OneNote - SkyDrive, Mobile and More

Three weeks ago I wrote about how I discovered OneNote. I can say that I use it daily either at work or for personal use and keep finding more ways to incorporate it in my daily life.

Now if I could just access these great OneNote notes from anywhere.....

SmartPhones

I was excited when I read that there was an iPhone app for OneNote. While it is very cool to be able to access all my OneNote notebooks I thought of another use. Cemeteries!

The iPhone OneNote app allows you to create pages in a notebook and take a photo. You can then add notes, such as plot numbers, observations about other families that may be buried in the area, etc.

Another thing I like to do is walk around the town or neighborhood my ancestors lived in, again OneNote on my iPhone would allow me to take photos of the houses or stores and make my notes.

SkyDrive

Since using my iPhone to do a lot of entry or editing is not desirable I shared my OneNote notebooks on Windows Live SkyDrive. If you do not have a Hotmail account, SkyDrive is how Microsoft allows users to create and share documents.

Now I can update my records from any computer I sign onto. I can also designate who I might want to share them with and whether they can edit them. This allows me to work with another person to document a cemetery or plan a family gathering.

More OneNote Ideas

I have been toyed with creating templates in OneNote. I found that OneNote does not have as much flexibility as Word, but I have created a few for various cemeteries and families.

Another cool tool is the ability to do voice recordings in a OneNote notebook. At work we record meetings but I have another project in mind.

I have an idea for a UTube video so as an excercise I am going to create a OneNote notebook with picutres of my grandfather's house as it looked when I was a child. I am then going to add pictures to show how my cousin has tranformed it into a home for his family.

OneNote and Me

OneNote has unexpectedly become a part of my genealogy life. Whether I am cruising FindaGrave or leaving messages on Rootsweb I find myself making notes.  Yesterday I requested a Memorial on FindAGrave be transferred to me. Today I received an Email from the gentleman saying he would transfer it after he had a chance to photograph it!  Since I have been known to write to the same person or institution more than once I made an entry in my Maish-Horton/Cemeteries Notebook.

My next blog posting will cover finding all those electronic documents that are filed on my computer, but I forgot that I had! Another OneNote Project.....

Take Care,
Pattie

Ancestry - Check out 'Recent Member Connect Activity'!

I love connecting with other researchers. I post on message boards, mailing lists, county and state surname lists. I honestly cannot remember all the places I have posted messages and am truly shocked and excited when I receive a reply.

On the other hand, when I use Ancestry I am more focused. I usually have a particular ancestor I am researching and not thinking about 'connecting'. I also hate change and clutter so I keep my home page on Ancestry simple with any new or 'extra' information towards the bottom. What a mistake!

Recent Activity Connectections

The other day I  was not making any headway on the Haag family of Brooklyn when something caught my eye. There on the lower part of the screen was a list of people reseraching names that were familar to me.

 
What was 'Recent Member Connect Activity' and who was researching the Stadler family besides me? Scrolling through the 'Activity' I found messages I had posted on Rootsweb and other researchers with surnames in common with me.

After 'connecting' with a Stadler researcher through Ancestry I browsed more family trees and posted a comment on a family tree of a researcher who was trying to add my great grandmother Johanna Pahlke to a family tree of Pahlkes in Australia.

Setting Up Your Ancestry Connections


Once I was done browsing a number of family trees I started to wonder how Ancestry was able to provide such a great tool.  My two options were 'Learn More' and 'Customize Activity Filters'. The 'Learn More' option will walk you through how Ancestry gathers the infomation. The "Customize Activity Filters' give you the control over how the information is gathered.

Since I want to connect with everyone possible I have left all the options checked. One option I love is being able to track other members who have saved content I entered. I do not mind they have saved it - if I did I would not have posted it on the Internet! What I want to do is contact them to see if they have ADDITIONAL information.

Check It Out
If you are an Ancestry membership and have not paid attention to this feature you could be missing out on some valuable connections. Don't have a family tree posted to Ancestry? You can still benefit from this feature, but your connections may be minimized.

The Speach Family Tree was started by my daughter in law years ago and is an abbreviated version of our family. The portions with the most detail in many cases are my brick walls. I tend to post more information on families I need information on, hoping to connect with others.

So, start connecting through Ancestry.

Take Care,
Pattie

Gold Star Mothers, Rootsweb Mailing Lists and Military Cemeteries

This week's tips and hints are an eclectic group. I am never sure when I start my weekly blog if I am going to follow the week as laid out in my calendar - Everyday Genealogy or freelance a bit. This week I mixed it up a bit.

Sunday September 25
* Gold Star Mother's Day
* Find out more about the American Gold Start Mother's, Inc. at their website - http://www.goldstarmoms.com/

Monday September 26
* There are many memorials in Washington D.C. but if you cannot make it to our Capitol, you can still visit the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial virtually.
* Visit The Virtual Wall.

Tuesday September 27
* The United States has 24 burial grounds on foreign soil.
* Visit the American Battle Monuments Commision at http://www.abmc.gov/home.php

Wednesday September 28
* If you are doing Irish Research The National Archives of Ireland has an online searchable database of the 1910/1911 census.
* Access the database for FREE at: www.census.nationalarchives.ie

Thursday September 29
* Looking for a Genealogy Glossary? Check out Dick Eastman's Encyclopedia of Genealogy

Friday September 30
* Using mailing lists on Rootsweb.com?
* Search the archives of the mailing lists for answers before you post a question on a mailing list.
* Birthday of Earl Pahlke - my dad

Saturday October 1
* If you are doing research in Chicago and cannot get there yourself check out ChicagoGenealogy.com

Take Care,

Pattie

Everyday Genealogy - Top 10 Posts of the Year

July 24th is the one year anniversary of the Everyday Genealogy Blog!!!

This is the 116th blog posting - what was the most popular posting this year? Here are the top 5 from the Blogger Stats and the top 5 from the RSS feed.

1. Rootsweb Message Boards-The Gift That Keeps on Giving

2. Research on the Go - Using Your iPhone or iPad

3. The Titanic, Megan Smolenyak and My Family Tree

4. Using Timelines to Understand Your Ancestor's Lives

5. eBooks, eReaders and Me - The Finale

6. Take a Reading Break!

7. Add Paint to Your Genealogy Toolbox

8. Angel Island - West Coast Immigration Station

9. Genealogy and the Younger Generation

10. Automate Your Genealogy

Read or click on your favorite - or just read them all.

I will be back next week with the most popular of the year.

Take Care,
Pattie

Wisconsin Memories and Research

Wisconsin and Me

Wisconsin has always felt like a 'second home' to me. Growing up in Illinois we traveled through Wisconsin to visit my grandfather in Upper Michigan. Later as teens Lake Geneva and the Wisconsin Dells were summer getaways and many of my friends chose to go to college in Wisconsin instead of Illinois. And then there was that football team.... The Packers.

Soon after I married Chuck his uncle and aunt moved to Eleva Wisconsin. We spent weekends enjoying their hospitality, horses, gardens and bailing hay. We always bought bags of cheese curds for the drive home!

Great memories...

Researching Your Wisconsin Roots

Wisconsin became a state on May 29, 1848

Census Records

Wisconsin settlers were first enumerated in 1820 as part of the Indiana Territory. The 1830 Census found those same residents enumerated as Iowa County and part of Michigan. For a complete guide to Wisconsin Census Records visit Census Finder - Wisconsin Census Records. Wisconsin researchers can use the 1895 State Census as a substitute for the lost 1890 Federal Census.

Vital Records

The Wisconsin Historical Society has many online resources including pre 1907 birth and death records. Read about Belmont, the original capitol of the Wisconsin territorial government.

Another great site is the Wisconsin Genweb Site. Broken down by county there is a wealth of information arranged by county. It also has links to the Wisconsin Rootsweb Message Boards.


Newspaper Research

I have been very successful doing newspaper research on Chuck's Wisconsin ancestors. If you do not have access to NewspaperArchive.com check to see if their newspaper collection includes the area you are researcing. If so, it may be worth a three month subscription.

Using the Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune I have been able to document the life of one of Chuck's ancestor from 1922 to 1928. This information included two divorces and remarriages. My mother in law knew virutally nothing of her grandmother's life during this period.

Unfortunately she moved to Iowa in 1928 and I am still looking for information on her life from 1928 until she moved back to Minnesota before her death in 1933. I just need to find the right Iowa newspaper!

Little House Memories

And the Younger Generation

I was so happy to find out my granddaughter liked the Little House on the Prairie books and television series. Why? Because it gave me a great basis to talk to her about her Great Great Grandmother Charlott Horton Maish.

Grandma Maish grew up in Wisconsin and later in life moved to Minnesota. When a box of Grandma Maish's photos was found Tori and I talked about the houses and outfits. We talked about how Grandma Maish had REALLY lived on 'the prairie'.

Take Care and have a good time researching your Wisconsin ancestors.

Pattie

Rootsweb Message Boards-The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Everyone is always eager to learn about the newest search engine, online database or social networking site. But there it is, like that dependable sweater in the back of the closet Rootsweb.

A few years ago I spent a couple of long evenings posting messages and joining mailing lists trying to knock down some brick walls. I talked about it and the success I had in a blog posting called "Brickwalls, Rootsweb and Me" The great thing is that now, years later it is still paying off!

Today, out of nowhere I received an email that there as a new post on a mesage I had posted in 2007! Yes, another Maish cousin had found my message!

Rootsweb is the gift that keeps on giving. The message you leave today will still be there next week, next month and years from now. The important thing is to make sure that leave the message in the first place.

Take a couple of minutes and leave a message or two.

Take Care,
Pattie

The Official Guide to Rootsweb.com

Brickwalls, Rootsweb and Me

Networking, connecting,facebook friends, emailing, blogging, researching, texting, Googling, Find A Grave... Can you be too connected?

Can you overload yourself with too much information about your family tree? Years ago I would have said, “Never!” But that was before I started leaving all those messages.

Late one night, with a stack full of brick walls and dead ends sitting in front of me, I started leaving messages. I left a few on Rootsweb Message Boards, one or two on some County Websites, and then, in desperation I joined some new mailing lists and sent a few emails.

Blurry eyed I went to bed frustrated but satisfied. I had finally left messages or written those emails I had thought about, but had never actually sent. If I did not track down William, Nellie, Jane, Myrtle, or Charles it would not be because I had not tried. What happened over the next month was unbelievable. I had responses to all my inquiries, many of which were matches.

I have gone back and looked at the postings. I wanted to see if they were better written or had better titles to understand why suddenly everything came together. I have found that some were quite badly written. In my defense, it was late at night! But, what I have learned is to take the time to write the email or post the message.

For months I was still reading, researching, verifying, and transcribing all the information I received. And I have continued getting emails from different people that have come across the original postings. True, I did not find my William Schultz, but I did come in contact with many other Williams, and someday, maybe, one of them may connect to mine.

So, can you be too connected? Maybe not too connected, but instead just a little overwhelmed and grateful for all the responses I received from those messages I left one very late night.


*Updated version of a previously published article