information:

   Agricultural Census returns are often overlooked by genealogists.
Agricultural returns provide information such as lot and concession number,
acreage, livestock and agricultural products.

In the Canadian 1851 and 1861 Census, the agricultural returns are listed by
the name of the head-of-household. The agricultural returns for 1881, 1891,
1901 and 1911 were not kept.

Ancestry.com has the 1861 Agricultural portion of the census online. That's
the good news! You can search for an ancestor in it by including the keyword
"AGRICULTURAL" in the search fields.

The bad news is that only half of each page has been scanned. The 1861
Agricultural return consists of 69 columns ranging in data from Lot and
Concession Number to number of acres cultivated, planted, woods etc to how
many acres and bushels of various crops (wheat, barley, rye, potatoes and so
on) your ancestor planted and harvested to questions about his livestock -
what he has, how old they are worth.

These columns are listed on two pages in a ledger book - so we have a left
side and a right side (two facing pages in the book). But Ancestry has only
scanned and put online the questions and answers from the left side! So the
questions (and answers) end at #38.

This is  aggravating as the agricultural census allows researchers to add so
much interesting detail to an ancestor. You can build a really good image of
your ancestor working his farm and tending his crops and animals. I found
out that my ancestor Levi Peer, had many hives of bees. I presume he
obtained honey for cooking and for his children - perhaps even to sell to
neighbours.

Here is the complete list of questions on the 1861 Agricultural
Census<http://allcensusrecords.com/canada/1861ag.shtml>.
Wouldn't it be great to see both pages on Ancestry.com? If we all report
this oversight to Ancestry perhaps they will add the missing pages.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/ancestry-goof-with-1861-cana\
dian-census.html>at
3/03/2011 03:07:00 PM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Lionel Richie is tonight's guest on Who Do You Think You Are.
Ancestry.com<http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-713921-10467609>has once
again partnered with NBC in Season 2 of Who
Do You Think You Are? <http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-713921-10754777>

Great music runs deep! Lionel unravels the ancestral mystery of his beloved
grandmother, a music teacher. He also finds his grandfather's secret on this
episode.

Don't miss this episode tonight at 8/7 Central on NBC. I've got a bag of
chips, can of pop (soda) and supper is in the slow cooker. I'm all set! This
has become my favourite weekly show on TV


--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/who-do-you-think-you-are-ton\
ights.html>at
3/04/2011 05:58:00 PM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,

Last night I found out that Olive Tree Genealogy blog was voted one of
Family Tree Magazine's Top 40 Genealogy
Blogs<http://familytreemagazine.com/article/40-best-genealogy-blogs-2011>.
To put it mildly, I was surprised, shocked and yes - delighted!

After writing about the nominations for Top 40 in a previous blog post To
Scramble or Not to
Scramble...<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/12/to-scramble-or-not-to\
-scramble-that-is.html>,
you can probably imagine my surprise at actually being voted into a top
place! Especially because I didn't scramble.

So thank you to all my loyal readers who voted for my blog! I appreciate
your support so much, it makes the hard work of writing a daily blog
worthwhile. Knowing that someone (or several someones) out there enjoy or
gain knowledge from what I write means the world to me.

I'm one of 5 in the "Everything" Category. I love the description of an
"Everything" blog:

*"These are the "variety shows" of geneablogs. Find a little (or a lot) of
everything here: news releases, product reviews, tips, finds, rants, raves,
shout-outs and humor."*

I also chuckled over their statement that I've been blogging since "the
Middle Ages"! It's true, I started blogging in 2003 before most people had
even heard of a blog. Since Feb 9, 2003 to March 9, 2011 I've written 1,141
blog posts (I didn't write very often the first 4 years my blog was online).
My family always says I like to talk! And I guess that's the proof.

Being voted in to Top 40 with 39 other amazing blogs has my head spinning
and I'm honoured to be in such good company. I hope if you haven't read the
rest of those on the list that you'll take a few minutes to have a look at
them.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/woohoo-i-made-it-into-top-40\
-genealogy.html>at
3/10/2011 08:10:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

And RootsTech just keeps on giving... For those who missed the amazing
RootsTech Technology-Genealogy Conference in February, now's your
chance to watch
a few selected videos <http://rootstech.familysearch.org/video.php> at
http://rootstech.familysearch.org/video.php

The following Videos are now online for all to enjoy:

* Jay Verkler, February 2011 Presenter: “RootsTech: Turning Roots, Branches,
Trees Into Nodes, Links, Graphs”
* Barry Ewell, February 2011 Presenter: “Digitally Preserving Your Family
History”
* Curt Witcher, February 2011 Presenter: “The Changing Face of Genealogy”
* Brian Pugh, “Cloud Computing: What It Is and How Its Being Used”
* Thomas MacEntee, February 2011 moderator: “Virtual Presentations
Roundtable”
* Brewster Kahle, February 2011 Presenter: “Personal Archiving and Primary
Documents”

Quoting from the RootsTech website: *"Learn more about how technology is
enhancing the world of family history—all from the comfort of your home or
office."*

I was privileged to interview both Jay Verkler and Curt Witcher during
RootsTech. My interview with Mr.
Witcher<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/02/talking-to-curt-witcher-a\
llan-county.html>can
be found here.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/six-rootstech-videos-online.\
html>(
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com ) at 3/11/2011 08:50:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

For 30 plus years I've searched for a record showing where my
McGinnis<http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/mcginnisfamily.shtml>family
came from in Ireland. I don't mean the town or village (although that
would be nice), I mean the County.

Lest you think I'm a pretty bad genealogist who can't find what might seem
to be a simple little record, let me explain:

My McGinnis roots stem from a large family group that arrived in Puslinch
Township, Wellington County Ontario circa 1831. That's early for Ontario. At
that time it was a wilderness called Upper Canada and was very sparsely
populated.

As anyone who has searched for ancestors in Upper Canada can testify,
genealogy records pre 1851 are few and far between. There are no census
records (they didn't begin until 1851), no vital registrations (they didn't
start until 1869) and church records are sparse.

If, like mine, your ancestors were Catholics in Ontario you're pretty much
out of luck for church records as most are in the hands of local priests who
have them locked securely away. The public is not allowed access even to
older records in the mid 1800s.

So - what to do?

,,, continue reading at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Mocavo <http://www.mocavo.com/> launched yesterday and it's definitely worth
a look.

Quoting from the website

*

The world’s largest free genealogy search engine, Mocavo.com, provides
genealogists access to the best free genealogy content on the web including
billions of names, dates and places worldwide. Mocavo.com seeks to index and
make searchable all of the world’s free genealogy information.

*

I took a peek today and it's pretty darn good. The search is fast. Results
lead you directly to the website where the genealogical information is
found. There's no sneaky trying to keep you in a frame of the original
website. Websites that snag the visitor in a frame make it so you never
really know where you are or where you found the information. Mocavo doesn't
do that and kudos to the creator(s) for keeping it honest!

Mocavo is new so the indexing of genealogy data sites is not complete. There
is a link where you can suggest a site you think should be included in the
search results so that will speed things up once visitors start utilizing
that ability.

I tried a couple of genealogy searches and was impressed with the speed. I'm
going to be watching Mocavo closely over the next few weeks to see how it
grows. You might want to check it out at http://mocavo.com

Lorine

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/mocavo-new-genealogy-search-\
engine.html>at
3/16/2011 08:18:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Do you have Irish ancestors?

If yes, you are definitely going to be interested in the Ancestry.com St.
Patricks Day promotion ending on Sunday, March 20th.

This promotion includes brand new Irish content just available on
Ancestry.com, PLUS a sweepstakes for a trip for two to Ireland!

If you use the link "Get Started" in the graphic in my blog post at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com and you will be taken to the Irish
page on Ancestry. Once there you can enter the contest to win the trip for
two to Ireland in their "True Irish Roots Sweepstakes"

Good luck in the sweepstakes!  Feel free to share this information with
others who might be interested.

Lorine



--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/st-patricks-day-win-trip-for\
-two-to.html>at
3/17/2011 10:18:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Are you an avid genealogist? If you answered yes, you may want to take this
new genealogy survey <http://tinyurl.com/69kntun> being conducted by Myles
Proudfoot. It is at http://tinyurl.com/69kntun

Myles wrote to me to say that he attended RootsTech this year

*"...and came away feeling very inspired to go discover more about the new
generation of genealogists. As a way to give back to the genealogy community
I have created a research survey about people's genealogy habits, attitudes
and origins..."*


Myles went on to say that he

*
*
*"...will be happy to share the results with helpful bloggers, libraries,
family history organizations or societies at no cost. If the results are
really interesting I hope to share a paper at the next RootsTech about the
new generation of family historians...."*


Myles wants  to hear from genealogists  from all over the world. I took the
survey and found it quite interesting.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/ready-for-genealogy-survey.h\
tml>at
3/19/2011 11:06:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,

This is  is our 12th Week of  Sharing Memories - A Genealogy
Journey<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/sharing-memories-genealog\
y-journey.html>Follow
along each Sunday as we write and sometimes share, our memories of
childhood. Your descendants will be so thankful that you did!

This week's topic is your favourite toy or game.

What was your favourite toy?
Why did you like it?
How old were you when you played with it and when did you get it?
What made that toy special?
Do you still have it?

We didn't have a radio or a television in our house when I was young. There
was no music because we didn't have a record player. Yes I said "record
player" because that was in the days of LPs. Do you remember them?

I loved music although the only time I heard it was at school. I was in a
small choir up to Grade 9 and music was a joy for me. So when I was 11 I
asked my mom and dad for a record player for my birthday.

They were shocked, because in our family when you turned 11 you were given a
bike. No ifs, ands or buts, you got a bike at 11 and you learned to ride it.
Mother warned me I could only have one or the other - a bike or a record
player. She advised me to make a good choice and reminded me that I should
consider myself lucky to be given the choice at all! If she had her way I'd
get a bike and that would be that. But my dad wanted me to have what I
wanted, not what they decided I was getting. Mother just didn't believe in
one child being treated differently than another. In her mind I wasn't
special so why was I getting special treatment? My three older siblings got
bikes on their birthdays and were very happy so why did I have to rock the
boat?

But I insisted. I begged. I cried. And I got my record player. It was a
small plastic player in it's own plastic case. I think it was yellow and red
but can't quite remember. It came with a few "records" - not 78s or 33's but
little thick plastic yellow records with kids songs on each. It wasn't
exactly what I had in mind but I loved it. Even better was the year's
subscription to a company that sent a new plastic kids record every month. I
was in heaven!

I played those records over and over, alone in my room, memorizing the words
and singing along. I think that was the happiest moment in my young life up
to that point. Sadly the record player is long gone, but boy do I wish I'd
kept it just to look at once in awhile.

It's really hard to put into words so that my children or grandchildren
might understand what it meant to me. They can't  imagine no tv, no radio,
no ipod touch, no internet, no playstation or wii or xbox360 and no
computer. How can they possibly imagine my growing up years with no music of
any kind? But my little plastic record player was my joy.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/52-weeks-of-sharing-memories\
-favourite.html>at
3/20/2011 11:00:00 AM



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,

Alex from Germany has found another WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tag. You
might remember Alex from the Thomas James
Lilliard<http://askolivetree.blogspot.com/2010/07/ww2-american-soldiers-dog-tags\
-found.html>Dog
Tag.

With the amazing help of my readers, Thomas Lilliard's family was found and
the dog tag returned to them. Now Alex wants our help to find the family of
Donald G. Watts whose dog tag photo and information is below. Let's send
Donald's dog tag home!

You can comment here on this blog post with information you find, but if
concerns individuals who may be living, please send it to me privately at
olivetreegenealogy*AT*gmail.com (replace *AT* with *@*)

Please read the details and view the picture of his dog tag at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

Here are the cases my wonderful readers have worked on (and in several cases
- FOUND A DESCENDANT!)

Let's Send a WW2 American Marine's Dog Tags
Home!<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/11/lets-send-ww2-american-mari\
nes-dog-tags.html>

Help Find a WW2 Soldier from Illinois
<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/05/help-find-ww2-soldier-from-illin\
ois.html>

American Soldier's Lost WW2 Dog Tags Going Home!
<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/05/american-soldiers-lost-ww2-dog-t\
ags.html>

Photo of American Lieutenant MIA, Dog Tags
Found<http://askolivetree.blogspot.com/2010/07/photo-of-american-lieutenant-mia-\
dog.html>

WW2 American Soldier's Dog Tags Found
<http://askolivetree.blogspot.com/2010/07/ww2-american-soldiers-dog-tags-found.h\
tml>

MIA bracelet for Illinois soldier Vietnam War - can we find a
descendant?<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/05/mia-bracelet-for-illi\
nois-soldier.html>

Finding Doris - another bracelet needs to be returned to family
<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/07/finding-doris-another-bracelet-n\
eeds-to.html>

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/send-american-ww2-soldiers-d\
og-tag-home.html>at
3/22/2011 08:11:00 AM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Tonight's the night! Who Do You Think You Are re-runs are over and tonight's
episode is brand new.  Ancestry.com has once again partnered with NBC in
Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are?

Steve Buscemi is featured tonight in Episode 6. All I've heard about this
Episode is that Steve is looking for rogues and villains in his ancestry. So
tune in at 8 p.m. tonight, Friday March 25th to see what exciting ancestors
Steve discovers.

Season 2 consists of 8 episodes featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie
O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and
Ashley Judd in their search for ancestors.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/episode-6-steve-buscemi-in-w\
ho-do-you.html>at
3/25/2011 11:03:00 AM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi Everyone -

Have you visited Geni.com yet? Geni is a website devoted to helping
genealogists build their online family tree. Using the basic free service at
Geni.com, users add and invite family members to join their family tree.
Geni then compares it to other trees. Matching trees are  merged into a
single world family tree, which currently contains nearly 50 million living
users and their ancestors.

Good news!  Geni is running a contest where 3 subscribers to their free
service can win a 12 month Pro Account A pro account provides users with
many extra services.

Today's other good news is that *readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog can
also win a free 12 month Geni Pro Account! *All you need to do to enter for
a chance to win is follow the instructions at

http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/win-12-month-geni-pro-account-on.\
html

If you cannot click on that URL simply go to
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com  and look for the blog post about
this contest

Good luck!
Lorine

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/03/win-12-month-geni-pro-accoun\
t-on.html>at
3/30/2011 09:12:00 AM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,

Tonight's the night! Who Do You Think You Are re-runs are over and tonight's
episode is brand new.  Ancestry.com has once again partnered with NBC in
Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are?

Gwyneth Paltrow is featured tonight in Episode 7. Tune in at 8 p.m. tonight,
Friday April 1st to see what exciting ancestors Gwyneth discovers as she
journeys to Barbadoes in search of her ancestry.

Season 2 consists of 8 episodes featuring Gwyneth Paltrow, Tim McGraw, Rosie
O'Donnell, Steve Buscemi, Kim Cattrall, Lionel Richie, Vanessa Williams and
Ashley Judd in their search for ancestors.

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/gwyneth-paltrow-in-episode-7\
-of-who-do.html>at
4/01/2011 08:37:00 AM

Lorine

--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone

Thought you might like a reminder -

It's the final episode of Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are? tonight
April 8th. Ancestry.com <http://www.kqzyfj.com/click-713921-10467609> has
once again partnered with NBC in Season 2 of Who Do You Think You Are?
<http://www.tkqlhce.com/click-713921-10754777>

You won't want to miss tonight's episode with Ashley Judd as she follows her
ancestors to England and the Pilgrim Fathers. The program airs at 8 PM
Eastern time, 7 PM Central.

I hear via the grapevine that there is also a Civil War ancestor hiding in
Ashley's lineage. I'm texting my hubby to bring home potato chips and pop
for tonight's tv watching!

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-do-you-think-you-are-las\
t-episode.html>at
4/08/2011 01:09:00 PM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's Week 15 of our Sharing Memories - A Genealogy
Journey<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/sharing-memories-genealog\
y-journey.html>Follow
along each Sunday as we write and share our memories of childhood.
Your descendants will be so thankful that you did! Write here as a comment,
or on your own blog, or in a private journal, but please write!

  <http://retrocafe1.tripod.com/images/milkman50s.jpg>
I found myself thinking about the milkman last week. Did you have milk
delivery as a child? We did. I loved hearing the clang clang clang of the
milk bottles (glass of course) hitting the edge of the wire basket as the
milkman hurried up our driveway. He always drove standing up in a white
truck which I'm guessing was refrigerated, but I don't recall the company
name. He wore a white uniform with a little white hat or cap.

Read the rest of this Sharing Memories Topic and see the photos at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

Hope you will join us!

PS Don't miss the free access to Civil War Records on Ancestry. Just go to
the blog URL above for full details

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/sharing-memories-week-15-of-\
52-milkman.html>at
4/10/2011 08:04:00 AM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone

The Royal Air Force (RAF) was the world's first independent military air arm
and by the end of the First World War it had become the largest.

Now you can search and download First World War service records of RAF
officers <http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documentsonline/air76.asp>.
This database is of interest to Canadians whose ancestor may have enlisted
in WW1 as a pilot. Canada did not have its own Air Force and any individual
wishing to join the Air Force had to join the RAF. Approximately one-quarter
of the aircrew in British Royal Air Force (RAF) squadrons were Canadian. A
large RAF training establishment operated in Canada to produce new aircrew.

The collection contains records for over 99,000 individuals and is
searchable by first name, last name and date of birth.

Searching the indexes is free but to obtain full details a small fee is
charged by the National Archives UK. I tried this database earlier this
morning with a generic search for my PEER ancestors. Because I search for
all PEER individuals in North America, it's always of interest to me to see
if one of them can be found in any new database online.

Continue reading the full details of what can be found and how to interpret
the records at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/ww1-raf-service-records-onli\
ne-at.html>at
4/12/2011 09:36:00 AM



--
Follow my genealogy updates on Twitter
http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone -

It's DNA Day and FamilyTreeDNA is having a sale. So earlier today I upgraded
my brother's Y-DNA test from 37 to 67 markers, saving $20.00. Then I got a
little crazy and ordered the new FamilyFinder test for his DNA. That was on
sale too :-)

I'm looking forward to seeing what the new tests and upgrades reveal and
will blog about it here. I've never blogged about the results of his
original DNA test so that's also in the line-up. DNA is a wild and crazy
thing to try to understand and I'm still in Kindergarten but I'll pass on
everything I learned about my brother's paternal DNA test and results in a
future blog post. Paternal DNA follows the male lineage and can only be
tested on a male in the direct line. So to test my McGINNIS origins I had to
get my brother to give up some spit.

There is a coupon code to use for the sale which ends today (Fri. April
15th) at midnight. See http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com for rest of
story, the code and a link to the website

Disclaimer - I receive nothing from FamilyTreeDNA to talk about this, I'm
just passing along what I think it good info

Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/dna-day-big-sale-on-dna-test\
ing.html>at
4/15/2011 03:36:00 PM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello Everyone

What nasty Spring weather we are having where I live! It snowed most of
yesterday and today is still cold and miserable. Did I sleep through Spring
and Summer?

**************

  Finding a Loyalist Ancestor Part 2

We talked about the history of Loyalists in Part
1<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-details-about-loyalist-\
in-your.html>and
today I want to talk about lands given to those who could prove they
were Loyalists.

By 1784, Loyalists could return to the U.S.A. without fear of persecution or
physical assault, and some did. Those who stayed in Canada were granted land
under the following conditions:

   * 100 acres for head of family plus 50 acres per family member
   *  50 acres for single men
   *  300 - 1000 acres for army officers
   *  200 acres for an NCO plus 200 for wives, if they applied
   *  100 acres for a private soldier plus 50 acres for each family member

In order to obtain their grant of land, an individual had to meet certain
requirements (which changed slightly depending on the year of application):

Continue reading at http:olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com under the topic
heading LOYALISTS or go directly to

http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-loyalist-ancestor-part-2.\
html

******
Join us for SHARING MEMORIES week 16 - First Kiss! at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/sharing-memories-week-16-of-52-fi\
rst.html

I've also created a SHARiNG MEMORIES tab on
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com which has the entire list of weekly
topics from Dec. 2009, and links to each Sharing Memories post. Please join
in, your descendants will thank you for it!

Sharing Memories Tab
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/p/sharing-memories.html

Enjoy!

--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello everyone,


Some of you may remember that a few years ago a very exciting discovery was
made! A small girl named Alice was playing in the garden of an old house in
England when she fell down a large rabbit hole. Before climbing out she made
a unique discovery. In a small wooden box under a pile of rabbit fur hats
Alice spotted a yellowed letter. The letter was addressed to "Dear Easter"
and signed "Uncle Wiggily", and it provided details of an interesting family
tree!

Take a look at Easter Bunny's Family Tree
chart<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/04/easter-bunnys-family-tree.h\
tml>and
the letter
to Easter
Bunny<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/04/easter-bunnys-family-tree-f\
ound.html>from
Uncle Wiggly.


Easter Bunny hopped by my house today as he made his rounds and shared some
new discoveries. His great-grandma Bunny Fufu's bible has been found! Cousin
Willy decided to downsize his warren and needed to get rid of items. So
Easter was the lucky recipient of the treasured Bible. It even has a photo
of Fufu on the cover! See it at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

Easter couldn't stay long as he had a lot of eggs to colour and hide but he
did show me the Bible and let me take a picture of it. Wow, what a lucky
bunny! I wonder what he'll find in the next 12 months?

Happy Easter everyone!

Lorine

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/easter-bunny-hopped-by-to-sh\
are-some.html>at
4/23/2011 11:54:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone,


We talked about the history of Loyalists in Part
1<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-details-about-loyalist-\
in-your.html>and
about Land Grants and Requirements for Loyalist Status in Part
2<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-loyalist-ancestor-part-\
2.html>and
Land Petitions in Part
3<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-loyalist-ancestor-part-\
3.html>.
Now let's talk about other Land Records that can help you find a Loyalist
Ancestor

*Upper Canada Land Books*

The Upper Canada Land Books do not, for the most part, contain much more
information than the names of petitioners for land. However if you cannot
find your ancestor in a Land Petition, you may find his or her name in the
Land Books. Sometimes more detail is found in the comments section of the
Land Book reference, but not often. Library & Archives Canada provides a list
of microfilm reel
numbers<http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-912.001.04-e.html>for
both Upper and Lower Canada Land Books.

There are four Land Books for Upper Canada (A, B, C & D) which are in
chronological order from 17 February 1787 to 13 July 1798. Upper Canada Land
Book
C<http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/%7Ewjmartin/lbcpart1.htm>cove\
ring
11 April to 20 December 1797 has been indexed and abstracted and
can be consulted online. There are also some out-of-order petition entries
for June and July 1796 in this database.

An example of a Land Book entry is one for my ancestor Jacob Peer in July
1797. His one line entry in Land Book C states

*"Peer, Jacob - Praying for lands as a settler. Recommended for 200 acres."*



That is a typical entry.  However some entries provide much more detail such
as this one for Rebecca Seeley

*

"Seeley, Rebecca - Praying for 3000 acres of lands in remuneration of her
father's losses during the American war. The committee of Council are
restricted from recommending lands as a compensation for losses,
commissioners having been sent by His Majesty to this country for the
especial purpose of remunerating the suffering loyalists. As the petitioner
appears to have neglected this opportunity, the committee regret that they
can only recommend her for 200 acres, if her father's name appears on the
U.E. List."

*Remember - these are brief entries from the Land Books. Petitions in the
Upper Canada Land Petition files contain letters, affidavits, petitions,
oaths of allegiance and more.

CLRI


CLRI (Computerized Land Records
Index)<http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/clri.shtml>(aka
Ontario Land Record Index)summarizes land grants from sales of Crown
Land, from Canada Company sales or leases and from Peter Robinson settlers'
grants. If your ancestor settled anywhere in Ontario and he was the first
time buyer of Crown Land, he will be on these lists. Loyalists were the
first time owners of Crown Lands and thus are almost always found in the
CLRI.

The information from the CLRI one-line entry includes date of purchase, type
of purchase, residence of purchaser, land location (lot, concession,
township), type of purchase (very important to knowing whether or not there
are more records available!), archival reference (where full record can be
found) and often more info such as date of land ticket, or date of petition
for land, etc.


Both of these resources can help you find a Loyalist ancestor. Next time
I'll talk about the various lists of Loyalists and why the researcher should
approach with caution....



--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-loyalist-ancestor-pa\
rt-4-land.html>at
4/28/2011 08:51:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone -


Readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog and newsletter know that my favourite
and most-used cloud service is Dropbox <http://db.tt/b1dtpLU>. With Dropbox
I can store, sync, and, share files online for free.

Here's a brief look at how Dropbox works. I've saved a file to my computer
hard drive but I want a backup and I want to be able to work on the story
from my iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Laptop or other computers. All I
need to do is "drop" my file into my free Dropbox Account. Dropbox
automatically syncs the file to all my devices that have the App installed.
I can also access the files from any computer simply by going to the Dropbox
website. I can also give other family members or contribuotrs access to the
file and they can participate in the story writing, or simply enjoy reading
it.

With Dropbox I can take a photo from my iPhone camera and immediately send
it to Dropbox. But here's the good news! You used to have to add one photo
at a time to Dropbox. It was tedious. It meant going into Dropbox app on
your phone, selecting the camera icon and then choosing ONE photo from your
Camera Roll. When that was done uploading to Dropbox, you selected the
camera icon again, back to your Camera Roll, try to remember where you left
off and choose one more photo. It was time-consuming and you could only
upload 2 photos every minute.

But now Dropbox has the coolest update - the ability to mulitple select
photos on your phone's Camera Roll! I tried it out after accepting the
update on the App Store. I opened Dropbox on my iPhone and chose the Uploads
icon. Then I clicked on the + sign and dropbox immediately went to my
iPhone's Camera Roll where I began selecting photos. I added 22 at one time!
Each photo I chose popped up a little check mark. When I was done, I clicked
on upload.

I was able to put my phone down and do other things while all 22 photos
uploaded to my Dropbox account. This is a huge improvement. Now when my
husband and I take our cemetery photos we can upload dozens at one shot. I
am curious if there is a maximum number for an upload and have not tested
that yet. Sometimes we take over 100 photos in a cemetery!

Dropbox gives you 2GB of free storage plus ability to earn extra free space
up to 8GB. No size limit on files. Sync files automatically. Available as an
App for iPhone, iPad and other mobile devices. Able to access files from any
computer (Mac, Windows, Linux) or mobile device. Sign up for your free
Dropbox Account <http://db.tt/b1dtpLU> of 2GB and get an extra 250MB free
through this link <http://db.tt/b1dtpLU>

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/dropbox-just-keeps-getting-b\
etter.html>at
5/07/2011 08:07:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

It's Week 19 of our Sharing Memories - A Genealogy
Journey<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/12/sharing-memories-genealog\
y-journey.html>Join
in each Sunday as we write and share our memories of childhood. Your
descendants will be thankful that you did! Write here as a comment, or on
your own blog, or in a private journal, but please write!

Today is Mother's Day and I have been thinking all week about what Mother's
Day experiences I gave my mother when I was a teenager. I used to make her
breakfast in bed - French Toast with lots of maple syrup. Sometimes I made
fancy coupons that were good for 2 hours of ironing or a week of cleaning
the bathroom. I don't remember what, if anything, my
father<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/08/dads-ashes.html>did
for her while he was alive, and he died when I was just barely 14.

When I became a mother, my husband always took me out for a nice supper and
the children made me cards or little items at school. I still have most of
them in my Genealogy Treasure
Box<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/02/genealogy-and-family-hope-che\
st-step-6.html>.
Once they left home and moved away they began a tradition of calling me on
Mother's Day. Sometimes my eldest grandchildren send me a Mother's Day Card
- that's very special to me.

My
mother<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/01/joan-mcginnis-2-sept-1916-\
22-jan-2009.html>passed
away two years ago but I have a
daughter<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2009/05/4-generations-of-mothers\
.html>,
two daughters-in-law and a former daughter-in-law, all of whom are amazing
mothers to my grandchildren. I wish them the happiest of Mother's Days!

What are your traditions?

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/sharing-memories-week-19-of-\
52-mothers.html>at
5/08/2011 08:25:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Readers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com know that a few weeks ago I purchased
an antique cook stove made in Guelph Ontario Canada. Both my parents were
born in Guelph and my father's ancestry there goes back to the 1830s.  Not
finding much information online about the Guelph Stove
Company<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/guelph-stove-company-and-\
genealogy.html>,
I wrote to the Guelph Civic
Musuem<http://guelpharts.ca/guelphmuseums/section.php?sid=247>.
The Assistant Curator, Kathleen Wall, responded very quickly to my query and
provided details on the history of the company.

I'm always looking for information on places my ancestors worked, so I
decided to ask Kathleen if the Museum had any information or photographs for
a few of the places I knew family members worked. My great-grandfather Peer
is listed in several Guelph City Directories pre 1900 as working at Robert
Stewart which I was pretty sure became Stewart Planing Mills. My grandfather
McGinnis worked at
Page-Hersey<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/completing-ancestor-p\
icture.html>in
1917 and perhaps other years. My maternal grandfather worked at the
Guelph Lumber Co. before 1941.  And my father worked at Biltmore
Hats<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2010/09/biltmore-hats-and-dad.html>i\
n
Guelph before WW2.

Continue reading about the Museum's help and see the wonderful photo
Kathleen sent me at
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/local-museums-overlooked-genealog\
y.html

Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/local-museums-overlooked-gen\
ealogy.html>at
5/10/2011 08:05:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hi everyone

It's been a busy month for me, much of it spent "supervising" hubs tilling
and planting a huge vegetable garden. I just harvested my first crop of
fresh rhubarb a few days ago, froze it and pulled some out yesterday to make
fresh rhubarb loaf. So good!

http://olliesyummyinyourtummy.blogspot.com/2011/05/reenies-rhubarb-loaf.htmlfor
the recipe for rhubarb loaf

or http://olliesyummyinyourtummy.blogspot.com/ for other recipes

On the genealogy side, I've been working on several projects but more on
that in another newsletter. Here's what's been happening on my genealogy
blogs recently - just  a few blog posts from this week. The BIG news for me
is that last month I sent for my MtDNA test kit and am eagerly waiting for
results. You can follow my DNA journey on my blog if you are interested in
this subject. See

http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/dna-journey-update-on-my-mtdna-te\
st.html

I also upgraded my brother's Y-DNA testing I had done two years ago. I'm
also blogging about those results and inviting my readers to follow along
with me as I learn and stumble along through the confusing but EXCITING
world of DNA.  I'll share with you that on May 25th there will be a blog
post about my brother's Family Finder Results from one of the two upgrades I
purchased. That's at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/

Olive Tree Genealogy Blog at http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

* Book Review: Time Traveller's
Handbook<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/book-review-time-travell\
ers-handbook.html><http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.\
com>
from Olive Tree Genealogy Blog by Genealogy Blogger
Time Traveller's Handbook:A Guide to the Past
Author: Althea Douglas
Published by Dundurn Press, Toronto. March 2011
341 pages
16 Chapters plus Introduction, Notes, Index, Bibliography, Appendix

Time Traveller's Handbook is chock full of interesting facts and details
that affected our ancestors' lives. If you have ever wondered how long it
took your ancestor to sail across the ocean to their new home, you'll find
the answer in this book. Perhaps you found a record of land ownership for
your ancestor but you don't understand the currency or the measurement unit.
This book has your answer to such questions - questions about terms or items
used in every day life by our ancestors but not used or understood now....

* Musings About Life and Dear
Friends<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/musings-about-life-and-de\
ar-friends.html><http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.co\
m>
from Olive Tree Genealogy Blog by Genealogy Blogger
It's a special day today. My dearest and oldest friend J. is having a
birthday.

It's a birthday we weren't sure she would see. This past February J. was
given 3 to 4 months to live. Although she has been struggling with cancer
for several years, she seemed to be getting better. Things were going well.
Then the blow.

I'm still not sure how I feel about doctors giving patients an expiration
date....

* Civil War Era Photo Album
Arrives!<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/05/civil-war-era-photo-albu\
m-arrives.html><http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com\
>
from Olive Tree Genealogy Blog by Genealogy Blogger


<http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z6y8e2svd9o/Tc_Gnj_Cw8I/AAAAAAAAHEI/uLFvNrTuMps/s1600\
/BlogGreenAlbumCover.jpg>
A few days ago a Civil War era photo album arrived in my mailbox. It was
sent to me by a reader of my Olive Tree Genealogy blog, who had also seen my
Lost Faces website.  ...
<http://www.olivetreegenealogy.com/LostFaces/><http://www.siteadvisor.com/sites/\
olivetreegenealogy.com>

Ask Olive Tree Genealogy a Question at http://askolivetree.blogspot.com

* *Missing Person Means a Missing PIece of the Genealogy Puzzle*
  Michelle asked about her father *I have searched and searched and searched
and searched till im all out of ability and resources to look. seriously.my
father, yes...THAT close to me, is a man I cant seem to find any (if any)
information on ANYWHERE. I ...

* *Finding an Ancestor in Ontario before 1858*
Susan asked a question about ancestors in St. Mary's Perth County Ontario
*My family is the John Edmondson and Mary Ann Oddy. They lived in St Mary's,
Blanchard twp. Perth County from 1837'ish. Had 9 children Sarah 1842,Alice
1844, Elizabeth 1845, ...

* *Ancestor Enlists with Two Names in CEF*
Debbie asked a question about an ancestor in the CEF (Canadian Expeditionary
Force) in WW1 *i found a record for a olvar william david bates..except he
is listed as muxlow instead of bates.. muxlow is his mothers maiden name and
the year of birth is ...

**********
Next week is going to be super busy with two of my grandsons, ages 3 and 6,
arriving for a week's visit. I bought all kinds of specialty and convenience
foods that hubs and I don't normally purchase - tiny yogurts, yoplait
drinks, little bottles of apple juice, bag of cookies and so on. It was
shocking to see the bill at the check-out - over $300.00!! Ouch, how do
parents of young children do it?

I'm looking forward to their visit as I don't see them very often. But I
think I'm going to be very tired when it's over :-)

All for now,
Lorine

--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and join me on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Hello everyone,

I thought you might enjoy reading about a genealogy game or two I play with
my grandchildren. I posted this on my Olive Tree Genealogy blog this morning
(with photos)

I'm curious - if you have genealogy games you play with your children or
grandchildren, will you take a moment to visit my blog and leave a comment?

http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com

Enjoy!

******

I admit it. I have been brainwashing my grandchildren since birth. I tell
genealogy stories constantly. I choose  ancestors with stories that I hope
will excite them or enthrall them or make them curious. I repeat the same
stories as many times as my grandkids want to hear them.

It's amazing what they remember, and what they love to hear.  Every year on
their annual summer visits to our farm they beg me for the same stories over
and over. * *

*"Tell us the story again about our ancestor who walked Niagara Falls on a
tightrope" *

*"Gramma tell us about our ancestor who fought in the War of 1812" *

*"Gramma which ancestor was it who was killed by a fish? Tell that story
again!"* (Doubters, this is a true story. I have a newspaper clipping of the
tragic yet bizarre fish incident in which my great grandfather's cousin was
killed by a sturgeon)


My living room is full of ancestor photos in antique frames (I just counted
and there are 20 in our cathedral style living room. That doesn't include
those on the staircase, in the loft and other rooms of the house)*. *Every
year we play *"Name the Ancestor"* with the grandchildren over the age of
10. This is a little game where they try to name our ancestors on the wall,
including their relationship to each person.

Winner is the child who gets the most names correct and can give the correct
relationship (example: *That's my Great great grandma Ruth*).


For those who think there shouldn't be winners versus losers, I'll let you
in on a secret - children love competitions. They love to win. The
grandchild who doesn't come first will almost certainly try harder next time
or listen more attentively when I talk about each ancestor.

Did you notice I said we only play this as a competition with the children
over age 10? Children over the age of 10 understand winning and not winning.
They don't cry when they don't win. With the younger children I make it like
the game *"I Spy."* Only my version is called *"I Spy With My Genealogy Eye"
*.  Notice that we don't spy with our "*little*" eye, we spy with our "*
genealogy*" eye!

My 6 year old grandson loves this game. He  takes his turn with *"I spy with
my genealogy eye, an ancestor who is Gramma Ollie's Grandma"* (I'm Gramma
Ollie) Then the rest of us have to point to the correct person in the
photos.

Even my 3 year old grandson tries to play but he doesn't quite get it yet.
His version goes like this* "I spying with my all-a-gee eye, something like
a lady in a dress"  *But that's okay because as soon as one of us in the
game picks the right *"lady in a dress"* I make sure I name the person they
chose.  *
*

*"Oh that's Grandma Ruth! Good going, you chose Grandma Ruth with your
genealogy eye"*

Yes it's called brainwashing. Being a parrot. Repeating what you want your
grandchildren to remember. If their attention span can handle it, I add a
bit along the lines of *"Grandma Ruth was my grandmother. She's your
great-grandmother*" I've usually lost them by this time but some of it will
sink in.


I also prompt them with sentences like *"Okay it's your turn. Use your
genealogy eye to choose an ancestor for the rest of us to guess" *I know.
I'm shameless when it comes to my determination to turn at least ONE of my
13 grandkids into a genealogist!

Somebody has to take my 10 filing cabinet drawers of genealogy documents and
my stacks of unsorted genealogy papers at some point in time...* *
*
*
And so I brainwash my grandchildren with stories and games like "I Spy With
My Genealogy Eye." Fingers crossed that one will  pick up the torch and
carry on. *
*

--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-spy-with-my-genealogy-eye.\
html>at
6/02/2011 07:40:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Great news. The good folks at Fotolia <http://fotolia.com/> have agreed to
let one of the lucky readers of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog (
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com) have a 2 week subscription to their
website!

For those who don't know what Fotolia is, please see my earlier
review<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/2011/06/fotolia-looking-good.html>\
of
this site with its millions of royalty free photos.

The winner will have access to two weeks of Fotolia and be able to download
3 images per day

*How to Enter:*

1. Share this blog post on Twitter OR Facebook by using the icons at the
bottom of this post.

2. Send an email to *otg.giveaway@...* after you have shared this blog
post on Twitter or Facebook and in *ONE* sentence tell me why you want to
win a free Fotolia subscription  (NOTE: You need to go to the original post
on http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com to tweet or share on Facebook)

One winner will be chosen from entries received at the email given above.
One entry per person.

If you tweet this post more than once you will be disqualified.

If you send your entry to any other email other than *otg.giveaway@...
*it will not be accepted.*
*

*Rules:*
1. No purchase necessary.
2. Winner will be chosen from entries received.
3. One winner from readers of Olive Tree Genealogy Blog will be chosen to
receive a prize.
4. The contest  ends at 3PM PT Saturday July 2nd, 2011.
5. You are responsible for anything in regards to the legality of entering a
contest in the area in which you live.
6. The winner will be notified via your provided contact information the
week following the end of the contest.


--
Posted By Genealogy Blogger to Olive Tree Genealogy
Blog<http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com/>at 6/29/2011 09:16:00 AM



--
Lorine McGinnis Schulze

Follow my genealogy updates on my blog
http://olivetreegenealogy.blogspot.com
and on Twitter http://twitter.com/LorineMS

Olive Tree Genealogy
http://olivetreegenealogy.com


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]