News and Updates

Computer Issues:

A few weeks ago, maybe a month or more, I opened my genealogy software to work on something and found that my database was empty.  😂

Whenever I add things or make changes and close the database, I'm asked if I want to back up the database and I'm pretty good at doing that and I have a series of backups saved on the computer.  So, I systematically started restoring backups, one after another, starting with the last one.  I found one after another empty or only partially there.

I don't know what happened.  I have no idea but there are many possibilities.  

I, needless to say, was very upset, confused and frightened.  That's about 50 years of work.  It's one thing to lose the database but multiple backups as well....

I left it alone for over a week.

I was finally able, on my next try to find a backup that seemed recent and seemed normal.  So I restored it and renamed the database, saved the new database and backed it up with a new name.  But, I have no idea how much work I've lost.  So, I'm going to do what I've had to do once before when I backed up my database in preparation for upgrading the software to a new edition and found, after doing all that that I had completely duplicated every record in the database.  It took me 6 months to go through every records, systematically, to determine actual duplicates and merge them, as opposed to records that appear to be dups but are not.

I have begun a similar process tonight but will not continue until I have replaced this computer.  It's old and I'm finding other issues with it so best to start afresh with new hardware, an updated version of the software, etc.  I also need a new all-in-one printer because this one has had compatibility issues for years, especially with the scanning software.  I looking forward to a new set up in the next few weeks.

 The Studies:

As you may know, in addition to working on my own family history, as a member of WikiTree, I joined several projects of various kinds.  My profile there, shows a list of the projects I'm a member of, including those I'm coordinating myself.

My parternal grandmother, Ida Mattice O'Dell, was descended from Palatine immigrants who came from Germany, through England, to the American colonies in 1710.  I joined the Palatine Migration Project because of that.  

I started two one-name studies and a one-place study because of obstacles in the research that I thought learning more from those studies might overcome.  I work on all these different projects as I'm able and as I find information.  The point is to collect and report on information.  Each of those studies have their own blog as well.  The one-name studies are registered at the Guild of One Name Studies and the one-place study is registered with the Society of One Place Studies.  My membership in the former has lapsed and I have to renew.

The Beismer One Name Study now has a total of 239 profiles in the Study at WikiTree.  That means that there are that many profiles but each profile is not uniform in what information is included.  If I stumble on a name, anywhere, I search for it @ WikiTree.  If I find it, I add a sticker for the one-name study on that profile which automatically adds it to the list of profiles in the study.  I don't necessarily go into that profile and work on it.  I may not have visited it since I added the sticker.  If I don't find that name @ WikiTree, I have to create one, right then, on the spot, before I forget it or where I found it.  I usually use Ancestry to find out what I can about the person and add information to the new profile @ WikiTree.  I go back and work on profiles when I can.  The idea is always to have valid sources for information and to include basic information like birth, marriage, death, children, a photo, if possible, etc.

The Wormuth One Name Study now has a total of 229 profiles in the Study @ WikiTree.  The same process hold true of the Wormuth Study.  I am still working on the whereabouts of the headstones of the Wormuth cemetery that is in Callifoon.

I am, currently, the only participant in each of those studies.  It's a lot of work.  I tend to work in spurts.  Sometimes somebody tells me something and I get energized and get some work done.  

I'm also a member of the Flower One Name Study and the Swartwout One Name Study but I haven't worked on them in a while nor have I received any reports from those studies but I will report on them next time.  

I get daily feeds from WikiTree related to general news about WikiTree and notifications specific to topics I've tagged like these projects and surnames.  When I get a notification about a surname of a study that I'm a member of, I immediately go to the link for that notification and, if appropriate, add a sticker to a profile for that study.

I haven't done any statistical analysis of the 2 one name studies I coordinate.  I'm not fond of statistics as far as collecting them but I like to see them.  I haven't found a good method, yet, do that.  I supposed I can just create a spreadsheet for each that I leave open while I'm working on them and tick off the stats I want to collect as I go, then et up automatic totals, etc. so I get the stats each time I do some work.  I think I just solved that - except that I have to create the spreadsheet and go back and go through all the profiles that are already in the project...Aargh!

Finally, for right now, the Rockland, New York, One-Place Study, has been interesting recently.  There are now 3 participants though I have not been able to get in touch with the third person since she joined.  Communicating with the 2nd person has inspired me to find new resources and references.  There are currently 77 profiles in that Study. Those are mostly profiles of people who were part of the town's history.  There is also a blog connected to that Study and I've been working on profiles of the various hamlets within Rockland.  Rockland is an interesting place.  A lot of interesting things have happened there.  In my travels this Spring and Summer, I will be visiting the various parts of Rockland, the cemeteries, etc. and taking pictures which will appear on the blog.

Just a bit more

That's almost it.  I did discover that the Liberty Cemetery has a section that used to be called Old Liberty Cemetery and there appears to be a burial site for one of my "brick wall" ancestors, Joseph Odell, my 4th great grandfather on that branch.  I will be very, very happy if I find that is true.

Zoom meetings

We've had a couple of Zoom family gatherings.  Scheduling 2 consecutive meetings, one after the other, works to expand the time limit for free Zoom.  It looks like Saturdays and some work day evenings around beginning @ 6:30 or 7 pm, might be the best times to schedule.  I'll schedule these when I can and vary the times so different people can participate.

WikiTree

Despite ongoing concerns, I am a big fan of WikiTree.  There is a learning curve.  It is FREE.  If you join and put a tree there and need help, I can help.  I took the WikiTree PIP (Profile Improvement Project) Voyage, where they give you a mentor and you improve 2 profiles you've already created.  So, I can also help you in return.

That's it.  Whew!!