1.
When did you first start researching your family history? Was there a moment
when you knew you were “hooked?”
I started researching my
family history about 35 years ago. My Aunt had done quite a bit of work
on my Mother's family but we knew nothing about my fathers. He didn't
even know his grandparents. This was back in the days when there were no
computers...but a couple months, a lot of letters and dozens of reels of
microfilm later I had great-grandparents and great-great grandparents and I was
hooked!
2.
Do you have a pet ancestor? Can you tell us a little bit about what makes this
person so special to you as a researcher?
One of my favorite
ancestors is actually my husbands Great-Great Grandfather. We call him
Poor Orson Oakes. We don't know who his mother is, he was raised by his
step-mother Sally. At the age of 21 Orson married the widow next
door. She had seven children. Her brother was not happy and as
executor of her husbands estate created a wonderful Land Document that gives her
husbands land back to Mary and her children but prevented Orson from ever
making a dime from his years of work running the farm. Orson was in his
forties when be joined the Missouri 11th Cavalry (Union). He served for 9
months and got cholera. He went home to recover and then joined the
Missouri 14th Cavalry (Union) again after 9 months he went home to recover and
then back to the MO 14th. When he applied for a pension the US Government
would not grant it saying he left the Cavalry to serve with the Confederate
Army (hedging his bets). Well some eight years and 250 pension pages
later, after agents interviewed family, friends and fellow soldiers living from
Ohio to California Orson got his pension. I guess he's my favorite
because for someone the family knew nothing about (we don't even have a picture
and he didn't die until 1904) he left a fantastic paper trail of some unusual
documents.
3.
What record set to you believe is the most under-utilized? What advice would
you give students in using this record set?
Anything that isn't
online. I've been working with some New Deal Records at NARA - San
Francisco, what a treasure trove. Almost every family was touched by the
Depression and nearly every family benefited by the programs put in
place. The WPA is just the tip of the iceberg.
4.
What books and periodicals would you recommend for intermediate to advanced
researchers? Are there any lesser-known texts you advise?
Anything inspirational,
anything that tells about record sets and encourages you to find them.
There are lots of great publications out there.
5.
What is the most rewarding thing about being a genealogical educator? What
advice would you give for those who would follow in your footsteps?
Questions and comments
from the room. An educator should always be open to corrections, we can't
know everything. New updates come along and we might have missed
them. The worst sessions I've ever attended were led by lecturers that
insisted they were right when many in the room knew they were wrong. It
ruined anything they might have had to share.
6.
Why would you recommend a student attend SLIG in general?
What I see is a
comraderie that can't easily be achieved at conferences, and an in depth
genealogical experience that can't be achieved in weekly or monthly classes at
home. Everyone seems to go away more enthused about continuing their
research.
7.
Will you tell us a little bit about what makes your SLIG course unique among
genealogical education offerings?
While house histories
have become more popular over the last few years starting from San Francisco
where so many records were lost in the 1906 earthquake offers an opportunity to
discuss some of the more obscure resources for learning about a house.
8.
Will you share something with us that students may not know about you? Perhaps
a non-genealogical hobby?
A bit of a "flower
child" my best friend and I sang ballads and protest songs in many a
"hootenanny" while in high school. I got a lot of flack when I
married a "cop."
9. Any
parting thoughts or advice?
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