Give the gift of genealogy education for the holidays!

Did you see the great post about this on the Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference News Blog on December 6th. Are relatives asking what you want for Christmas or another day? Do you want to give a special gift to someone else?

A special card has been designed that you can print and add cash, a check, or a promise to for the recipient to use toward the FGS 2013 Conference to be held in Fort Wayne, Indiana August 21-24.

Registration typically opens around February 1st but people have been asking how they can give a conference registration as a gift for one of the holidays in December. This card is the answer!

Read the full details and get the link to the card on the conference blog here.

Great places to Christmas shop

Are you looking for some unique Christmas gifts? When's the last time you checked at the gift shops in the historical societies and museums in your area? I was at the Minnesota Historical Society's gift shops in St. Paul a couple days ago. I found some great things and will probably stop back there for a few more items.

Many county level historical societies have gift shops. So do history, science, and children's museums. Some public libraries also have gift shops.

I almost laughed at the Janet Lennon paper dolls. No, I didn't buy them.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Fun with relatives

In the early 1980s as more grandchildren came along and my parents went through a tough time after my Dad's serious illness, we cut back on gifts. We began choosing names. Also, we started playing the "dice game."

Each person was to bring several gifts valued at about $1.00 each and wrapped in newspaper. They were all dumped into a pile and if you shook doubles, seven, or eleven with the dice, you got to take a wrapped prize. When they were all gone, you unwrapped them, picked out 2-3 to save and put the rest in front of you. Then the dice went around again for about 15 minutes. Doubles, seven, or eleven meant you got to "steal" an unprotected gift from someone else. Certain gifts kept getting "taken" by others. Grandma Gert (Cook) Hanley always looked forward to this game. There were always a few "special gifts." No one really wanted

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Christmas Stockings

Christmas stockings have always been a favorite of mine. I loved getting the huge oranges in mine as a child. We didn't have a fireplace or a staircase so they were always pinned to the back of one couch.

Once I was married I made stockings for me, my husband, and as they were born, for our three children. We didn't have a fireplace in either of our homes but in the second home we had a beautiful wooden staircase with the old fashioned spindles where the stockings "were hung with care." I really miss that special place in our 1907 house for the stockings.

Now I just do stockings for the four grandchildren. If they are not with me on Christmas morning I call them

Give your genealogical society a Christmas gift

Do any of you have your genealogical society (or maybe more than one) on your Christmas gift list or for end of the year donations?

Does your society have a wish list of books, CDs, databases, or equipment? Add something from that list to your last minute shopping. Have you noticed that no one has been helping with refreshments at the meeting?. Offer to do that for a year. Maybe you could offer to help staff a "Q & A" table at meetings or teach a class.

Has there been a drop in the number of members? Offer to send emails to those with lapsed memberships. Maybe you could offer your technology skills to update the computer that is causing problems or assist with the upkeep of the website.

Might your society benefit from some sort of fundraiser? How about chairing a silent auction in 2011. This means soliciting items for the auction and overseeing things on the day it is held.

You could combine a gift to your society with a New Year's resolution to get some of your family research into print. Offer to write an article next year for a society publication and use your own research as the topic. It's a bit of a selfish gift but so worthwhile.

Is your time quite limited due to family, work, and church or school obligations? Any society would appreciate a gift of a check. Whether it is for $25.00, $50.00 or more, it will be put to good use.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Family Celebrations

I was just thinking about how our family Christmas celebrations have changed over the years. As parts of the family added children, older family members died, and spouses were added the who, when, and where varied.

Until I had been married a few years Christmas Eve was always celebrated with my Dad's side of the family. This meant Grandma and Grandpa Stuart, Aunt Dorothy's family, and Aunt Jean's family. Christmas Day was celebrated with Mom's side of the family. When I was very young that included my Grandma and Grandpa Hanley, Aunt Jeanie, Grandaunt Catherine, and even my great grandmother we called Nana. In the late 1950s

Advent Calendar: Visit the historical society for Christmas gifts

Your Christmas gift to a relative or friend could be historical in nature. Do you remember the last time you visited the county or state historical society's gift shop? I love to browse in these. It might be the perfect place to purchase some of your Christmas gifts as I have done.

Many of these shops give discounts to members of the historical society. Maps, calendars, notecards, photographs, artwork, sculptures, jewelry, glassware, clocks, music, quilts, samplers, cookbooks, and foods made in the area. 

Much of these will have historical connections, some will be created or written by local artists and authors. Books on the history of baseball, county and state fairs, historic homes, inventions, and famous individuals born in the state are big sellers. A book or pamphlet might tell the story of a specific ethnic group or religion in the state. Key chains, ornaments, and knick-knacks that portray something related to the history of the county or the state make good stocking stuffers

For children, it might be a coloring book, paper dolls, or an activity book that is history related. Many of these gift shops have reproductions of old fashioned toys and dolls.

Advent Calendar: Christmas Food Memories

Baking from scratch has always been one of my passions. Cut-out sugar Christmas cookies were always high on the list. I had a large collection of cookie cutters, the good ones that were metal and cut through the dough very nicely. I loved to make cookies when I still lived with my parents and continued that once I was married and had children.

It was Christmas tradition to make and decorate the sugar cookies with my children. Over the years we lived in two different houses but neither had a kitchen with much space. Thus, we had tv trays set up for cookies to cool and for decorating. When they were small, the cookies were, shall we say, interesting. But it was fun to see their grandparents ooh and ah over whatever the children presented to them. The mess was something else. Who knew sprinkles and icing could end up everywhere! My daughter has taken over the family baking in recent years. She always made what we called 6 layer bars for my mother.

Merry Christmas to all of you

Last weekend we celebrated at my daughter's in northern Minnesota. All four of the grandchildren, two of my three children and a son-in-law were together. We had a great weekend. I now have a heated cushion for my car, jewelry to wear and am supplied with wipes for hands and glassed for quite awhile. Yes, I asked for these. My daughter and son-in-law made a terrific dinner. The best gift of all was being together with all of these family members and getting lots of hugs.

Christmas Eve was to be at my oldest son's but since early on Christmas Eve morning I have had the seasonal flu. Ironically, I had to cancel my 9 a.m. appointment that day for my flu shots! The clinic finally has the vaccines.

I had thought this Christmas would be a tough one since it would be the first one without either of my parents. Instead I slept through most of it. My sister, Linda, and I commented on how much we missed Dad's Christmas morning phone call from him.

I hope you were able to have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas Eve and Day. Don't forget that there are 12 days of Christmas! The Stuart family will be having a big celebration on January 2nd.

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Childhood Christmas Traditions

Christmas Eve
Until the early 1970s Christmas Eve was always celebrated with my Dad's side of the family. Grandma Toots was last with us for Christmas 1965 and Grandpa Stuart didn't pass away until 1974. We spent the early years at Grandma and Grandpa's at 2019 Princeton in St. Paul.Then we began with one year at our house, one year at Aunt Dorothy's and the next at Aunt Jean's. They both lived in Roseville, Minnesota right by each other. There were 10 of us cousins. I think Grandma Toots gave me either a Bobbsey Twins or Nancy Drew book every Christmas.

Christmas Eve at our house included homemade au gratin potatoes many of the years. My cousin Mary often mentions how good those were. Once year my Aunt Dorothy made the most mouthwatering beef roast that had cooked overnight in the oven. I thought that was so neat. It was excruciating when the adults made us kids eat dinner before opening presents.

Christmas Day
Until the early 1960s Christmas Day was spent with my maternal Grandparents, Maurice Micheal and Gertrude Margaret (Cook) Hanley. Then after 1967 it was just Grandma -- and she was with us through Christmas of 1997. She passed away in 1999. There were years in the 1950s where my great grandmother Nana and her sisters-in-law would join us. Until the early 1960s my Aunt Jeanie (Hanley) Ronnan was with us on Christmas Day. By the early 1960s she and her growing family stayed home in White Bear Lake. I missed having all those little cousins around. Watching them unwrap gift was more fun than watching my own sisters who were getting older. The picture on the left is from Christmas 1958. The three girls are me and my sisters and our first maternal cousin, Ricky.

Most often we had turkey on Christmas Day. My Mom made the best gravy!

Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories: Christmas Cards

My mother always sent Christmas cards and I loved those that arrived at our house when I was growing up. I loved to look at the return addresses and see where people lived. Very few people included a letter telling about their year and the family. Now when I receive one of those from a relative I read every word -- looking at it from a genealogical standpoint. It's amazing how much detail can be found in them. So, don't groan when you receive one of those -- just be ready to cull info from it. Those births, deaths, marriages, divorces, graduations, and illnesses can all find a place in your genealogy software!

For most of the years I was married, I always sent cards and kept my list from year to year. In fact, I still have those lists. What a kick (and sad at the same time) to go back and remember neat people that are no longer on this earth.

I am lucky to have two Christmas single sided postcard size cards that a relative Marie Slaker sent to her son and daughter in 1915. This is a collateral line and I am not quite sure which Marie it is. The cards don't have the names of the son and daughter!























I also have a card sent to someone in the family by William H. Rohr of Watertown, Wisconsin. No year is given but he died in 1919. He is the half-brother of my Great Great Grandmother Marie
(Fisher) Slaker.

Advent Calendar for Geneabloggers: The Christmas Tree

Christmastime has always been important in our family. As my children were growing we started some traditions. I had traditions as I grew up. Over the next few weeks I will share some of these as part of the days leading up to Christmas. I know that both the immediate and extended family will remember some of these things. I wonder what they will be saying about my Christmas trees over the years?

For Geneabloggers, the December 1st topic is the Christmas Tree. This is a perfect topic for my family.

Growing up we always had to have perfect trees. Mainly this was my Mother, but my Father was no slouch in that department. We looked and looked for the tree. Many years it was at a tree lot at Snelling and St. Clair avenues in St. Paul -- at the edge of the Macalester College campus. If the tree wasn't perfect in all ways, we had to get extra boughs to fill in the blank spots. My family members will laugh if they recall Mom sitting on the couch directing the way the tree was put into the stand, where the extra boughs were put in a hole drilled by my Dad. Then the ornaments. We did have some beautifull glass ones. We were allowed to hang most of them, but Mom had to supervise so they were in the right place. Then the lights and tinsel. They had to be placed perfectly and each strand of tinsel had to be smoothed flat with your fingers. The picture above is from 1957. Pay attention to the Santa in the upper left hand corner -- you will hear about it later.

The result? A wonderful looking tree that could be seen through the three huge windows of the yellow rambler at the corners of Bowdoin and Magoffin streets in St. Paul as you see in the picture above. As they got older, Mom and Dad did get an artificial tree but it was never "undecorated." It was simply wrapped up and carried down to the basement intact. I should be honest -- we did have an earlier fake tree. Really fake. Aluminum. It was the tree relegated to the basement. Ugly as all get out. Why did we have that? I have no idea. The picture of the aluminum tree is from 1962.

Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses is back!

Over at GenealogyBlog.com, Leland Meitzler announced that Dollarhide and Thorndale's Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses 1790-1820 is back in print!

As Leland states, "The county has always been used as the basic Federal census unit. Genealogical research in the censsus, therefore, begins with identifying the correct county jurisdictions. This work (one of the top-five best selling genealogy books) shows all U.S. county boundaries from 1790 to 1920. On each of the nearly 400 maps the old county lines are superimposed over the modern ones to highlight the boundary changes at ten-year intervals."

And that's not all! For more details and ordering info, click here. This is a guidebook that belongs on every genealogist's book shelf. You might even print out the announcement and hint to your family that it would make a perfect Christmas gift. Don't just look at the pictures (maps), be sure to read all the prefatory info and the material on each page. You will be amazed at all this guide offers.