Sometimes when I feel stuck with a certain family line, I start on tangents of the family. I look up siblings and aunts and uncles and such. Today was one of those days.
For my Belgian ancestors the records (online) go back to about the rule of the French Republic. But, the records aren't all online, there are gaps in the years covered and which records are available. Of course, some of the key years I need are part of the 'not-on-line' group. So, I went ahead and researched the family of a sibling and his wife.
I started with my 3rd great grandaunt Anna Catharina Claes. There are actually 2 people with this name in the same town. Luckily one is much older, so they are easy to separate. She was born 8 Aug 1825 in Testelt, Belgium. She married Petrus Josephus Pairoux (Peter Joseph) on 24 October 1853. She died in the nearby area of Averbode, Belgium on 9 May 1911.
I have found her parents, grandparents, and half her great-grandparents. There are also lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. On family search there are even more people connected to her, but no sources are listed, so I will have to verify the relations before I add them to my personal tree. And I am pretty sure there are errors in the info on FamilySearch. They had an aunt born before her parents. But, at least with some basic info put down I have a place to start looking for them to double check that they are related as they claim.
Hopefully these records are on the list to be indexed as well as getting more digitized. Right now I am going through the images one by one (thankfully many have yearly or decade indexes).
A few of the other names I found and put in my tree today, all from Testelt, Vlaams-Brabant, Belgium--
Anna Catharina's parents:
Henri (Henricus) Claes 6 Dec 1784-18 Oct 1842
Maria Elizabeth Van Der Borght 23 Nov 1782-?
Henricus's parents:
Jean Ferdinand Claes 1758-?
Maria Therese Lemmens 1762 -?
Maria Elisabeth's parents:
Jean Baptiste Van Der Borght 9 Feb 1755-17 Nov 1811
Marie Elisabeth Grois 1758-1807
Setbacks
Sometimes we have setbacks in life. My recent one came at the end of October in the form of a computer crash. My laptop hard drive crashed and I cannot access any of the files on it. We have tried everything, and it is now in the hands of my brother (an IT specialist).
Along with all my photos and projects that were on my computer I also had my genealogy. Much of my genealogy was also stored in dropbox (so I can share with my relatives), but I didn't back up my full database to dropbox since March. I did have some smaller gedcom files from July and August. And I had uploaded recent files onto Ancestry and MyHeritage.
So, I am in the process of downloading those, and figuring out what I have and don't have, and need to re-enter. I did have some research notes, but they are in an excel file...on the defunct hard drive. Lesson learned.
Here is my PSA: Back up your files! Onto a second hard drive, a thumb drive, the cloud...just get a second copy of anything you actually want to keep.
Along with all my photos and projects that were on my computer I also had my genealogy. Much of my genealogy was also stored in dropbox (so I can share with my relatives), but I didn't back up my full database to dropbox since March. I did have some smaller gedcom files from July and August. And I had uploaded recent files onto Ancestry and MyHeritage.
So, I am in the process of downloading those, and figuring out what I have and don't have, and need to re-enter. I did have some research notes, but they are in an excel file...on the defunct hard drive. Lesson learned.
Here is my PSA: Back up your files! Onto a second hard drive, a thumb drive, the cloud...just get a second copy of anything you actually want to keep.
Family History Month Day 31: Photos
This is the last day of October, and the last day of Family History Month. I hope you've enjoyed the little genealogy ideas I've posted throughout the month.
One of my favorite things about family history is photographs. I love to see old photos. It doesn't matter if it's people, places, or thing, I love to see them all.
Sometimes photos are well preserved, other times they haven't been as well taken care of and are in need of repair. One great thing about today's technology is Photoshop. We can scan an old photo into the computer, and with Photoshop bring it back to it's former glory. Some people are great at it, others not so much. I think I fall somewhere in between. I can do basic changes and enhancements, but the intricate complicated stuff is a little beyond me. There are great tutorials on YouTube and various photo-related sites that can help get you started with digital photo restoration.
Now, about those original photos...where are you keeping them? Technology has changed over time in this area as well. Archival safe products are readily available to consumers now. So, get the photos out of the old albums and put them in safer albums to help preserve them longer. And while you have them out, scan them.
Lastly, share your photos. Most genealogy sites have places to put photos of your ancestors and the places they lived. This is a great way to share the photos, and be sure to look up photos others have submitted. Maybe you look just like one of them and never knew. And, if you come across photos you can't identify, there are new sites popping up like identifyaphoto.com that you can post the photo to, with info about it (where, when...) and someone else can claim the photo. These sites are especially great for people who 'rescue' old photos from antique stores and flea markets.
One of my favorite things about family history is photographs. I love to see old photos. It doesn't matter if it's people, places, or thing, I love to see them all.
Sometimes photos are well preserved, other times they haven't been as well taken care of and are in need of repair. One great thing about today's technology is Photoshop. We can scan an old photo into the computer, and with Photoshop bring it back to it's former glory. Some people are great at it, others not so much. I think I fall somewhere in between. I can do basic changes and enhancements, but the intricate complicated stuff is a little beyond me. There are great tutorials on YouTube and various photo-related sites that can help get you started with digital photo restoration.
Now, about those original photos...where are you keeping them? Technology has changed over time in this area as well. Archival safe products are readily available to consumers now. So, get the photos out of the old albums and put them in safer albums to help preserve them longer. And while you have them out, scan them.
Lastly, share your photos. Most genealogy sites have places to put photos of your ancestors and the places they lived. This is a great way to share the photos, and be sure to look up photos others have submitted. Maybe you look just like one of them and never knew. And, if you come across photos you can't identify, there are new sites popping up like identifyaphoto.com that you can post the photo to, with info about it (where, when...) and someone else can claim the photo. These sites are especially great for people who 'rescue' old photos from antique stores and flea markets.
Family History Month Day 30: Publishing Genealogy Online
Going along with yesterdays post, this one is about making a family history website or blog. Once again I will direct you to Cyndi's List for more information about how to make a genealogy website.
I personally chose to do a blog instead of a static website, because I like to have a place to write my thoughts and current research. But, you don't necessarily have to choose, you can have a website with an attached blog.
A website can be something as simple as a family tree or pedigree chart. It can have family group sheets. You can publish photographs, biographies, and stories about your ancestors. You can put digital files of sources, links to other pages, and have everything cross referenced within your site to see how people are related. As with most things on the internet, it can be changed and updated as needed. This is encouraged, because you will want to keep your information current with your recent findings. It's nice that you can start small and keep adding as you find more information and more ancestors.
If you don't want to make a full website, you can start a blog to track your research or record your family history. they can function much the same as a website, with internal links, pages for different ancestors, updated information, and easy sharing. A blog is also easier to promote, since you are updating content more often, can share specific posts, and stay current with genealogy news. There is a great list of genealogy blogs called Geneabloggers, and you can find other bloggers to connect with and have your own blog listed.
I personally chose to do a blog instead of a static website, because I like to have a place to write my thoughts and current research. But, you don't necessarily have to choose, you can have a website with an attached blog.
A website can be something as simple as a family tree or pedigree chart. It can have family group sheets. You can publish photographs, biographies, and stories about your ancestors. You can put digital files of sources, links to other pages, and have everything cross referenced within your site to see how people are related. As with most things on the internet, it can be changed and updated as needed. This is encouraged, because you will want to keep your information current with your recent findings. It's nice that you can start small and keep adding as you find more information and more ancestors.
If you don't want to make a full website, you can start a blog to track your research or record your family history. they can function much the same as a website, with internal links, pages for different ancestors, updated information, and easy sharing. A blog is also easier to promote, since you are updating content more often, can share specific posts, and stay current with genealogy news. There is a great list of genealogy blogs called Geneabloggers, and you can find other bloggers to connect with and have your own blog listed.
Family History Month Day 29: Publishing Your Work
Once you have a good amount of information collected, you might consider publishing your work.
There are many kinds of published family histories, from scrapbooks to family trees, to individual biographies. You can have them printed, bound, make e-books, a website, or just print off sheets at home and staple them together.
For more professional looking books, or to have the option to sell the book, consider self-publishing the book through sites like Lulu or Blurb.
But, as usual, the best list of links for more information can be found at Cyndi's List. Go check it out.
There are many kinds of published family histories, from scrapbooks to family trees, to individual biographies. You can have them printed, bound, make e-books, a website, or just print off sheets at home and staple them together.
For more professional looking books, or to have the option to sell the book, consider self-publishing the book through sites like Lulu or Blurb.
But, as usual, the best list of links for more information can be found at Cyndi's List. Go check it out.
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