Category Archives: With Kids

It was “Take Your Daughter to the Library” week…

Genealogical Education, Research Trips, With Kids, , ,
Ellie at a microfilm reader in the FHL
Ellie at a microfilm reader in the FHL

At the beginning of June, I took my 11-year-old daughter to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City for a week of genealogical research. We had a great time. She’s short (not having started the sprouting up process yet) and cute and blonde and very into fashion. She is also very quick and has an analytical mind. She very quickly learned how to find microfilm, load the film (although she was about 1 inch too short but insisted on doing it herself anyway), be able to read the old handwriting enough to recognize the page numbers and surnames we were looking for, load the film on the scanner, resize, focus, adjust contrast, spot-edit, and scan to the flash drive. She learned all that on the first day and after I could see she knew what she was doing, I gave her films and lists and set her on her way. She did VERY well. I was happily surprised. We spent 2 days working on scanning all of the deeds for one family line and their collaterals.

The staff people at the library just loved her! They’d offer help but she quickly demonstrated that she knew what she was doing and even helped other patrons as the week went on. The scanning section has a tall desk in the middle where you stand to scan and then seated scanners along the perimeter. When she was at a standing scanner, she was a little short (but still able to work the machinery). About mid-week they found her a stool and would bring it out for her when she came up to the scanners. On Friday of our week there, the Family History Library staff asked if they could have someone interview my daughter. She was great! Loved having the photos taken, loved talking to the couple who came to interview us. You can read the article here: Family History Blog.

The week spent with my daughter taught me a few things:

  • My daughter is VERY independent. I mean I knew that before, but now that she actually CAN do things herself (as opposed to when she was 3 and really did need some help) she really wants to and will get mad if you try to help her too much.
  • Too much of even good things can be bad. We made sure to take breaks. While some of us adults can sit in a library for many, many hours on end, we should not necessarily do so. We packed a lunch everyday and instead of eating in the lunch room, we sat on a bench in Temple Square. And about 2 or 3 in the afternoon we took a walk to the Starbucks. Walking and sunshine can really wake up your brain (not to mention the coffee). We also quit working at 6 or 7 pm which I know is sacrilege to some of you die-hard researchers, and if it weren’t for my daughter I’d probably have stayed until closing too, but we also spent time in our room making dinner, watching movies and resting. All good things.
  • To do genealogy with young people, you have to remember what it was like to be a kid. While my daughter did help me a whole bunch, she also spent a fair amount of time playing “Plants Vs. Zombies” on her iPad, reading a book and knitting. Since she doesn’t quite understand what a deed can mean for research, she understands what it is at a high level and finds it completely boring. But when we found those names on a plat map and I could point to a section and say “And this was where great-grandpa and great-grandma’s farm was” (Great-grandma is still alive, kicking, traveling and my kids will remember her), she was very interested. Kids are about the stories.
  • And kids are about the technology. The fact that she got to run a scanning computer all week, handle films and all of that, kept her interested.

I am so grateful that I had the chance to take that trip with my daughter. Someday she might not want to go to the library or would rather hang out with her friends instead of me, but that day is not here yet. Until then, I will be planning next year’s trip!

Preparing for a Research Trip – Involving Family Members

Research Trips, With Kids, , , , , , ,
My son Ethan helped to find an elusive tombstone. Photo by Cari A. Taplin
My son Ethan helped to find an elusive tombstone. Photo by Cari A. Taplin

I am a mom with two children still at home. When I began this genealogy journey my son was just 5 months old. He’s almost 13 now and my daughter is 10. Sometimes it’s a challenge to get them to be involved and not grumpy when the car takes a side trip to visit a cemetery or library. When I take a research trip to Wood County, Ohio I am usually there to visit my family and often our trips are too short. I like to combine the research with the visiting to maximize the time we have together: “Hey grandma, let’s go to the cemetery and you can tell me about your great-grandparents and their families.” Taking your family along on research expeditions can be a fun way to get them talking about your ancestors and getting them more interested in what you are doing.

I’m not above bribery. When I take my children to a cemetery I offer them a small fee (25¢ for even looking) and a prize for who finds the tombstone (50¢). It motivates them and makes it easier for me to have little energetic legs tromping around the cemetery. My son is especially good at finding the tombstones. I don’t know how many times I’ve taken him to the cemetery, given him the name we are looking for and he’s off in a flash, zig-zag across the cemetery. In no time at all I hear “found it!” sometimes even before I’ve had a chance to get started! (By the way, he is for hire.)

With the older family members it is sometimes just nice to get them out of the house and to a place they probably haven’t been in a long time. My grandma especially likes to drive around out in the country reminiscing about times gone by, who lived on which farm, who she went to school with, and the fun (and not so fun) times she had. My dad seems to like the thrill of the chase, like finding items on a scavenger hunt. If you have reluctant relatives, you might offer to buy them lunch if they come along.

Combine your research trips with visiting with relatives. Take notes (well, not if you are the one driving) or record conversations on your phone or with a digital recorder. Or have an able person in the car take notes while you’re driving. At any rate, conversation will tend to revolve around what you are looking for. Memories will be triggered when you are looking for Great-Aunt Martha’s grave. You’ll want to be sure to get those memories down on paper.

Involving your family members in your research jaunts can be very rewarding and fun. It might give you the opportunity to connect with some relatives you don’t get to see very often. Whatever you do have fun and enjoy the journey!

Working on the Descendants

Cemetery, Mitchell Research, Ohio, With Kids, Wood County, Ohio

I have been working to trace the descendants of Thomas Carroll and Angeline Mitchell, especially the descendants of Martha (Mitchell) and Harvey Long.

I just recently made a tour of 4 cemeteries in Wood County, Ohio and found several of the descendants. I took my helpers along.

Ethan and Ellie were eager to help look even in the heat. They earned 25¢ for looking and another 25¢ for finding the sought after tombstone. In the end they each earned $1.50!

Before I started, I used Google Maps and mapped out the cemeteries I wanted to visit along with who I was looking for in each:

View Cemetery Tour July 2011 in a larger map

Here are the stones we found:

William H. Long – Went by “Harvey” most of the time, Weaver Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Martha A. Long – Went by “Mattie”. Her maiden name is Mitchell, daughter of Thomas and Angeline. Weaver Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

I also found their son “Willie W. Long” who I had previously only known to have “died in infancy” and his father’s obit also listed him as “William S.” not “W”.

Clara (Long) and Floyd Bullis – Clara was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Plain Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Carrie (Long) and Harry Rudd – Carrie was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Tontogany Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio

Martha (Long) and Jacob Hentges – Martha was a daughter of Mattie and Harvey Long, Saint Louis Cemetery, Wood County, Ohio.

That’s the 4 cemeteries and the 4 couples I was trying to locate. Check out the Google Map above to see what I did with it to help the research and keep track of my results. Click on the name of each cemetery and you will get a description of what I was looking for, a photo of the tombstone I found.