The First Word #20: Taking a Turn at the Wheel

I’ve written about this and spoken on this before; helping out, volunteering, giving back to the genealogical community. We’ve all benefitted from the work others have done, either from compiled indexes, records look-ups or from service in a genealogical society. This year it’s my turn at the helm of the Boulder Genealogical Society, to pay forward what I’ve reaped in the past.

I was honored to be asked to be President of BGS over a year ago. (Well, to be honest, I was coerced, but that’s neither here nor there.) I have been a member of BGS since May of 2001, so after ten years, “they” (the nominating committee) finally caught up with me. I suppose it is time I had a turn at the wheel. I had been dodging the job for several years now by being “too busy” with things like being Quarterly Editor, Webmaster and the like. All joking aside, I believe that each and every one of us should spend some time filling a position in the society. Try it and see what you can give back over the course of a new year.

The new year season is a fun time for me. I am always excited by the new possibilities and changes each new year brings. It is always fun to think ahead to what might be new and exciting but also to look back and be grateful for the times that have passed. It is also a good time to take stock in your life and make some plans for improvements, always growing for the better.

I am glad that some things are behind us –– sad events like the Fourmile Fire and the passing of our dear friend Birdie Holsclaw. I am also looking forward to the genealogy projects I will get to work on (and maybe even finish). I am also looking forward to raising money for the Birdie Monk Holsclaw Memorial Fund through the sale of books from Birdie’s personal library. Looking forward at my term as President, I am exciting by the new possibilities and I hope to keep the BGS team moving forward and upholding our societal objectives:

• to promote an interest in genealogical research
• to collect, preserve and disseminate genealogical and related historical, biographical and heraldic data
• to encourage adherence to scientific principles of accuracy and thoroughness in research
• to champion advanced ethical standards
• to discourage and oppose incompetent and disreputable research
• to foster careful documentation
• to promote scholarly writing
• to provide instruction in the use of efficient mechanics

The past year brought a lot of hard times for our society but I believe there are always silver linings to every bad situation. Even though I dearly miss Birdie, I have gained a deep appreciation for what she represented to me in my life––a mentor, friend and cheerleader. I know that even though Mary Ann Looney (the Immediate Past President) lost her beautiful mountain home in the Fourmile Fire, it meant that I didn’t inherit a large box of presidential papers when the presidency passed to me!

This year, consider improving the genealogical community by filling an empty position in BGS, volunteering your time on one or more of the various BGS projects, writing an article for the Quarterly or sharing your personal research experience with us by giving a presentation to the society at a monthly meeting.

There are many ways you can give back. It is because of the time dedicated by other willing volunteers that much of your research and genealogical education has been successful. Don’t forget to pay it forward! After all, as Bernard M. Baruch said “We didn't all come over on the same ship, but we're all in the same boat.”

The First Word #19: Having an Evacuation Plan Means More Than Grabbing Some Binders

We have all been affected by the Four Mile Fire in some way or another. Whether directly, such as Mary Ann and Doug Looney’s loss of their beautiful home in Sunshine Canyon, or indirectly, like those of us who waited and prayed for our dear friends in the mountains. Having a natural disaster hit so literally close to home was a wake up call for many of us.

There is a group of us who go out for coffee after BGS meetings and discuss genealogy and other happenings in our lives. We’ve been doing it for many years now and have loosely dubbed ourselves “the coffee clutch.” Among us is Mary Ann Looney, so those of us in the group got even more detail about what it is like to have to evacuate at a moment’s notice. I know that all of us sat there thinking about our offices, binders, computers, photo albums and other paper items and wondered what would we grab if we had to leave in a moment’s notice.

At this moment in time, I would be, how shall I say it … well, screwed. My family history stuff is everywhere, in binders, folders, filing cabinets. Some of my documents have been scanned and are on my computer but less than half of them and definitely not a fraction of all of the photographs I just inherited. There are items spread over each of the 3 floors of my house! So, what are we to do?

I’ve decided to look at the bright side of Mary Ann’s loss. I’m not trying to make light of her situation, but how fortunate to have this glaring example of why we need to be more organized! (Probably Mary Ann would say that she’d rather have her house than teach the rest of us a lesson, but, let’s work with the hand that was dealt.) I know we have all heard about the importance of backing up our data or having a plan for distributing our research but here are my ideas:

• Disseminate your research to cousins, aunts, children each time you get a portion researched so that they have copies you can reclaim should something terrible happen.
• Create a website or blog documenting your research so that it is “out there” rather than in just your computer which could be destroyed.
• Scan all of your documents, photographs and other papers so they are on your computer or external hard drive that is easy to grab if you need to.
• Back up all of your data and store off site. You could put everything on CDs and give them to your genealogy friend or a relative who lives in a different town or state. Better yet, put them in a safe deposit box. I prefer to back up my computer with an automatic online backup service such as Mozy. Then you don’t have to remember to do the back up and the files are stored in “the cloud.”
• Have all of your genealogy in a centralized location, maybe in binders that are easy to grab if necessary. (I’m thinking a fire-safe filing cabinet or better yet, offsite at a bank vault, but that might be a little impractical.)

These are just some of my thoughts brought on since the Four Mile Fire. I know that I am going to try to digitize as much of my paper items as possible over the next several years as time permits. I’m definitely going to write more of it up and send copies to interested parties, so that my research is “out there” where I can get to it someday. I’m also thinking I may put those irreplaceable photo albums in a fire safe. (Seth, put a “large fire safe” on my Christmas list.)

First Word #18: The Loss of Our Genealogical Mentor and Friend: Birdie Monk Holsclaw, 1948 - 2010

When I began attending meetings of the Boulder Genealogical Society, I didn’t know what I was doing. I had only really began researching my family history a few months before but I knew that I needed help and guidance in order for my research to be effective. So when I found the Boulder Genealogical Society, I was elated. Upon meeting Birdie, she almost immediately took me under her wing,very quickly became my mentor and friend.

After meeting with Birdie a few times to work on various projects, I really felt like I was the center of her attention. She wanted to know what I was working on, was quick to give me tips on how to get through some brick walls and was always, even at the end, sharing her discoveries in technology and the internet. One day, when we were looking at some of my research, I was sharing with Birdie my love of obituaries, showing her how many I had collected and we were discussing them in detail. Her words would change my genealogical life forever: “You should do a program on this. You can do that.” From that simple statement was born the program “An Obituary Obsession”, which to this day is one of my most popular programs with genealogical societies in the area. I had never even thought about being a speaker until Birdie mentioned it. It was almost as if she had given me permission to see a door that had opened up for me.

We worked on many projects together. Some of the most fun and productive times we had were those spent editing the Quarterly together. She and I would meet, most of the time at Buffalo Wild Wings in Longmont, not only because we both liked the food, but because they stayed open until 2 am. We were often there until after midnight, not only proofreading and editing, but also sharing research breakthroughs and ideas, and of course Birdie would show me some new gadget or website that she thought would be very useful for genealogy. We would sometimes have lengthy discussions over the proper use of a comma, or the proper placement of quotes, over definitions of words and if we’d used the right one. She taught me the difference between a dash, an en-dash and an em-dash. (And if you don’t know what they are, she taught me to use the Chicago Manual of Style to find out.)

Birdie truly cared about the Boulder Genealogical Society. I know when she was busy and couldn’t make a board meeting, she would give me strict instructions to bring up certain points on a topic up for discussion, or to begin new discussions. She wanted to be involved in many of our committees and projects. She taught me how to look at the bylaws and standing rules and assess them for needed changes. She taught me about parliamentary procedure. She made boring things fun and important at the same time.

My personal story about Birdie’s influence is not unique. On Birdie’s FaceBook page and at her memorial service, I read and heard many other stories like mine. “Birdie convinced me I could speak.” “Birdie always shared the latest technology with me.” “I served on a Board with Birdie and she was serious and fun at the same time.” And yet Birdie made me, and many others like me, feel like the most important person in the room. She just had that way about her; always present and giving you her undivided attention.

Birdie’s illness and passing really got me thinking about how much I’ve learned from her and how important it is to be a mentor. She was a natural mentor and collaborator, always interested in what everyone had to say, what they were working on, how they were going about it. I don’t know how Birdie managed to stay on top of things and even ahead of the game when it came to everything she talked about. She always seemed to know about the newest, latest and greatest things before anyone else did. Hers is an example we should all strive to follow, from the way she presented herself in meetings to the way she interacted in personal conversations, from her seriousness to her humor.

The last time I saw Birdie I had the chance to learn one last thing: to say to the people you love the things you need to say. When Birdie came in to meet that last time, she gave me a big hug, told me she loved me and that she was glad I was able to come. Of course, we got online right away to look at a project she was working on. Oh Birdie, you will be forever missed and never forgotten.

First Word #17: Haiti Got Me Thinking

Have you ever found yourself up against a brick wall? I don’t mean in your car, I’m talking about in your research. If you haven’t then you haven’t been doing this very long and believe me, you’ll know what I’m talking about when you find one. It is that dead-end that you can’t seem to get past in your research. I’m at a brick wall in one of my lines. Well, several, but one in particular that I’m working on in earnest. I’ve written about my Mitchell ancestors before. I had a fun time trying to locate their tombstone in the Wellsville, Missouri cemetery. Now, I’m trying to locate the marriage of Thomas Carroll Mitchell and Angeline Higdon.

I know where they “should” be. They “should” be in Barren County, Kentucky sometime before 1850. I found them in the 1850 census married with no kids, in their early 20s. The box that says “Married within the year” was not checked. So I am guessing they were married approximately 1847-1849. The records for Barren County, Kentucky exist for that time frame. I looked at them the last time I was in Salt Lake City, in 2005 and did not locate my ancestors. And to top it all off, I have found very little indication as to who either of their parents are!

Well, that is a bummer to say the least. Don’t you just hate it when your research does not go according to plan? Sometimes we jokingly say that our ancestors were brought here on the “Mother Ship” rather on a sailing ship across the ocean. It would seem at times that our ancestors just “showed up” suddenly in the records and where they came from or who they descended from is a complete mystery!

The January 2010 earthquake in Haiti got me thinking about some of the possibilities for these unexplained or difficult-to-find answers. I’ve watched news stories regarding the orphans in Haiti. It was estimated in one NPR article I read that more than 20,000 children lost their parents in the disaster. In many cases relatives or neighbors are caring for the children. In other cases, they are fending for themselves. One group of boys formed a group and live together in a park. They do odd jobs to earn a little money and they wash out their clothes every night. They share what little food they have to survive. The article went on to say that slowly social workers are making their way through the crowds to document who’s living where and to offer services to children such as these boys. There is much concern over how to keep track of all of these children as well as to try to stop such unsavory things as child trafficking, kidnapping and unlawful adoptions.

What if something like this terrible disaster (or even a small disaster) happened to our ancestor? Fire, flood, tornado, earthquake, hurricane, illness–the possibilities are numerous. If our ancestors’ parents were killed in some terrible way, who took them in? And were there any records to indicate where that child came from? If suddenly there’s another child in a family and the age doesn’t necessarily line up with previous information, this may be a possibility. Records may indicate “adopted” but more likely, the child(ren) were just absorbed into the family, especially if they were taken in by relatives. It is quite possible that no records were created that document times such as these. Also, the children could have taken on their adopted family’s name. This alone could bring you up against a brick wall in your research.

As I watched numerous news stories about these Haitian orphans and thought about how the chaos would affect genealogical research in years to come, it caused me to reflect on how similar situations would affect our ancestors. I am going to keep this in mind in the future. One thing you can do is read newspapers for the area and time your ancestors lived and note any disasters that may have occurred. This may break down some of those walls.

The First Word #16: It Takes a Village to Run a Society

It struck me the other day that if we all decided we weren’t going to do anything for our society, our society wouldn’t exist. We wouldn’t have a space to meet because the person in charge of setting that up decided he was too busy and quit doing it. We wouldn’t have a speaker because the person in charge of doing that decided she was tired of making those calls and sending those e-mails and didn’t want to do it anymore. We wouldn’t have members because no one would know how to join because there was no publicity person advertising our society, no Webmaster posting our programs, no programs to post because our program chair quit working. We’d have no Quarterly or Newsletter to read, no classes to attend, no meetings to attend, no snacks to eat at those meetings, and so on and so on.

If we all just decided not to do anything for the society, we would have no society. It has been said that usually about 20% of the people in any given group do 80% of the work. It’s that way in any group, but I’ve seen it especially true in our society as of late. I have attended meeting after meeting and noticed that a few of the people are doing a lot of the work. This leads to burnout and eventually loss of good members.

Burnout happens. It happens in any area of life. Sometimes we just need a break or a change of pace. I think it would be wise for any society to put all of the jobs in a hat once in a while and redistribute them. We have to try new things, learn different aspects of the society, from the smallest task–something as simple as bringing a tasty treat to a meeting–to one of the larger tasks such as Membership Chair or Quarterly Editor.

I have been the Quarterly editor for 4 years now. This is my 16th issue. I love the Quarterly and writing in particular, but just like everyone else I need a break. There are other jobs coming up this year that are vacant, mainly due to burnout and wanting a change of pace. We need some new people to step up and take the reins.

I even run into burnout in my research. I find myself working and working and working on a particular family, or trying to uncover a specific piece of information, and I eventually work so much that I have to put it aside. I generally just pick up another family that I’ve set aside and get back to work. Usually that family is in a different geographical location or time and so the research is different enough so that it renews my interest and I’m able to continue my work.

This is my last Quarterly. I do plan on being a regular contributor but I don’t have the time or energy to stay dedicated to this particular task anymore. I want to take on a different job, have a different role in the society, try my hand at something new and work on some other projects. I know there are other people in the society in similar situations. I encourage you to volunteer for some position, no matter how small or large. Know that you will be supported by the Board, by the previous job-holder, and by your fellow members. Many jobs can be shared or split with someone else to take some of the burden off. As they say, many hands make light work.

You may not think your small bit of volunteering matters, but when a large number of people share that idea then the effects add up, whether it’s a diminished level of service or a lower quality product. Even this Quarterly has suffered from a lack of contributions and the last few issues have shrunk in size.

Just like any social group, political party, small business, volunteer organization, church group, in any of the unlimited aspects of life, it takes help and helpers to make it work. How many indexes, transcriptions, abstracts, compilations and websites has your research benefited from? How many meetings have you attended at BGS, or elsewhere, that someone else organized? If we all just pitched in and did a little bit, the big jobs wouldn’t be so big and we could all enjoy these various groups with a little less stress. Do your part and help out this year. I know we’d all appreciate it!

The First Word #15: Healing Relationships for Better Genealogy

Time is a funny thing. It just slips away and is gone before you know it. I don’t know what happened to the whole month of June for instance. I woke up the other day and my calendar said July 1st and I said, “Holy cow, where did June go?” As I get older, time seems to go by faster. My kids are already growing up, the number of years I’ve been alive is getting bigger at an alarming rate and I swear an hour or two is removed from my day every night while I am sleeping. Surely, there are only twenty-two hours in the day anymore!

I think of the shortness of life when I look how many of my “older” family members are passing away. There aren’t too many left “above” me in the tree any more. My family wasn’t that large to begin with! I only have 4 first cousins to start with! I know many families that have dozens. One of my maternal grandfather’s brothers and sisters died in May, Carl Businger. I remember as a child going to Uncle Carl’s house for a party on the 4th of July, eating watermelon in their back yard, then walking to the golf course nearby to watch the fireworks.

I was never very close to that side of the family. My mother has been semi-estranged from her family and after she moved us to Wyoming, we lost almost all contact with her family. Since my mother lost contact, so did I. When I became an adult and began researching my tree, her parents had already passed away and my already tenuous connections with any of her aunts and uncles had diminished even more.

I find it foolish and unnecessary that families can be broken apart and consequently much family history is lost as a result of one “break in the branch.” I would have loved to have had my grandfather’s siblings’ perspective on so many things. What could they have told me about him? About their upbringing? About their aunts, uncles, cousins? What stories have been lost now because of the grudges and wounded pride that happened before my time?

Stories are lost everyday that will never be pieced together, no matter how much research is done. My paternal grandfather, Karl Miller, was full of such stories. He told me about one time when he was painting a house with a bunch of other guys. One guy was standing on a ladder and his feet just happened to be at the same level as a window into the house. My grandpa took some paint into the house, reached out the window and painted the other man’s shoes! If I asked any number of people who knew my grandfather they would all have a story of his antics! These peeks into his practical joker personality are lost every time someone who knew him passes away. Then all that’s left of him are the names and dates and places that make up so much of the genealogical record.

That’s where part of our jobs as family historians come in. We have an obligation to interview those who are still living. Ask them about those who have already passed away, those who are still alive, and themselves. Videotape the interview or make an audio recording if they will let you. At least write these stories down and share them with your family.

Even in the time since I began writing this article I got an email from an aunt in Ohio letting me know that another member of our family has passed away. Uncle Ivan Stearns was a dedicated genealogist in my family, mainly researching the Businger side, which is my mother’s line. So, my point has been made again in my own family. I never had a chance to talk to Ivan. We had written letters a few times but never had the chance to meet. He’s on “that side” of the family that I’ve been apart from due to “bad blood” so long ago.

Are there similar situations in your family where someone has moved away, lost contact or been otherwise separated because of some fight or other disharmony? I encourage you to attempt to repair any relationships that have become lost or strained. These relationships are important for your genealogy, but more importantly, also for a more satisfying life being connected to your living family tree.

The First Word #14: Changing Times, Moving On and New Tattoos

I turned 35 this year, (I know, I am getting old) and I decided to do something that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time but just never did. I got a tattoo. I figured that 35 was a good waypoint in my life to get it. If you follow average life expectancy rates, I’m almost half way through. The tattoo I got was of an ouroboros (the snake eating its own tail) on my upper back. The ouroboros is an ancient symbol that “often represents self-reflexivity or cyclicality, especially in the sense of something constantly re-creating itself, the eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end” (from Wikipedia.com). This is completely relevant to all of the changes currently happening in BGS.

First, all local BGS members should be aware that our library holdings, previously housed at Carnegie Library in Boulder, have been released, mostly to Denver Public Library or to a few BGS members for safe keeping, to make room for a large collection of the Boulder Daily Camera to be housed at Carnegie Library. Second, as most of you also know, we have moved from publishing a traditional printed Quarterly, to a modern, electronic Quarterly. Third, this year, instead of having our annual garage sale, we have undertaken another fundraiser instead, the BGS/Boulder Sesquicentennial Playing Cards. These are three significant changes for BGS and demonstrate how all of life grows, evolves and flows.

I want to take this time to say thank you to all of the volunteers who have worked on any of these facets of our society. There have been many who have helped staff the library as well as a strong contingent of people who faithfully showed up for collating the Quarterly once per quarter. Every year we had many helpers for the garage sale, either by donating goods or by showing up for pricing, sorting and selling. We all appreciate your dedication to keeping these projects afloat. Many hours have been given to the society by these people and they should know that they are appreciated beyond words!

These changes in our society make me think about how our ancestors must have experienced change in their lives. They encountered difficult circumstances like war, disease, moving across the country in covered wagons, Indian raids, natural disasters, loss of loved ones, and the list could go on forever. I also think about how changes in society, culture, technology, science and so forth, affected them as well. Penicillin was a major scientific breakthrough that saved many lives from infections that would have previously been fatal. The invention of the telegraph allowed communication over large distances as well as over seas. The railroad allowed faster, easier travel from one side of our country to the other. As immigrants flooded in to our great country, the “melting-pot,” became a great meshing of many different cultures and ideas.

As changes came in the past, our ancestors embarked on new phases of life and our society as a whole evolved. So will it be for the Boulder Genealogical Society as well. We are embarking on a new time in our Society’s life. With these changes, people and their ideas will change as well. Let us focus on what the benefits of these new changes will be, and avoid non-beneficial discourse over the way things “used to be.”

When thinking about taking the Quarterly in the electronic direction, I can see many possibilities in regards to the addition of more graphics and publishing photographs in color. Without printing costs, the sky is the limit when it comes to adding color. (Well, maybe the file size is the limit, but you know what I mean.) Also, having the Quarterly in an electronic format, you will be able to use search or find functions to locate specific surnames or subjects in each issue quickly and easily. Not only will we be cutting down on our own printing costs, but we will also be cutting down on the amount of natural resources consumed to create the Quarterly. By keeping the Quarterly on your computer instead of in a printed format, you will also be saving your house from unnecessary clutter.

By looking at the positive changes these situations bring, we can move forward happily and in a cooperative manner. Change can be very difficult, especially if you liked the “way things were,” but change is necessary for things to grow and evolve to the next phase of life. If change had not occurred, our ancestors would still be living in their ancestral homelands and this great country would still be wild and untamed.
Like my new tattoo, things end and new things begin all the time. What’s next in store for BGS? New local history projects? New developments online? More electronic publications? More educational opportunities? Who knows! But let’s all peer into the future and try to imagine the new beginnings that we can bring about for our great Society.