ProGen!

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Daphne

So excited…. I’m going to be in a ProGen Study Group starting in September!

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I heart my library

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Daphne

I always new that Multnomah County had the bestest library EVER…

OK, so I live in Washington County, Oregon, but WashCo has an agreement of some sort with MultnomahCo that allows me to have library cards at both places.  I’ve used the Hillsboro Library in Washington County extensively for their Hillsboro Argus newspaper archives (I have no ancestors from here, but I do lookups in the Argus for RAOGK).  I’ve also used Multcolib.org for their newer (early 1980s-present) Oregonian archives, which has been great for finding the obituaries of my great-grandparents who died here.

However, I recently came upon The Oregonian Historical Archive database and, let me tell you, I’ve never been happier.  You do need a Multnomah County library card to access it, but, if you’re local, it’s worth it.  The archives go back to 1861!  How awesome is that?

This will be invaluable for my research into the genealogies of the pioneers of Portland.  I already found the obituary of Asa Lovejoy (it doesn’t list much of genealogical value, but it’s a start).

How great is YOUR library?

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What kind of genealogist am I?

Posted on August 23, 2010 by Daphne

I read Anatomy of an Internet Genealogist by Rainy Day Genealogy Readings and thought, “Finally, someone GETS me!”

I believe I fit firmly in the “Homebound Internet Genealogist,” for reasons that fall between “I’m broke” and “I have a toddler.”  I fantasize about spending a week at the Family History Library.  I’ve joined societies that I’ve never been to (Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society, New England Historical Genealogical Society) in the hopes that they stay open at least until I get there.  I’m planning a local genealogy project just so I can learn more about actually doing research in the real world (off the intertubes).

Educational opportunities are also impacted by my lack of time/funds.  I really, really hope I can make it to the NGS 2001 Family History Conference, but, honestly, right now getting credit cards paid off is taking priority.  However, I do plan to take advantage of educational opportunities that don’t involve travel.  I’m still bouncing between Boston University’s Certificate in Genealogical Research and the National Institute of Genealogical Studies: I plan to decide within the next year.  In the meantime, I’m hoping to take advantage of the ProGen study group to make sure I can even dedicate time to a free program…

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New Books! Woot!

Posted on August 8, 2010 by Daphne

The Genealogical Forum of Oregon had an open house yesterday, which included a book sale.  I know I’m not the only one who LOVES genealogy book sales.  They have these a couple of times a year, and it’s usually the only time I can make it to their library (toddler, full-time job, non-genealogically-interested husband, etc).  I was excited to go, even if it would only be for a few minutes.

I didn’t see anything I needed, though, which was a bummer.  I was REALLY hoping that somehow they got an extra copy of one of the several books on the Raglands (my great-grandmother was a Ragland) or even a copy of “Hesselgrave Families in America” (my 3g grandmother was a Hesselgrave).  Nope, which wasn’t a surprise.  They did have a set of books on Virginia genealogies I almost got, but I couldn’t justify it just yet.

Because I was really hoping to spend money on books, I made The Husband take us to Powell’s.  I walked out of there with some purchases that make me very, very happy.

  1. Shaking the Family Tree by Buzzy Jackson.  I’m really looking forward to reading this book about a genealogist in my age range (< 40, I think… I mean, she LOOKS young…).
  2. City on the Willamette: The Story of Portland by Percy Maddux.  I love reading about the history of Portland: it’s such a colorful history.  This book was published in 1952 and the previous owner even left a newspaper clipping in it.  This book will be invaluable if I ever decide to do a book on the descendants of the pioneers on Portland, which is an idea I’ve been bouncing around.
  3. Jane Slayre by Sherri Browning Erwin.  Heh.  This will be fun.
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Genealogy and Stuff

Posted on August 4, 2010 by Daphne

I have reinvented this site so many times that I’m sure it’s a joke right now.

It’s hard to find the sweet spot between “provide information so others can learn from you” and “don’t provide too much because you want people to contact you for more” and “what if you want to write a book on this info? You don’t want to give it all away right now!” and “but, you’ve learned so much from the generosity of others”… etc.

So, here’s what this incarnation of GarrisonFamilyRoots.com will do:

  1.  My blog will serve as a way for people to find this website.  I will use the posts as a way to show who I’m researching (and be indexed by search engines, so, if someone is looking for Garrison/Davis/Bruner/Adams/Weagant/Gainer/Ragland/Cox genealogy, hopefully they will be directed to this site).
  2. And, yes, my blog will also include my musings about genealogy, what I’ve been learning about the genealogy research process in general, genealogy news that is interesting (and not posted on every other genealogy blog out there), family news, etc.
  3. The database will be password protected.  Anyone can request access to the database. The database will contain no information about living individuals. 

Let’s see if this sticks…

Daphne

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