Wisdom Wednesday: Hurry Up, Now Slow Down!

Have learned so very much this week! Been watching RootsTech and taking that time away from my regular genea-life to sit in front of the live stream was one of the best things I could have done to further my genealogical education right now. Thank you, RootsTech! But that's not all. The DNA results and DNA contacts are humming along too, but I blogged about that on Monday. Plus, it's new cousins all over the place. Life is good! So now after the hectic pace and the ton of new information, it's time to slow down and digest, then follow up.

Google Search by Dave Barney. I can never know too much about Google search and how to dig even deeper so I was happy to spend some quality time watching this presentation by Dave Barney from Google who knew just how we like it. For some reason, and this coming from a gal who loves family and ancestor's photos, had not thought about all the wonderful ways to tweek the Image Search feature to dig deeper. I can now upload a photo from my file and have Google go look for a similar image. Using this tool to hunt for my mysterious Williams people who did that disappearing act in Upstate New York could be interesting and that's topping my list of things to do. (I learned of this tool a while back but forgot how to get there. Now I know all over again!)

Funny Boy, David Pogue. I like a good laugh so I really liked the presentation on the second day by well-known technology writer, David Pogue. OK, so there was no genealogy content and I don't care a fig. The man was that funny. Go watch for yourself! You deserve a treat:)

FamilySearch Family Tree by Ron Tanner. I came to a deeper and more thorough understanding of what FamilySearch Family Tree is all about due to this presentation. Must say, that if this works and it sure looks like it will, it is going to be the vehicle for building a single tree of common ancestors, with good research behind it. I recently wrote a blog post about the need I felt to stop from having every new genealogist build it all from the ground up. While that's a good way to learn it sure doesn't advance human knowledge. What I really like about Family Tree is this: you see the sources, and you seen who changed and updated the entry and when! And, there will be photos and stories and newspaper articles too. What's not to like in this wonderful way to stop research duplication?

New to me Cousins! I just love it when new cousins find me and we can share! Three recent contacts illustrate beautifully how it's all working when it's working at optimum because they came from three different sources: this blog, a local genealogy organization, and Ancestry Member Trees.
Cousin Karen#1 found me through this blog. Those posts do come up in Google searches!
Karen#2 found Mom because Mom is well known at a local genealogy library in Allegany County in Western Maryland, run by the Allegany County Genealgical Society, where the bulk of recent ancestors back three or four generations lived. Mom's even left a binder there containing a tree and Ahnentafel report and Karen#2 saw it, noted the shared ancestors, got Mom's phone number from the volunteers there, and called Mom. Mom took Karen#2's phone number with the intention of calling her back but I got to her first and yesterday we had a nice long chat. She shared the basics of her immediate and recent ancestors with me and that fills in some descendants down another line from our mutual ancestor, Samuel Albert House. I took copiuos nots and will type them up for Mom thus relieving her of the pick and shovel work. At 94 she deserves an assistant. Karen#2 didn't have a photo of Samuel Albert House and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Farrell, so I was tickled to share that with her!
Cousin Robert found me through Ancestry Member Trees. We share a common ancestor, Benjamin Thomas. There's so much sharing there to be done... as soon as he gets back to me. Hurry up, Robert!

Allegany County List Friends. I do like mailing lists for geographic areas! You can post idiosyncratic questions there and actually get answers. I recently posted a question asking when a manufacturing plant that my Dad worked at closed. Was surprised to find that it hadn't closed, it had just moved! Had no idea!
As with lists like this, eventually you start emailing back and forth sharing stuff and become friends. One of my friends there emailed a photo of a tombstone in St. Michael's Cemetery in Frostburg, Maryland. It's a beautiful old Irish Cross, and the name inscribed, which was just about the only thing that was readable, was John Kelly. Because this person knows I'm over here in the Kelly pile-o-ancestors, she relayed the photo to me... of my 2nd GGF's Irish Cross tombstone! I was able to supply all of the vital data that was worn off the stone.
But there's more!! Through her resources and contacts - wow, she's good and well connected - she was able to solve a long time mystery and that's where his wife, Bridget Cocoran Kelly is buried. Right there next to him!! Now we know where she lies and her date of death too. Next step: get a copy of the death certificate!

How did you find me? Have noticed quite recently that readers of this blog are now coming in some numbers from portable devices such as smart phones as well as social media like facebook and Pinterist. That's a big change from only being read by followers using a reading tool and email. Interesting. Tides are turning. But then change is the only constant these days.

Shout out to fellow bloggers! Just love my fellow blogger. They keep me connected and informed. They are quirky, irreverent, serious when need be, funny too. Don't stop posting! I need you:) Here's an e-hug to you!!

Here lies John Patrick Kelly 1829 - 1891

AND his wife Bridget Cockrane Kelly 1830 - 1912.

This post uses a GeneaBlogger's blogging prompt called Wisdom Wednesdays . Check them out!

The URL for this post is: http://nutsfromthefamilytree.blogspot.com/2013/03/wisdom-wednesday-hurry-up-now-slow-down.html