Tuesday's Tip - Pet Peeving on Message Boards

I've been wanting to write a "Tip" on Message Board posts, pretty much since starting my blog, but never got around to it because I always had something else to blog about that caught my attention.  As I went through my Google Reader today, I realized it was time.  Not because I think anyone reading my blog needs tips...it's more that I needed a bit of a rant.

When posting on a message board, make the subject line of the post something that draws people in and makes them want to read it.  Now I'm not suggesting that you post anything completely unrelated like "Ancestor busted as prostitute" and then in the post, "...now that I've got your attention..."  That will irritate and most likely get you flagged or removed.  Of course, if you actually have an ancestor busted as a prostitute and are seeking more information, then that's a completely satisfactory subject line!  What I'm trying to illustrate is not to expect to get very many responses when your title says something like:

"Trying to find my grandfather" 

(not enough info, especially if on a common surname message board), or

"Brown family", or

"Lee genealogy", or

"Looking for connections"

Those subjects don't tell anyone anything and I usually don't bother to read them.  I've got quite a few posts to read through each day, either as blogs, message board alerts, or news and I just don't have time.  If I see a subject like that, I just say to myself, "Well, they aren't really serious about this, or they would have said more".

Seriously, if you're researching someone with a common last name, you've GOT to put more detail in the subject (and, of course, the post).  Those boards have so many messages posted daily that people are looking for what pertains to them.  Such a general subject line will more often than not be ignored.  A better title for a common name would be "Lee family of the Hazleton, PA area", or "Brown family moved to Elmira, NY from PA".  That narrows it down considerably and would tend to get better responses.

One last peeve, and then I'll stop, because I so could go on, is content of the post.  Don't say, "I'm looking for the parents of Joe-schmo Hermann who moved to the US from Germany. Please help".  Again, pretty common last name, and it's not saying where they moved to....Wisconsin?  Texas?  Maine?  Where?  I would venture a guess that the majority of Hermanns in the United States came from Germany...can I have a time period?  A location before and after immigration, if you have one?  Tell the people reading the post all the details you have!  Let them know if there are details that you believe to be true, but haven't verified yet.  Something is better than a generalization.

OK...I feel a little better now.  I know some people are new to genealogy and jump right in and that's awesome, but a lot of this is common sense.  And sadly, I don't think that some of these ridiculous posts/titles are only from those new to genealogy.  Ah well...

Amanuensis Monday - The Rosiere Store

From the "Record-Herald", unknown date.

"THE ROSIERE STORE, owned by the late Eli and Florence (Villers) Cayemberg, is pictured in this photo believed to have been taken in the year, 1907.

Florence and Eli unk date

The picture was loaned the Record-Herald by Mrs. Lewis Lemens.  It belonged to her parents, Hubert and Emily (Cayemberg) Guillette.

Eli and Florence Cayemberg are standing in front of the store with their family.  Mrs. Cayemberg holds daughter, Anastasia, who later became Mrs. Harvey Moureau.  She, too, is deceased.

From left: Frank (deceased), Mr. and Mrs. Cayemberg, Emily (who became Mrs. Hubert Guillette and is deceased), Martin Joseph, Henry (deceased), Lucy (who became Mrs. Russell Anderson), Ella (who became Mrs. Eli Cravillion), Felix and Wilfred.  Two other children, Patrick and Walter, were born after the picture was taken.

Seated on the porch are Charles DeVillers, Emil Naze, Willie DeVillers and Mike Wautlet."

I would imagine that the "Record-Herald" mentioned in the article refers to the Algoma Record-Herald, which is a local newspaper, but that is just a guess.  No information was written on the clipping I have, which happens more often than not, but it's good to have the article anyway.  I would love to know when it was published in the paper and why.  Every year the descendants of Eli and Florence Cayemberg nee Villers have a family reunion and it's published in the local paper, complete with the names of all the attendees.  Perhaps this was published around one of the reunions.

Our family's copy of the picture "The Rosiere Store"

I was able to scan a copy of this photograph from my mother-in-law this past Christmas.  I suppose it's a picture that most, if not all, of Eli and Florence's descendants have.  My husband and children are descendants of Patrick, mentioned in the photo, but not in it.  It's still a precious photo even without him in it.

"The Rosiere Store" today (well, about 2002-ish)

During one of my first trips to Wisconsin, visiting with family, my father-in-law took me around to important family points of interest.  Dad was interested in passing on family history, and I cherish the times we spent with him going through cemeteries, hearing stories, and seeing family sites.  One of the places we went on that first trip was to see Eli and Florence's store in Rosiere, Wisconsin.  So, of course, I took a picture.

I took a picture from the van we were riding in.  The next time I'm in Wisconsin (which should be this Christmas) I will be getting my butt out of the car and getting it a bit cold to get a proper picture, or two.

I don't know who owns the building now, but it would be wonderful to have it in the family again someday (if it ever left)!

Sunday's Obituary - All Gave Some, Some Gave All

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SGT Lester Bader was a handsome young man whose life was cut short while serving in World War II.  His obituary is extremely interesting.  He was apparently a very brave and intelligent young man that had quite the military career.  I'd love to know more about those "secret duties"!

Rest in peace, SGT Bader.  You died while defending a monastery.  I'm sure you scored lots of points with the Big Guy for that one!  Your memory will always live on.

"SGT Lester Bader

Sgt. Bader's Body Arriving Wednesday

The body of Sgt. Lester Bader, 25, Luxemburg, route 2, son of Mrs. Mary Bader, Luxemburg, who was killed in action on Christmas day, 1943, in Italy, will arrive on the Milwaukee road at 9:45 Wednesday evening, and will be met by the Ralph Kline American Legion post, Luxemburg, who will escort it to the Dupont-Malcore Funeral home.

Sgt. Bader was killed while defending a monastery on Mount Defoncha, Casino, Italy.  He was born in Red River and before his enlistment the day after Pearl Harbor, he operated a farm with his brothers, and served as auction clerk in company with a brother's auctioneering business.  He attended East High school in Green Bay.

After training at Fort Riley, Kan., and El Paso, Tex., the soldier entered the secret service and took special training at Norfolk, W. Va.  He was on secret duty in Attu, Alaska, and in Africa before being transferred to the European theater of war.

Besides his mother, he is survived by three brothers, Mose and Ralph, on the home farm, and Edward, Green Bay; and three sisters, Mrs. Martin Williams, New Franken, Mrs. Joseph Coel, Edgewater Beach, and Mrs. Jerry Baier, Green Bay.

The Holy Name society of St. Louis church, Dyckesville, of which he was a member, will say the rosary at 8 o'clock Wednesday evening at the funeral home, with the Rev. Ludolph Jacobs, O. Praem.

Funeral services will be held at 10 o'clock Friday morning in St. Louis church, Dyckesville, with Father Jacobs offering the requiem mass.  Burial will be in the church cemetery. The Ralph Kline American Legion post will conduct the military rites."

No publication information was written with the newspaper clipping I have.  It would most likely be from one of the local Wisconsin newspapers, perhaps the Green Bay Press-Gazette since he attended high school in Green Bay.

Follow Friday - An Easy Blog Improvement!

I was checking the Geneablogger roll up on Monday and saw that Find My Ancestor had a series of posts on Mobile Monday about making your blog easier to read in  "Making Your Blog Mobile Friendly".  I was certainly interested in what A.C. Ivory had to say.  I read blog posts on my computer through my Google Reader, but when I'm out and about and have time to kill, I whip out my iPhone and scroll through with my MobileRSS app.

So occasionally I've noticed that the whole blog doesn't feed into the Mobile Reader or maybe I want to comment on someone's blog, so I go to the blogsite on my iPhone. It tends to take longer to load and then you have to expand the screen to be able to actually read the small type on the blog.  It's not an impossible feat, but what if it were easier to read on a mobile phone?  Ever go to Wikipedia or a news page and the information fits your screen perfectly?  They configured their pages so that they are easier to read on mobile phones!  Did you know that it's super easy for you to do with your blog?  I found out it was when I clicked through A.C.'s posts and now my blog is mobile-friendly!

The Find My Ancestor blog not only tells you how to do this with a Blogger account, but also with WordPress.  The link to A.C.'s "Mobile Monday" series will take you to all of his "Mobile Monday" blog posts, so scroll down if a new post has been made!  He's got a short video that shows how to do it.  I'm not going to go into explaining it here, because he did such a wonderful job!

Sure loyal fans will visit your blog regardless of whether you make it mobile-friendly or not, but why not be cutting-edge and make it easier on them!  They may come back more frequently!

I'm sure there's got to be a way to do this with websites.  If anyone knows how, let me know!  Mine's still under construction, but I'll certainly be wanting to make it mobile-friendly as soon as it's up and running!

Happy blogging!

Thankful Thursday - I Love FREE Stuff!!!

I'm a member of the National Genealogical Society and I'm a fan on Facebook as well.  Now you don't need to be a member to become a fan of their page, but why wouldn't someone want to be a member!

A couple days ago I saw one of their posts in my FB newsfeed about a FREE Course offered by the National Institute for Genealogical Studies on Social Media use.  Now when I say free, I mean the course is free, but there is one book that is required for use during the course, Social Networking for Genealogists (Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2009) by Drew Smith. You can find the book for less than $20.00.  I think that's a pretty reasonable price!  

There is an additional optional "text" you can buy.  It's the printed course materials.  This way you don't have to print everything out from your home computer.  That is only $8.00 through GenealogicalStudies.com. You can check on the requirement materials for the course on the "supplies" tab at the course's website (below).

I know I feel pretty comfortable in my own little bubble of social networking, but we can always learn more.  It also may be a pretty good course for those of our genealogical comrades that haven't quite embraced technology fully yet, or are afraid to.  Maybe this is just what the doctor ordered!

You can check out NGS' blog post on the course by clicking here.

You can also go straight to the registration/course description page by clicking here.

The only problem I encountered was that it doesn't state if the participants in the online course meet in a chat at a scheduled time each week or if assignments are posted and that's it.  I'll be giving a call in Thursday to find out those details and will post an update!

Head on over to their pages and take a look.  You may find that it's not the right course for you, or it may be perfect for you!  You never know until you look!


UPDATE!:  I got an error message when I tried to register for the course, so this morning I called the number at the bottom of the registration page.  The woman I talked to was wonderfully patient with all of my questions and she made sure that I was registered for the course.  I found out that there are live meetings, but they are not mandatory.  If you register for the course you will receive several emails that detail what to expect.  So a couple weeks until I get the emails, but I feel extremely confident that all my questions will be answered!  I'm ready to have fun with this course! :)

Organize Your Home Office Day - The Beginning of the End

My built-ins are a disorganized nightmare

While it may be "Organize Your Home Office Day", I won't lie and say that my home office will be organized by the end of today.  My nephew and mother-in-law are leaving for the airport in the morning, I've got a webinar in the afternoon, then it'll be time immediately following that to pick up the kids, make dinner and take my oldest to CCD in the evening.  There will be about 3 hours in there that I can dedicate to making a dent in what is my home office.

The printing station is a cluttered

The bookshelf o'stuff

My husband and I share the office and it's horribly laid out.  When we first moved into the home we were excited that it had a separate room that we would be able to use exclusively as an office.  It even had built in bookshelves (although we came to see that we had more books than shelves!).  As with most things, you notice flaws once you move in that you may have been oblivious to beforehand.  Things like the phone jack is in the back of the bottom shelf of the bookcase (no, you didn't read that wrong...who the hell puts a phone jack in the bookcase!) and the cable port is on the opposite side of the room.  Pretty much makes for a cable nightmare.  My hubby has been working overtime trying to get us as wireless as possible.  He's the tech person of the two of us and he's doing an awesome job considering he's got the anti-tech wife.  I simply walk by technology and it spontaneously combusts.

The not-too-bad-desk

Unfortunately, even though Cherie got her groove back about a month ago, I wasn't groovin' in the home office.  I've actually been working from the dining room table.  Great space, but it put a damper in using it for diner!

Since my PTA meltdown back in November, the office became a repository of stuff and I just wasn't motivated to clear it out.  That ends today.  I'm going to don my snorkel and swim fins and dive on in.  It's time to organize so my hubby and I have a work-friendly environment for Cub Scouts, PTA, and (most importantly) my business!

My is that the next pictures I'll post of my office will be much better looking!

World Poetry Day - Immortality Through Our Descendants

Shakespeare...

DON'T CRINGE AND RUN AWAY!!!!

Shakespeare understood the importance of leaving behind children.  That they are our path to immortality.  We live on through them.  As long as there are descendants, we too live in some form.  I'm a big Shakespeare fan.  Can I wax poetic on all aspects of his works?  No.  I'm reading his entire works this year via the Shakespeare in a Year group.  I'm a little far behind, but even if I don't finish with the group I will finish.  It's different reading Shakespeare as an adult than as a high school kid.  You tend to understand more of it.  These are two of my favorite sonnets.  It made me realize how passionately he felt about having children.

Sonnet IX

Is it for fear to wet a widow's eye

That thou consum'st thyself in single life?

Ah! if thou issueless shalt hap to die,

The world will wail thee, like a makeless wife:

The world will be thy widow, and still weep

That thou no form of thee hast left behind,

When every private widow well may keep,

By childrens eyes, her husband's shape in mind.

Look, what an unthrift in the world doth spend

Shifts but his place, for still the world enjoys it:

But beauty's waste hath in the world an end, 

And kept unus'd, the user so destroys it.

No love toward others in that bosom sits, 

That on himself such murderous shame commits.

Die without leaving a child and the world weeps for the loss, while should a wife lose her husband (or vice versa), they continue to see their spouse in their children's faces.  You continue to live on through your children.

Sonnet II

When forty winters shall besiege thy brow,

And dig deep trenches in thy beauty's field, 

Thy youth's proud livery, so gaz'd on now,

Will be a tatter'd weed, of small worth held:

Then being ask'd where all thy beauty lies,

Where all the treasure of thy lusty days;

To say, within thine own deep sunken eyes,

Were an all-eating shame and thriftless praise.

How much more praise deserv'd thy beauty's use,

If thou couldst answer - 'This fair child of mine

Shall sum my count, and make my old excuse-'

Proving his beauty by succession thine!

This were to be new-made when thou art old, 

And see thy blood warm when thou feel'st it cold.

As we reach the end of our lives we see that there is still so much life left.  Life that we issued.  Why wouldn't a parent as they grow old not look at their children and grandchildren and smile!