Where I Receive A Virtual Family History Kick-In-The-Butt

    My ten week hiatus is withering.  My family history juices are flowing again. And I'm happy to have had motivators to get me on down the road.  During this break I've been energized by consuming my genealogy-related blog feeds.  These bloggers/history writers/researchers/distant online buddies have provided many super reads!  They have informed and inspired.

     As a result, I am ready for a somewhat revised strategy here at Indiana Ties.  My goals involve talking more about behind the scenes stuff, using specific research plans and sharing that process. I'll be talking about the steps, about successes and failures. I hope to use Indiana Ties more fruitfully,  to generate ideas and discover those ties.   
    Before I tackle that first timeline and research plan, I want to give a shout out to a few who've given me a boost recently.   There are several bloggers where I consistently look for relevant information, reliable guidance and/or stimulating topics.  Among the long list of fun and helpful genealogists are Judy Russell at The Legal Genealogist; Thomas MacEntee at Geneabloggers;  Michael Neill at Genealogy Tip  Of The Day; Jacqi Stevens at The Family Tapestry, Randy Seaver at GeneaMusings and Lisa Louise Cooke at Genealogy Gems.
    Also within that trusty group I recently received a kick-in-the-butt from three bloggers who seemed to be on a wave length I needed.  Their writings stirred some specific ideas and goals for me.  These ladies are: Lisa Alzo, The Accidental Genealogist;  Amy Johnson Crow, and Gena Philibert-Ortega, Gena's Genealogy.  Lisa Alzo is writing during Women's History Month on "Fearless Females."  Each one of her daily posts has brought to mind a lady in my past, such as her stories "Working Girl" and "Tragic Death."  Amy Johnson Crow's advice on "How To Build A Genealogy Research Plan" had some timely advice on building a framework and when not everything goes according to plan - adjust to conditions. She also raised my awareness to a couple of issues in "1 Reason You’re Not Seeing the Red Flags in Your Genealogy."    The other source of inspiration comes from Gena's Tips for Women's History Month 2016.  For instance, Tip #11 Phone A Friend, where she reminds us to pool our collective knowledge when we get stuck. It's something I'm reminding myself - Use the resources I have in organizations, social media and friends. Who can help me to brainstorm or make suggestions?
    I am grateful to all of the generous genealogists out there who share their knowledge, opinions and discoveries. If there is a way I can help others by sharing my research or resources, I am happy to do that.  Now, it's time for me to get on down that road.........

    Thanks for visiting Indiana Ties,
    Nancy

Note:  If you don't see the hyperlinks to the above websites, pass your cursor over the titles to see those links.  I'll have to work on this glitch!


Copyright (c) 2016, Nancy Niehaus Hurley

Treasure Chest Thursday - Mom’s Way With Words

Treasure Chest Thursday is the latest family history series appearing on Indiana Ties.  What should be the focus?  Valuable artwork? Don’t have any…..Expensive jewelry? Don’t have any….War relics passed down from ancestors? Don’t have any of those either. 

But over the past year or so it has occurred to me that there are many valued treasures in our family, even though they may not rate an astonished WOW! on the Antiques Road Show.  These items are the ones we save for sentimental reasons.  They are books a grandparent kept, the pocket knife or wallet your dad carried, costume jewelry from your aunt, the hand knitted child’s sweater from a friend and just all kinds of mementos we keep in a drawer or the attic.  The memories attached to each piece are what it’s all about.  I have several of those kind to add to this collection!  And I would welcome other family members contributions of a photo and your thoughts.  Then, we could all enjoy them together on Indiana Ties.    And there’s a bonus -- if something get’s misplaced, at least we will have the memories preserved.  Oh well, quit jabbering (as Mom would say).  Let’s try creating our Treasure Chest.

I had several options for the first cherished item.  How to choose?  What better to begin though than with my “Mom’s Way With Words.”  I can’t remember when Rosemary Ethel Weber Niehaus wasn’t reading something, usually stories in the Reader’s Digest or articles in two or three magazines, with pages marked.  And she always had a dictionary handy.  She wanted to learn about whatever unfamiliar term she came across.  So it’s no surprise that she had this American Heritage Dictionary with her own homemade cover protecting it.  The copyright is 1970 and it is still very helpful when I’m writing and want that old fashioned way of finding a definition quickly. 

One of the best parts of this particular treasure is that Rose typed out her own definitions and inserted them, on pieces of 3 x 5 cards, when she didn’t find the definition in this dictionary.  Knowing her, she had other books where she found those definitions, but she wanted to have them handy inside this one main reference.  Besides, this one is the paperback edition…easy to carry with her.

Here’s an example in one photo where she typed the definition of the term “Oceania.”  There are many cards inserted throughout the book, containing the meanings of words such as humanoid, imprest and Tyrrhenian Sea.  (“Part of the Mediterranean Sea, between the West coast of Italy and the Islands of Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily.”)  On the photo of the outside of the dictionary it shows her front label (still somehow attached with scotch tape), the cover made of a plastic coated, padded material and the alphabet tabs she attached to make it easier to use.  

I can’t recall how I came to have this treasure.  But I am so glad that I do.  I use it often.  And I know that my mother’s hands and her caring for words are involved.

Just Thinkin' About Our Photos

 Thanks Jan, for permission to use this photo

It's so fast and easy!  Yesterday I downloaded Instagram on my smartphone and learned to post photos (with enhancements) directly to Facebook and Twitter.  How cool!  Still not sure if I'll use it much, but it's fun to know I can.  Then I got to thinking about how we take photos, where we take them and how we use them now.  What are the restrictions that might apply to any photo I would take on-the-go?  Things happen so much more quickly lately since we have these conveniences that we might not stop to think what's involved. 

Well, a funny thing happened this morning, as they say.  I was reading some of the feeds on Twitter and saw the Lifehacker blog that many times is very helpful and thought-provoking reading.  There it was....a plethora of information on all the issues around our rights and responsibilities connected with photography in public.  Generally, "If you can see it, you can shoot it" is the rule, but it isn't really that black and white.  

On another side issue, Lifehacker also reminds us that Instagram requires that we grant usage permission for our photos when we upload. He says:  "This doesn't mean they get ownership of your photos, but it does mean they can use them any way they like." 

I'll think a little more about my usage.  Just sayin'.

Thanks Lifehacker.  Thought maybe others would like to read this:  Lifehacker blog on Photography Rights