Stepping Outside the Comfort Zone

So last week I dropped in on the Ottawa County Genealogical Society for its March meeting at the Ida Rupp Public Library in Port Clinton. 

Now, normally when I am about to do anything that might make me look stupid, I like to clue you, my faithful readers, in on it. In this case, I calculated the chances of making a fool out of myself were rather high, and therefore, I decided that while my discomfort might garner a laugh and a high five from any sadists who read my posts, my own sense of self-preservation warned me to say absolutely nothing about my little adventure.

As it turned out, I had a blast. I'm still not sure that my topic was well chosen — I think it was a case of me preaching to the choir, but those hearty souls who listened to me talk turned out be pretty good sports. They stayed attentive, laughed in all the right places (whooh - nothing worse then being unappreciatively funny), and asked questions at the end of the talk. 

This was my first foray into public speaking, unless you count my brief career teaching tax classes a few years ago. It's one thing to sit safely behind my computer keyboard, pecking away madly, sometimes chuckling at my own odd turn of phrase, and quite another to stand defenseless, nary a thesaurus in sight, in front of strangers with only my mind and mouth for back up. YIKES! 

I want to thank Mary Hamann who invited me to the meeting. Mary understood my “Nervous Nelly” tendencies and my control freak need to get to the meeting early to make sure my laptop and her projector would make friends and play well together. Thank goodness, they did, or I would have wasted a boatload of time on a useless PowerPoint presentation.

If any of you reading this have Ottawa County roots and have thought about attending one of Ottawa County Genealogical Society's meetings, I say, “Go for it!” They are a nice, informed group of people, who know how to make a stranger feel like a friend. 

Thanks OCGS — you were awesome! I enjoyed meeting all of you and you made the whole experience a very pleasant one. For information about the Society and its meetings be sure and check out their Web site at http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~ohoccgs/. 

Until Next Time - Happy Ancestral Digging! Note this post first published online, March 24, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 24 March  2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Beating A Hasty Retreat

People have this tendency to write apologetic posts when they have not posted to their blogs for a lengthy period. In lieu of me doing that, I thought I would let you know in advance that I probably won't be posting at all in the coming days. I have a lot on my plate right now, and it feels like I am continually juggling my time, trying not to let anyone down.

But I do - let people down, that is. So this week the readers of this blog get to be disappointed in me — join the club! It's becoming a rather large membership. Not writing feels like a self-imposed punishment. I write to vent, to inform, to amuse (mostly myself), to think out loud and sometimes, it feels like I write to breathe. 

So like your momma told you when you were four, this is going to hurt me way more than it hurts any of you. 

So until next time - happy ancestral digging! 

PS If you are looking for a genealogical blog fix, may I suggest you go to Kimberly Powell's “About Genealogy” column and look at her list of Genealogy Blogs and Bloggers at http://genealogy.about.com/od/blogs/. Many of my personal favorites, as well as some of my own genea-blogger friends are well represented there - Terry Thornton, Jasia, Randy Seaver, FoonoteMaven, Denise Olson, Janice Brown, Craig Manson, Becky Wiseman, Juliana Smith, Megan Smolenyak, Blaine Bittinger, Kimberly Powell, Chris Dunham, Joe Beine … 

Note this post first published online, March 17, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 17 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

The Art of Painting Pictures

The little girl hurt. She thought she could hear her daddy's voice. She wanted to tell him about her pain, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't talk and tell him that her throat hurt. She opened her eyes, and saw the sheets of her bed and thought it strange that a hospital would have red sheets.

Her mother in the waiting room didn't have the luxury of her daughter's confusion. When she saw the nurse running through the hall, she knew instantly what the red soaked nurse's uniform meant. Something had gone wrong. She knew, as only a mother could, that the red blood splashed over the front of the nurse's clothing was that of her child. 

It was a simple procedure, a tonsillectomy. Children had them all the time. The little girl, 7 years old, had suffered repeated bouts of bronchitis, and the family physician had said the young girl's tonsils were bad and needed to be removed. It would be an adventure, the mother had told her daughter, and the 7-year-old listened to her mother's words and believed them.

Instead, when the physician finally came and found the woman, his own eyes laced with concern, he told her they were trying to stop the child's bleeding and doing everything they could. He shook his head, patted her hand and walked back to be with his patient. 

The mother stood there by herself. Her husband, lulled by the routine nature of the surgery, had gone to work that day. The mother dazed and in disbelief, waited until they came to take her to her daughter's bedside in recovery. 

The little girl looked small and fragile. The mother thought her heart would break. The little girl moved in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of her surroundings those first two days in recovery 

The mother left that first night exhausted, and came back early the next day. She stayed at her daughter's bedside, leaving only long enough to shower, change and occasionally sleep. The child, once reunited with her mother, felt the comfortable safety that she always felt in her mother's presence, never once understanding how close she had come to death. 

The child never saw, never felt the fear behind her mother's smile, she heard only her mother's comforting voice, talking of things they would do when the girl was better. The mother's words were strong, and the picture painted in the little girl's head so clear, that not for even the tiniest of moments did the little girl think it would be otherwise. 

Slowly the little girl recovered. The surgery, the hospital were just a bad memory for the girl, nothing more. 

As the daughter grew, again and again, as life presented each new difficulty, she would come to her mother, listening intently as her mother found ways to paint a picture of a positive outcome, no matter how serious the problem. 

When the girl grew into womanhood and the problems became larger, the mother's words continued to create positive pictures. Even when the young woman didn't believe, her mother's words were so powerful, so filled with detail that the young woman moved forward on faith alone at the sound of her mother's words. 

It happened when the young woman lost her own baby daughter. The mother drew the picture of another baby, this one healthy framed in the young woman's arms and it was so. 

It happened when the young woman, in the midst of a broken heart and marriage, listened as the mother painted the picture of another love, a perfect partner for the young woman, and this too became so. And so it went, the mother teaching the daughter how to paint the pictures in her mind.

It would come as no surprise that the mother, who for years had been painting pictures in the mind, now put those pictures on canvas, sharing her talent with friends, family — charming even strangers with her work. 

And the daughter, who had not inherited her mother's artistic talents, found her own way to create pictures, creating them with words. 

Though many women have had an impact on my life, none more so than my own mother. It has been her strong words that have propelled me through the rough times (tonsillectomies and all) and helped me soar through the good. 

This tribute is written for you, Momma — for your wit, wisdom and warmth and most of all, for teaching me to paint pictures. I love you.

Until Next Time

This post is in honor of National Women's History Month and the Carnival of Genealogy whose topic is to “Write a tribute to a woman on your family tree, a friend, a neighbor or historical female figure who has done something to impact your life.” 

Note this post first published online, March 13, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 13 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Sunset after a Blizzard

Most of my readers (all five of you) know what happened here in our own little corner of the world this past weekend. We had, at the very least, blizzard like conditions, if not an actual blizzard.

It started out with a light friendly snow Friday morning and by Friday night we were at a level two here in Sandusky County. (For those of you who live out of state; see snow level definitions listed after the post. They range from one to three, three being the worst.)

By Saturday, the wind had picked up, snow came down in a horizontal path, and the county declared a level three, snow emergency. Now normally Al and I are on top of these things and are prepared, but not being able to go out on Saturday changed our normal weekend schedule.

For one thing, we get groceries on Saturday. We had ample food in the house so there was no threat of starvation. My Pepsi and chocolate supply, thank goodness, were fully stocked, but there were still some necessities missing from our larder.

My husband treats himself once a week to a pint of ice cream. I know, I too think he is insane to continue this weekly treat when temperatures are below freezing but the man loves his ice cream. So he moped around like a kid on Christmas Eve who has learned that Christmas has been delayed a couple of days.

In my view, the most serious shortage involved the lack of salt-coated nourishment. I considered taking the saltshaker and just dousing my tongue with it, but that would have meant removing the afghan I was warmly wrapped in, and leaving my cozy perch on the living room sofa — too little reward for so much effort.

On the second Saturday of the month, Al and I have a ritual of going out to eat for breakfast. We started this ritual as a means of self-preservation when we first married and found ourselves heading a houseful of six children, aged 8 to 16. We called it “Al and Terry time” and in the beginning, it was a weekly observance.

After a while, we felt guilty excluding the children from this weekly treat, and one Saturday “surprised” them and took them all out to breakfast. Oh, what a mistake!

They complained because we made them get up too early. They complained about the lack of menu selection. They complained that the whole dining process took too long. They complained that their younger brother was staring at them. They complained for the sheer joy of complaining. And they complained that it was a dumb idea, and in this last complaint, they were absolutely right.

Al and I never took them out for breakfast again, nor did we feel the slightest twinge of guilt. Ever.

As I write this, we have been down graded to a level one. My husband is anxious to get to the store and pick up his weekly treat and I want to make sure that I am stocked up on the appropriate salt laden goodies.

We went from a wind rattling blizzard to the quiet stillness that often follows a storm. As daylight slowly faded, I noticed that the sun, for the first time in several days, began to poke its way through the cloudy sky. It was a comforting sight.

I captured its brief appearance as I leaned out my front door. I’m calling it “Sunset after a Blizzard.”

Until Next Time – Happy Ancestral Digging!

Note: For those of you out of state who have no idea what all this level stuff means, I will quote you from OCSWA (Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness):

LEVEL 1: Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads may also be icy. Drive carefully.

LEVEL 2: Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roads. Contact your employer to see if you should report to work.

LEVEL 3: All roadways are closed to non-emergency personnel. No one else should be out during these conditions unless it is absolutely necessary to travel or a personal emergency exists. All employees should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. Those traveling on the roads may subject themselves to arrest.

Be sure to memorize this – there may be a test!

Note this post first published online, March 10 , 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 10 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snydere 

Oh No, They Didn't !

The 24-7 History Circle Blog (http://blogs.ancestry.com/circle/?p=2321) had a short piece about Ancestry's New Volunteer Indexing Program (VIP) that they will be launching soon. To quote Juliana, “This program will allow you to participate in transcribing selected portions of new record collections. The information that is transcribed creates an index of the collection that is searchable, thus allowing you to search for information about your ancestors.” Hmm — I wonder where they got this idea? Not to be crass, but uh, what's in for me?

In search of answers, I clicked on the link provided by 24-7 (http://www.google.com/reader/view/#stream/feed%2Fhttp%3A%2F%2Fblogs.ancestry.com%2Fcircle%2F%3Ffeed%3Drss2): The Web page claims loudly: BE THE FIRST TO SEE NEW COLLECTIONS. IN FACT, INDEX THEM YOURSELF. Then Ancestry goes on to ask the question — “Would you like to give back to the family history community…” 

So let me get this straight. I am going to do their work for them, help them get indexes online more quickly so they can charge people to view these indexes and/or the actual records, and oh, end up paying my yearly annual rate with no reduction for services rendered? Am I also helping to eliminate the job of some decent human being now on Ancestry's payroll? Am I being a tad bit cynical? Who knows — nothing was explained. 

Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about those pesky details. After all, I will have that nice warm glow that comes from “giving back” to the family history community with the added bonus of knowing that Ancestry thinks of me as a VIP. Sweet! And if you are buying all that, I have an invisible tree in my basement growing dollar bills that I would be happy to sell you, cheap. 

Until Next Time... Note this post first published online, March 7, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 7 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

A little of this, a little of that

REMINDER - SANDUSKY COUNTY KIN HUNTERS MEETING

Just a quick reminder that Sandusky County Kin Hunters will be meeting at the Sandusky Township Hall, 2700 Oak Harbor Road, this Sunday, March 9 at 2 p.m. John Tate will be the featured speaker, and he will have a question and answer session. Visitors are welcomed. Sandusky County Kin Hunters is a member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies. For more information go the Kin Hunters Website at http://www.kinhunters.org/ or contact the organization at information@kinhunters.org.

CARNIVAL OF GENEALOGY 

The 43rd Carnival of Genealogy has arrived. I've read all 32 posts. They are an interesting bunch, my fellow Geneabloggers. The subject, of course, was technology. More specifically, what hardware, software and Web sites contribute to each of our genealogical quests. Some answers enlightened, some answers surprised but all answers entertained. If you would like to see what other genealogists deemed important, you can read about it here: http://creativegene.blogspot.com/2008/03/carnival-of-genealogy-43rd-edition.html. 

RETROSPECTIVE OF COG POSTERS 

The footnoteMaven, who has designed many of the posters for the Carnival of Genealogy has, at Jasia's request, posted a gallery of these designs on her blog. FM is very creative and you will want to check these out at http://footnotemaven.blogspot.com/2008/03/cog-posters-retrospective.html. AND FINALLY … Harold Henderson at http://midwesternmicrohistory.blogspot.com/, “Midwestern Microhistory,” keeps his readers informed about research in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. To keep abreast of what's going on in the world of Midwestern genealogical research, you need to check in with Harold's blog. Harold has given the Desktop Genealogist its second nod, by mentioning the post “Pension File Stories: Louisa Ish Smathers, Disappearing Woman.” Thanks Harold! 

Until Next Time - Happy Ancestral Digging! Note this post first published online, March 6, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 6 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder 

Her Inalienable Right to the Elective Franchise

In precinct A of Roscoe, Ohio, Catherine Christofel, accompanied by her daughter, went to the polls at noon on November 2, 1920, and did the one thing that the 93-year-old woman had never been allowed to do before, she voted. When asked by a reporter of the Coshocton Tribune who would get her vote in this, her first presidential election, Catherine smiled and said, “I'm not telling my politics, and besides the ballot is secret.”

In Athens, Ohio, the 90-year-old mother of a congressman arrived at 5:30 AM to wait in line for the polls to open so she too could cast her very first ballot. In Indiana, the Indianapolis Star reported five sisters, aged 73 to 94, would also be voting in their first presidential election.

And so it went, across the country, women made their way to polling places and exercised the same rights as their fathers, brothers and husbands — the right to vote. The 19th Amendment that conferred this right had been proposed on June 4, 1919, and on August 18, 1920, the amendment received the necessary two-thirds majority of state ratification when Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the amendment. It was signed into law by Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby on August 26. The amendment read: 

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. Congress shall have the power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation.” 

In Georgia and Mississippi, where the state legislatures had previously rejected the 19th Amendment, women were told they could not vote. These states claimed a requirement of registration six months prior to an election in order for an individual to vote. Either women who showed up at polling places were turned away or their ballots destroyed. 

The road to women's suffrage had been a long one. Catherine Christofel would have been 21 when the first Woman's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Falls, New York Elizabeth Cady Stanton, with the help of Lucretia Mott, created a written document called “Declaration of Sentiments” which proposed, among other things, extending voting rights to all citizens of the United States. 

After the Civil War, this idea of universal suffrage was embraced by those supporting both black and woman Suffrage. Frederick Douglass, a former slave turned statesman and reformer, was an outspoken supporter of both black and woman suffrage. However, with the proposal and impending ratification of the 14th and 15th amendments, some women in the movement were angry at Douglass's push for the two amendments’ passage pointing out that women were once again left out of the voting franchise. 

Notice the difference in wording of the 15th Amendment and the 19th Amendment. The 15th Amendment states: 

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color or previous condition of servitude.”

Douglas defended his support of the 15th amendment at the Equal Rights Association in May 1869, stating: 

“When women, because they are women, are dragged from their homes and hung upon lampposts; when their children are torn from their arms and their brains dashed to the pavement; when they are objects of insults and outrage at every turn; when they are in danger of having their homes burnt down over their heads; when their children are not allowed to enter schools; then they will have an urgency to obtain the ballot.” 

Some of the leaders of the women's movement refused to support the ratification of the 15th Amendment without the inclusion of women in the voting franchise. Others worked hard for its passage, feeling that this would be the first step to ensuring their own voting rights. 

On February 3, 1870, the 15th Amendment was ratified, giving all male citizens the right to vote. With a few notable exceptions (Wyoming, Colorado, Idaho and for a time, Utah) women would wait another 50 years before their time would come. 

For Catherine Christofel and the other women who voted that cold rainy day in November of 1920, the time had been long enough. 

Until Next Time … 

Note this post first published online, March 04, 2008, at Desktop Genealogist Blog at The News-Messenger Online http://www.thenews-messenger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/section?Category=BLOGS02

© 4 March 2008, Desktop Genealogist Unplugged, Teresa L. Snyder