Category Archives: GenBlog

Your guide to genealogy-related gift ideas to add to your own holiday wish list!

I seem to get around to the every two years. It started in 2012, with follow ups in 2015 and 2017. Now it’s 2019, so I thought I’d provide another update.

Week 49 Prompt: Craft This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is “Craft.” My maternal grandfather was considered a craftsman. He was primarily a tool and die maker, a type of machinist. Eventually, he decided to work for himself and had his own private workshop in the basement of his home.

Week 47 Prompt: Soldier This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is”Soldier.” I have many soldiers in my family tree. I thought I’d use this opportunity to create a list of them by war. Not only is this a way to honor each of them, it also allows me to see whose service needs to be researcher further.

Week 46 Prompt: Poor Man This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is ”Poor Man.” I decided not to go the monetary route. Instead, I’m going the emotional route; a sad story about my second great-grandfather—poor Philip. As I’ve stated in this blog before, Philip Rottman is one of my biggest brick walls. I have managed to unravel some of his story and it’s a sad one. Here’s what I know. Philip and his wife Mary Eva had eight children, two of whom died as infants. After the family finally settled in […]

Week 45 Prompt: Rich Man This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is”Rich Man.” My fifth great-grandfather, Captain Robert Parks was rich with kids, and had some money to boot. Of his total fourteen children, only two died as infants. So when he set out for Michigan in 1823, he was traveling with eleven children and his pregnant wife—the oldest about 22 and the youngest a little over a year old. That’s a lot of people making the trek! According to his son’s biography:

  Entries for the 2019 & 2020 International Society of Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE) Excellence-in-Writing Competition are now being accepted. Submissions are due by March 15, 2020. Both ISFHWE members and non-members are allowed to enter the competition. A discounted entry fee is available to members.  Here are the categories for this year:

Week 44 Prompt: Trick or Treat This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is”Trick or Treat.” Thinking along the lines of Halloween, I remembered one of my favorite cards. It’s a cute, yet simple Halloween card, that my dad gave me, probably a year or two before he died; I was probably about ten years old. He always used to call me pumpkin, so this card was very fitting.