Julie - My Family Tree

February 21, 2014

New(ish) Relatives

Is it amazing what the internet can help with!

My mom recently had to fly out to Michigan because her mom, my Bubbie Muriel, has started declining in health and the staff at the health care center she lives in thought it best that my mom come out right away. For those curious, my Bubbie is still hanging on, but she is no longer her old self. She won’t answer her phone and she isn’t talking. So when we call, someone has to hold the phone up to her ear. I believe she can still hear us, just isn’t responding.

My mom stayed with her cousin when she was out there, who happened to have been storing a bunch of my Bubbie’s things for us. My mom brought some of the items back with her. One of these things was a photo album from when my Bubbie went to Israel in the late 1990’s, maybe 2000.

Most of the photos in the album are tourist type pics (she’s on a camel in one of them!) and the rest are of her with people I have never met. One of the pictures is not from her trip. It’s in black & white and you can tell it was taken earlier than the 90’s by the clothing and decor. There’s writing on the back, but it’s in Hebrew/Yiddish so my mom or I could not read it. I scanned the photo and the back and uploaded it to jewishgen.com. They have a section on their site where people can upload photos, documents, etc that they need help either translating whatever is written on helping to figure out the location of the photo. A few people responded, but one guy went above and beyond and actually found the people in the photo! I talked with some of them on Skype last weekend and confirmed we are 2nd and 3rd cousins! We are trying to plan another chat tomorrow so that my mom can talk to them.

Family Tree - Photo Translation

January 20, 2014

January 20th Updates

I just uploaded 15 census files to the census album in the gallery. See the “how to” to read on how to make the files large enough to read more easily.

I’ve also added a link to the links page.

They have not been updated yet, but I have more surnames to add to the surnames page as well as a famous kin to add! I hope to have both of these done by the end of the week.

January 20, 2014

Large File Viewing: How To

I finally figured out how to get the census records (and anything else that is a large pixel file) to show large enough that you can read the information.

Below is an example of how the census file will usually appear. You might be able to view the entire image, but you probably won’t be able to read most of it.

Increase File View 01

What you need to do to view it correctly is click on the small rectangle towards the upper right (next to where the green arrow is pointing). You’ll get a drop down box, like this

Increase File View 02

Click on “Original” and the image should resize to its full size. The file info box on the right will get in the way of view part of the image, so just click on the 2 arrows pointing towards the right (in the green circle) and it will close off to the edge.

Increase File View 03

Reclick those same arrows (only now they will be pointing left) if you need to bring up the info box again.

Before you increase the file size, look for the arrows on the left of the census image. That is where our families information is. So now when you resize the image you know about how far to scroll down without having to read the entire list of names. However, if that interests you too, go right ahead!

September 16, 2013

Gallery Update

Gallery updates:

I’m currently uploading and editing the information for the census records I have.

After that I’ll work on the official records/documents that I have. This will include World War I and II registration cards, newspaper clippings, birth records, etc.

eta: Or possibly not. I’m able to upload the census records, but they won’t enlarge enough that you can actually read the information on them. I’m going to look around for another way to make them viewable. If you have any advice on a gallery view or anything to help with that, please let me know.

September 12, 2013

The Bloggers’ Geneameme

What are the titles and URLs of your genealogy blog(s)?
geekofgenealogy.tumblr.com
familytree.elementfx.com

Do you have a wonderful “Cousin Bait” blog story?
I’ve had 3 cousins contact me on ancestry.com after finding the tree I am working on while they were working on theirs. One is a 5th cousin, one is a 4th cousin and the last is a 3rd cousin. Other than trading a little bit of info back and forth through ancestry.com, I’ve had no contact with any of them.

Why did you start blogging? Is there someone who inspired you to start blogging?
I’ve had a website in some form or another for almost 20 years, but as far as having a blog where I actually updated about my life, that started in 2001. I had paper journals/diaries for years and got caught into the whirl of livejournal in 2001.

How did you decide on your blog(s) title?
I based the website name on the fact that it was all about my family tree and the tumblr blog on the fact that I’m using it to interact with more genealogists.

Do you ever blog from mobile devices? What are they?
I have the WordPress app on my phone, but have never actually used it.

How do you let others know when you have published a new post?
I don’t. lol I haven’t really given out the family tree website url and the tumblr was just started so there’s nothing there to share. On my personal blog, I pin some stuff on Pinterest and the rest are just out there.

How long have you been blogging?
Since September 2001.

What widgets or elements do you consider essential on a genealogy blog?
For tumblr, the tag function is really great. For WordPress, I haven’t discovered anything that helps (genealogy wise anyway).

What is the purpose of your blog(s)? Who is your intended audience?
The purpose of both is to share information about/with other geneaology buffs and with family. The website is more to share with family, so they can view the family tree, photos, etc and to help fill in blanks. The tumblr is more to help me connect with other genealogists, but it’ll be linked on the other website as well.

Which of your posts are you particularly proud of?
Just starting out with both, so none so far.

How do you keep up with your blog reading?
For tumblr, I’m following other genealogy fans. If it’s someone else’s website, I visit site by site. I do have a Blog Lovin’ account and have blogs added, but don’t read it every day.

What platform do you use for publishing your blog(s)?
Tumblr and WordPress

What new features would you like to see in your blogging sosftware?
I have no idea.

Which of your posts has been the most popular with readers?
None so far.

Are you a sole blogger or do you contribute to a shared blog?
It’s just me, myself and I.

How do you compose your blog posts?
It depends on what the post is about. Sometimes I’ll write it in Notepad, then copy/paste it over to WordPress. Or I’ll start on WordPress and just keep saving it as a draft. Once it’s in WordPress, I’ll add in photos, links, etc. I haven’t made any posts yet on tumblr, but it’ll probably be the same process.

Do you have any blogs that are not genealogy related? If you wish please share their titles and URLs.
Yup. http://beautifulmess.elementfx.com

Have you listed your blog(s) at Geneabloggers?
Gotta get a bit more info up on the website before submitting.

Which resources have helped you with your blogging?
I’ve gotten ideas from geneabloggers.com and from the people I’m following on tumbrl.

What advice would you give to a new Geneablogger?
Start slow.
Work on one name at a time instead of bouncing back and forth between people. Though I admit I’ve done this before myself.
You will hit roadblocks. I usually will stop researching for a while, even if it’s only a day or two, then start in again. Sometimes I’ve even waited a month or more because I had been working on it so much I needed a longer break.

taken from Geniaus