Thanksgiving

It is almost that time again. One week from today, we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. My husband and I just moved to our new home mid-October, so I have been trying to organize and clean like a mad-woman as I prepare to have family over for the holidays. My sister, brother-in-law, and all of my children and their families will be coming. The house will be crowded, noisy, and a little chaotic, but that is how I like it. The smells of turkey and cornbread dressing with lots of sage mixed with the sinfully delicious aroma of pies and cobblers will waft through the house. Family gathers and stories are swapped. There will be laughter and silliness. Grandchildren will be running, playing, and vying for attention. If the weather is nice, they may play outdoors; if not, they will surely find something to get into at Grandma's house. Families can be messy and imperfect, but they are a blessing.

How will you spend your Thanksgiving? Remember, genealogy isn't just for    recording stories of ancestors. It is also about creating stories and memories that    

will live long after we are gone. Share your own childhood memories and stories.     

Let children and grandchildren recount their favorite Thanksgiving memory. Be   

there in the moment and just enjoy each other's company. Take time to give      

thanks.

Have a very happy turkey day!

Leave me a comment and let me know how you celebrating this Thanksgiving.

Thanks,

The Genealogy Grandma

Skills: Mastering Genealogical Proof

I have been working diligently to further my genealogical education. For many years, I've read books, articles, and blog posts to build my skills. This year, I made the decision to incorporate more formal training into my learning journey. I joined the Gen Proof Study Group 48 mentored by Liz Stratton, where we read Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones.  

Each week, we read a chapter, analyze the concepts, and complete the assignment questions. Then, we meet online to discuss our answers and dig deeper into the reasoning behind them.

What Is Genealogical Proof

The Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS), as described by the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG), consists of five elements:

• Reasonably exhaustive research
• Complete and accurate source citations
• Analysis and correlation of evidence
• Resolution of conflicting evidence
• Sound, reasonable, and coherently written conclusion

Why Does This Matter?

The BCG states that "standards are the best practices for genealogy. They enable all genealogists—not just BCG associates—to come as close as possible to what actually happened in history."

This group and the weekly assignments have challenged many of my assumptions about what "proof" means in genealogy. Genealogy is never truly complete, and it rarely reaches 100% certainty. A conclusion is considered "proved" when someone has followed the GPS steps and written a sound, reasonable explanation of how the evidence supports that conclusion. 

If new evidence appears later, it's evaluated alongside the previous information, and it may reinforce the earlier conclusion or lead to a revised one. Genealogy is always evolving. 

Analysis and Correlation: An Educator's Perspective

As an educator, I've always defined analysis as breaking information into its individual components to understand it fully. In genealogy, analysis has a more specific meaning: determining whether a source is original, derivative, or authored, and whether the information it contains is primary, secondary, or indeterminable.

Correlation involves comparing two or more pieces of information to see how they relate. This concept is familiar in education. For example, when a student misses a lot of school, their GPA often declines. That's a negative correlation.

In genealogy, correlation might look like comparing census records, land deeds, and marriage records to see whether they point to the same person in the same place at the same time. Correlation can be positive, negative, or have zero effect.

Applying the GPS Through Weekly Assignments

Each chapter of Mastering Genealogical Proof includes study questions that require us to apply what we've learned to real-life examples. These assignments have been invaluable in helping me understand how the GPS works in practice—not just theory.

The Challenge of Writing a Sound Conclusion

The hardest step for me has been writing a sound, reasonable conclusion. It's still challenging, but each assignment gives me a little more confidence. With practice, I know I'll continue to improve.

After all, what good is all the research, analysis, and correlation if you can't explain why you reached your conclusion? Writing is where everything comes together.

In the end, I'm learning that genealogical proof is built step by step, and I’m committed to improving each part of the process. What about you? How are you strengthening your research skills this year? I'd love to hear what part of your own genealogy journey you're focusing on right now.

Let’s learn together.

National Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is the month we set aside for remembering loved ones who have battled breast cancer.

Lisa and her husband John, summer 2016

My sister, Lisa Petersen, is a breast cancer survivor! She has been cancer free for 6 years. She received her diagnosis in April 2010, about the same time our dad received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. 

Lisa and Dad, summer 2010

Lisa is a fighter. Battling her own cancer, she underwent surgeries, and treatments, and as soon as she could, she went to stay with dad during his last few weeks on this earth. She is a nurse and she wanted to give him the best care possible. She loved him and treated him with such dignity and respect in his final days. It was so hard on her to care for him while she was in such physical pain and to endure the emotional agony of watching Dad slip away, but she wouldn't leave him. Although Dad lost his battle, I will forever be grateful for my sister's love and devotion to him. 

Although Lisa is my younger sister, she acts like my big sister. She always checks up on her siblings (all 6 of us) to see how we are and what she can do to help. She has the most loving, generous heart and caring soul of anyone I have ever met. I thank God every day that He has allowed her more time on this earth. We are all very fortunate to have her in our lives and I love her dearly!

I hope one day, we will see cancer eradicated from this world. Do you know someone who is battling breast cancer or is a survivor? 

Thanks,

The Genealogy Grandma

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday - Special birthdays

Today is a special day in my family. It is the birthdays for two of my favorite family members - my dad and my sister.

My dad and my sister had a special bond. Dad turned 28 on the day she was born. Sharing the same birthday cemented that bond between them until his death in 2010. While I was more my grandmother's girl, Velda was always Daddy's girl. They spent time together, had long talks, and were always there for each other. Later, after Velda was grown, they would try to beat the other in calling to wish each other a happy birthday. One year, Dad called her just seconds after midnight to be the first and they laughed together as they shared their special moment. 

Velda and Dad ca. 1978

Now that Dad is gone, I know it is hard on my sister to not have him to talk to on her birthday. Dad would have been 82 years old today if he had lived. I miss him so much and I would give anything to have him around for just a while longer. 

Dad and Velda shortly before his death in 2010.

Happy birthday sis! I love you and may your day be filled with love and laughter!

The Genealogy Grandma

Tech Tip: Using Trello to Organize Your Genealogy Research

I have a natural tendency to be unorganized. Not on purpose mind you. I work hard to get organized, but it usually doesn't last long. One area of great concern to my organization has always been the numerous lists found about my home and office. I make a list for EVERYTHING! My office was always filled with sticky notes, or scraps of paper. These would get lost or accidentally thrown away. It made staying organized almost impossible. I had been using Excel for my genealogical research, so I thought I would try it for organizing my tasks, but it wasn't a nice fit for me. I have recently discovered another online tool that works for me, and I want to share it with you. A  few weeks ago, I read about Trello on The Cousin Detective's blog. It looked easy enough, so I decided to check it out for myself.

I wasn't prepared for the ease of creating the boards and lists! There's only so many hours a day and if you are like me, you look for quick and easy ways to get you through.

How to Use Trello in Just Four Easy Steps

1) Create a FREE account. 

• What do you have to lose? Click here to go to the Trello site.

2) Create your first board.

• They were so easy to do, that I actually created 3 - Genealogy, work, and home, in just a matter of minutes. Create and name your board or boards - and don't worry - if you want to change the name later, it's easy to do.
• The Welcome Board helps to explain everything you need to know and for now, I have decided to leave it up to remind me of all the wonderful tools Trello has available.

3) Create lists

• I had a ton of things to list, but I needed it to be in an easy to understand, cohesive format. I used these list headings, but you can choose any format that works for you.
• Someday - these were things I knew I wanted to do in the future, but they weren't top priorities. They were there to help me remember them - like keeping it on a calendar. 
• Next week - these were jobs that were higher priority and must get done soon.  
• Weekly - These are for the tasks I do each week. I may at some point go back and add a Daily List, but for now this works. 
• Tomorrow - I try not to give myself more than 2-3 jobs to do in order to ensure I have time to do them.
• Today - Again, I list no more than 2-3 jobs. When I am working in genealogy, I am focusing on quality of work, not quantity of items done that day. 
• Done - For completed tasks.

4) Fill in the lists with cards

• Now that you have created lists, start adding your cards (tasks to be completed).
• In order for this work, you don't want to carry anything over to the next day. Keep all tasks short and sweet. 
• For example, I am checking and re-writing citations if needed, so my goal is to only do small batches of 10 each time I work on them. I have over 4,000 citations, so just saying "Re-do citations" can be too daunting and take much more than one day.
• I use the "Someday" list as a catch-all. Whenever I think of a task that needs to be done, I place it here and move it to the today or tomorrow list when I am ready to work on it. You may name your lists differently, but find a way that works for you.
• The Done list -That's my favorite one! You simply DRAG AND DROP the completed item over to the done board! What could be easier? :-)
• 

Okay, now you have your boards set up, your lists created, and you have some cards put in your lists. 

Now let me show you some other cool things Trello can do!

Here are a couple of things I have found to be invaluable to me:

Color-Coding Labels

 Trello offers color-coded labels to help you organize. You may edit each color and assign it a description. I have only edited and used the green and yellow for the moment. You can change what the colors mean at any time.               

Assigning Due Dates

If you have a task that needs to be done by a certain date, Trello makes it easy to set that up. Just click on the due date button on the right, and a calendar pops up. As you see in this screenshot, you can also add descriptions and attachments. I included the URL for the Google+ Hangout I attend each month.








Check out Trello now to discover even more great features like:

• Adding members to work on group projects
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Adding a calendar

Sign up today and give it a try! This could be tool that gets you organized and ready to tackle those to-do tasks today!