The importance of a good chair

Yesterday I sat at my dining room table with the laptop to my side, my big binder of family group sheets in front of me, and various notebooks and files around me... I was going through every detail already written and putting to pencil and paper where I found all such tidbits... When I got to their portion, I ended up chasing my husband's grandparents as best I could, trying to nail down a solid date for something. You wouldn't think a deceased generation not so far removed would be so tricky... I called a half dozen cemeteries with the information I have. I found one possible lead so far for Cecelia Gutierrez-Avila-Castro but the death date is different than I thought it would be. Did she die in 1973 or 1977? And her first husband, the father of my husband's mother and her siblings, did he legally go by Refugio and by Nabor to his family and friends?

This paper chase has begun to remind me of the one I have with my Irish immigrant family, the Howard's and Waters. The censuses had different ages each time so that a birth date could not be concluded. I couldn't get a death date besides "spring of 1924" because she went by Ellen Mary and not Mary Ellen. WHAT?! Why didn't I think of that before? So now I finally have cemetery records of those two, my second great grandparents, and a death certificate. It still doesn't verify for real when and where they were born, because the family left behind provided that information, but at least it's something. This is the same kind of problem I'm having with the immigrants on my husband's side, from Mexico and perhaps even from Italy.

I had to get up several times to do things (rescue some hapless object from the jaws of the family dog, make lunch, do dishes, help the husband) but sitting down again I began to realize my seat wasn't so happy. By the time we went to Goodwill to look at a glass table my husband had found that was perfect for our big flat TV and it's personal affects, my whole leg was yelling at me from upper mid-calf through my hammy gluteus-maximus. The dining room chairs, while graceful in appearance, are an affront to the backside with long periods of use. It makes me think of certain kinds of restaurants that are designed to move people rather than beckon them to stay. My dining room does not like loitering, and my right leg was the proof.

Then another old saying drifted through my head, "The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure."

Man, ain't that the truth.

So now, Friday, my husband is at work, my son is off playing with friends, and I have two rooms to rearrange and a whole lot of stuff to move, organize and store. One piece of furniture causes such a huge ripple effect. The parrot's cage is finally moving out of the living room so she won't be screaming at all our visitors and we can watch TV in peace; She, too, will be able to go to sleep at the proper birdy-bed time and perhaps be less cranky for it. I get to do it all by myself, but I had to write about this first, because sometimes, no matter how passionate I feel about recording stories and facts and images of loved ones gone before, I have to get other things done first. I have to get the house in order so the husband is happy, cause if he's happy I can work on other matters of organization, if that is done I can make a nook for myself to really knuckle down and focus on what I love- THIS- I can only do so much from an uncomfortable chair.

Scrubbin'

Well I don't know about y'all, but my chief excuse this last year for not moving forward much with genealogy was "too much information loitering my basement and computer". I needed to get a handle on what was in my Legacy program file (dumped out of Ancestry) and compare it to all that I have. I need to scrub all my files, as it were... and finally this week, I have begun to do just that.

It has Begun.

It's going to be like comedy, I'm sure. I do know, from professional experience, that I just have to take it on one task at a time and try to be smart about it. I know there are things I have that I have not input yet, or have not cited my sources. I need to meticulously log my sources, my family group sheets, and my pedigrees.

The system I started before sucks and I have decided to make a log in Excel based on all the individuals' names and info (dumped from Legacy in a csv file), then track parents and spouses and charts on the same line. I file them in a 4" rough-and-tough binder with alphabetical tabs now. Anyone with the last name beginning with "A", regardless of how far removed from my direct ancestors, will be found in the "A" tab. The numbers run consecutively, but heedless of traditional alphabetical order beyond the "A". Numbers are assigned as the charts are made. No bias, no fuss... If I make a bunch of new charts, I will number the stack, then put them in the log, then file in the binder. Letter "W" may have charts 1, 2, 3, 4, 17, 28, 29, 30, 52 etc.

anyway... it's fun.

And I still need to finish my photo and document log, too. They will be closely guarded.

The Tides of Genealogy

The genealogy bug ebbs and wanes. The excitement of actually finding those you are looking for, sucks you in until the inevitable brick wall stands in your path and frustrates you to no end.

For those who have not tried genealogy or are not interested, it is hard for them to imagine how excited a person can get just by finding a known family member on a census which puts you hot on the trail of others. The excitement rises when you find another ancestor that you had been looking for. Alas, the trails often grow cold or lead to dead ends. There often seems to be no resolution, no resource, nothing that leads to the one you're searching for. This is where we get bored with it all, annoyed, and just plain tired of learning that the records you need, were destroyed.

Just like the tides of the ocean, genealogy research ebbs and wanes. You'll get your awesome surf days with big waves and beautiful skies and you'll get those days where the ocean seems as calm as a pond and the clouds block the sun.

All I can say is to not give up. New records are added to databases every day. New people might have information to give you. Focus on another ancestor if the one you had been searching for, proves elusive. Sometimes, on a sunny day with big waves, that other ancestor will lead you right to the one you were searching for all along and the bug will bite you once again.

Kooky families and Good Food

I stumbled across this blog, Aunt Peaches, and smiled as I read about the far reaching story around a family tradition recipe for Apple Kuchen. What a great tribute to a kooky family.

I think a lot of us have stories like this that we just don't realize we have.

For a woman who could not hear and rarely spoke, Big Alice could communicate across an ocean with her facial expressions. In fact, it was not until Herbert’s mention in the parking lot that day that I realized she was deaf. In my mind, we had spoken dozens of times. Heck, we were pals! She played in my blanket fort. I fetched her unfiltered cigarettes from the patio. She saw me hide brussel sprouts into my napkin and didn’t tattle. I didn’t say anything when I saw her taking a swig off a wine bottle in the kitchen just before she took it out to the table. Herbert’s news that she was deaf came as shock. In vain I searched my memory for the sound of her voice.

Isn’t it strange how the very young and the very old have no problem communicating without words?

Her nickname, Big Alice, was misleading. The woman weighed as much as a wet hamster. The name came only after she had a daughter, dubbed Little Alice, whose daughter then became known as Tiny Alice. As fate would have it, Tiny Alice recently had a baby girl named Emma, which is a lovely name, but I was really looking forward to one day adding an entry to my address book under the name Infinitesimal Alice.

I'll be coming back to this blog. And yes, Peaches, people are like cook books.

My sister years ago took upon her and (her husband) the task of making a Family Cook Book, "Hot Rod Recipes", which went way out of the box. I still refer to it; some good food, good stories, good graphic art, and a great way to remember people who've gone and shuffled off this molten core.

Mount Olivet Cemetery DC

Out on the East coast, Mount Olivet Cemetery is on 1300 Bladensburg Road, N.E., Washington, District of Columbia, USA 20002
Phone: (202) 399-3000

Here, my 2nd great grandmother's brother is buried, and may hold the key to finding the rest of the Krausers. We're waiting to see if we can get a photo submitted of his grave and any further information about the family. I did find a map of the grounds at www.FindAGrave.com

submitted requests for George's brother, Joseph, and parents, Joseph and Lydia. Also enquired about grandmother, Mary Teresa (Rosina) Krauser.

GEORGE EDWARD KRAUSER
Born 1882 (or thereabouts) Died 24 October, 1942
Section 58 lot 976