Pilgrim's Pride Via A Lettter

Took a minute to clean my email after putting away the fall decorations and found the following link about the Mayflower at Crestleaf Thanksgiving Genealogy:  5 Steps to Finding Pilgrim Ancestors.
I've been trying to discover who my hubby's Mayflower ancestor was for years.  I have my suspicion but no concrete evidence.
My mother-in-law used to say her family hasn't been in the U.S. very long, just since the 1700's. That always made me laugh since my maternal grandmother didn't arrive until 1913.  Hubby's father's family supposedly arrived on the Mayflower but no one could recall who the gateway ancestor was. Hubby swore that the Thanksgiving oyster stuffing (which he absolutely hated) was a hand me down recipe on his dad's side from that event.  Personally, I figured the stuffing recipe was from Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York where I have been able to trace his line.  His mom stopped making it in the 1960's because no one liked it.  She had gotten the recipe from her mother-in-law and I checked with everyone on all sides and although it was well remembered, no one has made it or has it written down.  I love old family recipes so that's a major disappointment for me.
The family also knew they had a Mayflower ancestor because of a letter that was written by a family genealogist who was a member of the Mayflower Society.  Problem was, no one knew the name of the family genealogist or had a copy of the letter.
It wasn't until long after my in-laws passed away that I connected via the internet with cousins who happened to have a copy of the letter.  Like most family tales, the story I was told had been confused somewhat.  The letter writer was NOT a member of the Mayflower Society.  She was also not a professional genealogist but family history was certainly an interest for her.
How the letter came to be written, I think, is the most interesting part of the story.  In the 1960's a teacher in Chicago gave her students an assignment to write a paper on their family history.  Cousin went home and her mother knew that paternal aunt who lived in Ohio was the oldest living relative so she contacted auntie for information.  The aunt said she would write down everything she recalled and that is how the family history came to be recorded.
I never could figure out how my in-laws would have known about the letter as they weren't in contact with the Chicago cousin.  Perhaps there is another letter out there somewhere that the aunt took her information from or maybe, as this was a large family, the Chicago cousins shared the Ohio cousins info with one of the Indiana cousins and the information filtered down to my in-laws.
The letter mentions the William's line and claims that a Balsora Williams Dorval was a member of the Mayflower Society and the Daughters of the American Revolution.  Checked with both organizations and they have no record of her.  The Mayflower Society told me that many of their records were lost over the years and that during the time Balsora lived (1821-1907) the Society was more accepting of memberships, meaning you might become a member without qualifying via genealogical proof standards that are used today.  Some groups even allowed membership if your ancestor arrived on a boat other than the Mayflower, as long as it was shortly after.  I would love to be able to see how Balsora became a member, if in fact, she did.  I say that because the letter contains a lot of wrong information. The family Bible contradicts places of marriage, numbers of children, and spellings of names written in the letter.  That's not to say there isn't a lot of great information in the letter that was helpful to us in tracing the William's family.
Family information is important to record and it's not too late to download the free ap from StoryCorps.me.  In conjunction with the Library of Congress, the program is designed for teens to record audio storytelling of their grand and great grandparents.  With more holiday get togethers on the horizon, further opportunities to join in are possible.  Just visit The Great Thanksgiving Listen for more info.  The recording can be uploaded to the Library of Congress and be preserved.  Making your family's story included is an awesome way to honor your loved ones, preserve history and get your younger relatives interested in genealogy.
So the hunt for our Mayflower (maybe) ancestor continues...

Native American Ancestry Uncovered

Disclosure: Genealogy At Heart may receive a small amount of compensation if you choose to purchase products via some of the links below.  Opinions expressed are my own and all products listed are what  I recommend for my personal use.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I'm thinking about Native Americans.   

My husband loves to go garage sailing and just discovered a children's book published by Lyons & Carnahan in 1924 titled Why We Celebrate Our Holidays by Mary I. Curtis.  Looking through it I was astounded at the number of holidays that are no longer celebrated, such as Bird Day, Forefathers' Day and American Indian Day:

Evidently, American Indian Day was the brainchild of the Society of American Indians who proclaimed on 25 September 1915 the purpose was to strengthen the fellowship bond between "the red men and the white." p. 73.  The New York governor agreed and the first holiday was celebrated the 2nd Saturday in May.  Other states soon followed but the date chosen varied.  The book does not say how the holiday was celebrated.

I'm not sure when most states discontinued the holiday but I never heard of it.  November is deemed Native American month in my area so maybe it morphed into that.  I met a Seminole Native American reenactor of Abiaka "Sam Jones" at one of my school sites for Great American Teach In last week:

We spoke about the the lens people have on historical events.

This got me thinking about changes in word usage and how we need to remember what once was acceptable might no longer be. We no longer say "Indians" as its not only inaccurate, it's offensive.   Fifty years ago, as a Brownie Girl Scout, I learned the following song with hand motions at Camp Meadowbrook:

"Indians are high minded,

Bless my soul, 

They're double jointed.

They climb hills

and don't mind it.

All day long!"

The person who taught us that little ditty was a Native American, supposedly one of the last of the Potawatomi tribe:

Campers at Camp Meadowbrook in Lake County, Indiana

I loved anything Native American because I believed I was genetically related.  My mother told me that my father had told her that there was Native American ancestry in his past.  I looked Native American by skin tone, eyes and hair.  I decided I must be Potawatomi because that tribe resided where my father's family farmed.  Years ago, my husband even had a bust made of a Potawatomi chief as a visual reminder to me that I would one day discover that unknown lineage.  

Then, dna became inexpensively available and I discovered I had NO Native American ancestry.  So why did my dad think he did?

Climbing the family tree instead of hills uncovered what I think was the root of the story.  

My dad was Orlo Guy Leininger.  His great great grandfather, Jean "John" arrived in America in 1827.  There were several other Leininger branches that had come to the U.S. before and after John's line.  Although we haven't identified who the original Leininger was, tests on several of the males from varying branches show that there was one Leininger ancestor from the Bas Rhin region of what was then owned by Germany.  

The earliest Leininger emigrants settled in Pennsylvania and later ones, like my line, in Ohio.  With large families and limited land the families moved farther west.  While I was growing up there was another Leininger family in the same locality where my father lived.  He had no knowledge (and neither did they) of how they were related.  Their gateway ancestor first settled in Pennsylvania and that is where I believe the mistaken tale of Native American ancestry began.

Sebastian Leininger immigrated in 1748 to Pennsylvania with his wife and four children.  The family farmed on the then farthest western boundary in the new world.  One day, Sebastian's wife and oldest son, Johan Conrad, took the wagon to town.  Sebastian remained on the farm with his youngest son and his two daughters, Regina and Barbara.  A culture clash was arising in the area between the French, British, German and Native Americans.  A band of Native Americans attacked several homesteads that day.  The Leininger cabin was one of those targeted.  Sebastian and his son were killed while daughters Barbara and Regina were taken as captives. The girls were separated and moved into the Ohio valley where they remained for a number of years.  

There are two young adult books available that tell the story in more detail.  Interestingly, they are written with the point of view from different sisters - I Am Regina (Leininger) and Alone, Yet Not Alone is Barbara Leininger's story. The last book was also made into a movie with limited release in 2013 and an Academy Award controversy over the title song - Alone, Yet Not Alone [Accompaniment/Performance Track] (Daywind Soundtracks Contemporary)

I believe the Leininger abductions became twisted in the retelling and that was why my father thought the Leininger family was Native American.  

Want to know if you have Native American ancestry?  Check out Genealogy Today's recent blog 5 Clues You May Have American Indian Ancestry.

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Genealogy and Your Genes - Experiencing Trauma Can Last Longer Than a Lifetime!

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive compensation.

A week ago I attended The Science of Character Learning and the Brain Conference in Boston.  Lots of theoretical and not a lot of practical info given but one keynote session keeps reverberating in my mind.  Although the research findings are still being examined, according to Kenneth Ginsburg, MD, the line between nature and nurture is blurring.  This has implications for a genealogist and reinforces our research practices!

How many times have you re-discovered that you had several ancestors in the same or similar career that you engage in today?  Of course, if you live on the family farm that wouldn’t be surprising but hubby and I have both found that we have educators back into the 1500’s.  Who would have thought?  My mom was a bookkeeper and may dad worked in a steel mill and farmed.  Husband’s dad was a chemist and his mom, a secretary.  None of our grandparents were educators, or so we thought.  I did uncover that my paternal grandmother taught for a brief time prior to her marriage but that discovery was long after I became an educator.  Every time I complete a career interest inventory it points me into the direction of education so I must have inherited traits from a long list of predecessors.  Hmmm.

When I think of genetics I think of gender, body type and eye, hair and skin color.  I also think of diseases, such as hemophilia, Tay-Sachs and sickle cell.  As a counselor, I’ve never really thought about the fact that past traumatic experiences genetically influence the future. 

Ginsburg mentioned a study regarding Holocaust victims and changes in their genetic makeup being passed to their offspring and their children’s children.  I’m not talking about horrific medical experimentation, either.  I’m talking about changes resulting from living during the time of the Holocaust.  You can read about the study here,

What does this mean for genealogists?  I think it drives home the importance of not just searching for records pertaining to a particular individual but also finding out about events occurring during that individual’s life.  Knowing the family’s socioeconomic status  can shed light on the person in more ways than just a marriage license ever could.  Here’s an example:

My mother, a product of the depression and a daughter of immigrants, had to leave school to support the family.  Later, as a single mother, her limited job choices hindered her earned income.  My husband’s family also experienced the depression geographically close to where my mother resided.  His maternal line, though, was not as severely affected as my family.  His grandparents were all born in the U.S. and none of their children had to quit school.  There was a tough time on his paternal line but the children were younger than my mother and with the help of extended family, bore less of a detrimental long term effect.

Am I cheap (my husband likes to call me thrifty instead) because I inherited a cheap gene due to the depression and my husband did not inherit one?  According to the research findings that’s possible. (Well, maybe there isn't a cheap gene but gene markers may have been altered.)  I suspect changes occurred on the X chromosome as my daughter is cheap, too, and my son is not.  Mom could have passed it to me and I passed it to daughter. My maternal grandmother and great grandmothers were definitely not frugal!  Since I wasn’t there I can only go by hearsay but they didn’t like the monetary constraints of the depression at all and once the family’s finances improved, went back to spending on home improvements, new clothing and trips as they had done before the depression happened.  I can validate that by looking at pictures and items purchased by them over their lifetimes. My mother self reported many times as I was growing up about how stressful it was to live through the depression.  As the article mentioned, stress can influence genes.

Stress results not just from socioeconomic status.  Other areas need to be explored, as well.  Think about church and organizational affiliations (imagine the stress of being shunned!), military involvement (my dad stationed in Alaska was not as stressed as hubby's uncle who was a prisoner of war), education (struggling academically or being forced to quit vs. being a valedictorian), relocation (being alone instead of having family and friends as support), and weather disasters (starting over after the Chicago Fire or Hurricane Katrina) could all alter a family's future.  These examples are limited - there are lots of stress factors that I haven't even mentioned.  

Genealogically best practice:  we need to keep stress events of our ancestors in mind as we research and examine the stress level for the identified event.  A broken car axle would stress me out today.  I could have been killed or severely injured when it broke so a threat to my safety would have occurred, the financial impact would be painful and the lost time from work would make me anxious.  A broken axle on my ancestor's Conestoga wagon, however, could have been far more stressful than what I would have experienced today.  No wagon shop on the prairie, safety threats would also include having to face severe weather, wild animals and unsavory individuals.  My ancestor's stress level would far exceed what I would be feeling.  

I want to caution, Dear Readers, that the implication of experiencing stress does not mean that future family members are doomed for eternity.  This blog was certainly not meant to be an excuse for being stuck in a detrimental family cycle.  There are many ways to cope with stress and traumatic life experiences that you or perhaps, an ancestor, had experienced. Definitely seek help if you're affected!

All this reflection on stress also got me thinking about the changes being made to the Ancestry.com website. If you haven't heard, by December 15^th only the “new” Ancestry will be available.  Perhaps I’m giving Ancestry.com more credit then they deserve but maybe why they are featuring life events now is due to their revamped dna service.  I don’t know that for sure but it will be helpful if they can improve upon the no brainers featured of say, the years that World War I occurred.  If Ancestry could identify events that might be specific to the area where the ancestor lived would be just awesome! Until that time, we need to hunt down the events ourselves so we can better understand our families.
With the holidays approaching I will be letting you know about genealogy gift items that may be of interest to you.  Some of these flexoffers may provide me compensation.  

Visiting The New England Historic and Genealogical Society

Last weekend I had the pleasure of researching at the New England Historic and Genealogical Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

If you’re planning a first visit, here’s some tips I found useful:

•  The library is SMALL but filled with tremendous resources that you might not find anywhere else.  Don’t let the size fool you!  Obviously, the holdings are fantastic if you have New England relatives but there is also a sizable collection of Long Island and New Netherlands.  My most awesome find was from Indiana, though, so don’t discount other areas!
• COST is free if you’re a member (about $90.00 a year) and $20.00 if you aren’t. Click for Info on Joining! I highly recommend being a member for the following reasons :  First, if you’re planning on spending a few days, it’s cost effective.  Second, as a member you get a lot of perks you wouldn’t get with a day entrance fee – those wonderful journal articles that the society puts out, discounted fee on accessing a genealogist, training opportunities and so on.  Third, you’re helping the society keep the materials available to everyone. 
• BE PREPARED (Yay, Boy and Girl Scouts!) Seriously, know what you’re trying to find before you get there so you don’t waste valuable research time.  You can do a search of the card catalog online at http://library.nehgs.org/ .  If you haven’t registered, which you can do even if you don’t join the society, it’s easy and if you save the search items, you can email them to yourself so you have it on your phone and tablet when you arrive.  It saves results with the FLOOR listed so you know exactly where you need to look.  Emailing saves a tree, time and having to juggle more stuff in the stacks!  (HINT:  Many of their holdings are digitized so you can peruse the text online and focus on books in the library that you can’t view from home.)
• To get familiar with the library you can watch their video, which I did, but if you’re short of time you’re fine if you don’t watch it. Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the page for the video. (HINT:  Start on the 7^th floor which is reference because those are the books you can’t easily find elsewhere.)
• Getting there is simple – I took a cab from Logan Airport because I had my heavy bag that I couldn’t check into the hotel since I arrived too early.  It was $23.00 without tip.  Another option is to take the subway, called the T, which is super easy to navigate, inexpensive and available right from the airport to Copley Square.  It’s a short walk. There are also parking garages close by if you drive which I would recommend against.  I learned to drive in Chicago and I drive in New York City but I never ever drive in Boston.  Those narrow streets and congestion intimidate me!
• Lockers are available but they are very small and my large purse didn’t fit.  The website says NO SUITCASES so I packed light, stuffing everything in the bag, thinking I could get away with a purse.  I mentioned this to one of the employees and she laughed and said they wouldn’t have minded the suitcase.  Oh, well.  Since the flights were overbooked and there was no space in the overheads it all worked out anyway.  Across from the lockers is a coat rack so I hung my coat (Wicked Boston cold last weekend, it was 89 degrees when I left Florida) and put my bag on the floor in the corner.  No one messed with it.
• Check the website for hours and days opened, especially with the holidays approaching.  I arrived shortly after 10 AM.  There were few patrons researching and no one in the stacks so I was able to accomplish a lot in a little time.
• When you arrive there is a welcome counter to your left where I was given a map.  They will check your membership before permitting you entry.  Once you’re checked, you will be directed to the elevator.
• I was greeted by a wonderful genealogist on the 7^th floor – she welcomed me, was willing to help me get started and was open to answering any questions I might have. She had a client so another genealogist took over for her.  He was very professional, too, and gave me the wireless access.  I always bring just my Kindle as I find it's a light, space saving alternative to a laptop.  With access to my online tree I can fact check right in the stacks.  The internet was spotty, though.  
• The stacks are narrow and dark.  There is a small counter in the midst so you can put your finds on the counter and snap a picture of the page.  You can also use their copy machine or save to a thumb drive but my smart phone’s camera is good with low light so I could happily click away.  I like that approach because I tend to look at many volumes and it wastes time to carry them to a copier, wait for the copier to warm up, and you know the rest.  Read an interesting article in Family History Daily that recommends the use of other devices.  View here for other ideas but I’m good with my phone. 
• BRING PENCILS – they don’t allow pens.  I did print a concise list of the books I wanted to see and wrote my notes, mostly negative findings, on the margin to transfer to my tree notes later.  Here’s an example:  “No Adams, Cole or Dennis.”  To me, that means those are the surnames I checked out but there were no references in the index to them.  That way, I know later if there was another surname I overlooked and I'll not have to recheck the source in another library for what I've already checked. 
•  BRING A MAGNIFYING GLASS or have an ap on your phone.  I miss my young eyes, I really do!
• BRING POST IT NOTES.  You can quickly flag pages to take pictures of findings without having to flip back and forth to the index and they’re reusable.
• Once I finished with the 7^th floor I moved to the 5^th.  No warm and fuzzy welcome there – two young ladies didn’t even look up from the desk when I entered.  What’s cool about these stacks is there is a light switch from the aisle you can turn on to get more overhead light.  Very useful!
• After you’ve checked out your pre-identified books you may have additional time to look over the stacks.  That’s how I discovered my most intriguing current genealogical mystery.  Hmmm – why would my husband’s grandmother be enrolled in school at age 7 by someone named Frank?  Have NO ONE named Frank in that line.  It could be Frank’s name is an error or the record is for someone else in the area with the same name as hubby’s grandma (not likely, though, since I’ve been over the census numerous times without finding another with her name and she has an unusual first and middle name!).  Immediately texted hubby and asked “Who’s Frank?”  He didn’t know so now I’m on a hunt to discover more.  The book was a transcript of school enrollment for the late 1800’s in Indiana.  Must find the original record to make sure Frank is correct! 
• Food and directions - ask at the front desk on the first floor.  The first person there was a volunteer not from the area but she was so sweet she phoned someone to help me.  I ate at a pizza place inside the YWCA but there's many places to get a quick bite.  I only stopped there because I was freezing and it was half way to my hotel so I could eat and warm up for a bit. 

S    I'll definitely come back after my portfolio has been submitted and spend time trying to uncover more of our New England ancestors.  So much to look at and so little time!

My finding at NEHGS also confirms what professionals emphasize – you have to look high and low to find proof.  I can’t explain why I found my husband’s several times great grandfather from New York’s place of burial in Salt Lake City and his Indiana grandmother’s school enrollment in Boston.  What’s strange is I looked for the burial records in numerous places in New York and never found them.  I never looked for school enrollment records in Indiana so I can’t say that they don’t exist there, I just find it odd to find it in Boston.  My point is check as much as you can about everyone everywhere you go.  I also find it interesting on Who Do You Think You Are celebrities fly from place to place to trace their families. Lucky for them, their family records are ALWAYS where they lived.  Clearly mine are not!

Being Thankful for Genealogy Goodness

Last Sunday I wrote about genealogy bullies and record thieves.  I reflected this week, and with Thanksgiving around the corner and the heinous events in Paris,  I wanted to take a moment to think about all the kindhearted genealogists out there that far outweigh the small number of bullies.  So with here's what I'm thankful for...

• Maggie Landfair who responded to a Rootsweb bulletin board posting I did in 1999 and provided me with so much info she had collected on her husband's side and put me in touch with the author of two Leininger books so I could learn about my dad's side of the family.  
• Bob Leininger who shared his electronic files with me while he was half way around the world.  I've referred to those documents (and his books) time and time again.  Just wish he would update them! Hint, Hint
• Edgar Duer Whitley who somehow figured out that my DURE family should be DUER and shared his lifelong work with me just weeks before he passed away.  I never found out how he got my email address but I was sure thankful he did.
• Librarians across the country who have done lookups, gave advice and went above and beyond to help me solve so many family mysteries.  Come to think of it, I don't think I ever met a librarian that didn't help me.
• Countless distant relatives who have contacted me via online sources willing to share what they've discovered and nicely correcting wrong info I may have put out there.  
• Jenny Mig who I've never met but is the complete opposite of the bullies I mentioned last week.  Here's an email from her:  Hello, I just purchased a family bible from ebay that belonged to John Travis Harbaugh. I know it's weird that I bought a family bible that has nothing to do with my family, it was just heartbreaking for me to see someones family history being auctioned off like that. Most of them are hundreds of dollars, but I was able to get this one cheap. I will be scanning all of the hand written pages as soon as it arrives, then I am donating it to the Perry County Chapter of the Ohio Genealogical Society. Please let me know if you would like copies of the records that are written in the bible.  Jenny did just what she said she would.  How inspirational that she cares so much about history and record preservation to reach out to a perfect stranger.  
• All my ancestors who took a stand for what was just.  It took great courage and I let them serve as a role model for me.
• My ancestors who didn't make the right choice.  That may seem odd to be thankful for but it reinforces our humanism and allows me to learn from their mistakes.
• My emigrating ancestors who circled the globe to seek a better life.  Their acceptance and acclamation of different cultures amazes me.  Tolerance and acceptance, we could all use the reminder.
• and I'm most thankful for my husband, daughter and son who put up with my incessant talking about dead people they never knew and dragging them to countless cemeteries, libraries, museums, courthouses, and old homes around the country for years.  They still talk about how I got them lost in the Dismal Swamp on a road trip back from Washington, DC on December 30, 1999.  No GPS, the AAA triptics were wrong, we were running out of gas, it was getting dark AND we were all concerned that maybe Y2K really would be a problem.  We made it home safely and I continue the family search.

Please take a moment to reflect on the good in the world and make it a goal to tell someone today you appreciate them.

The Genealogical Clock Timer Has Been Set...

I received via email notification last Friday that my Certified Genealogist preliminary application was received. Hooray! I immediately accepted the invite to join the Google+ candidate group, downloaded and printed the FAQ and 1st month recommendations attached to the email, texted family and friends and after the excitement passed, realized I have a lot to accomplish in a little time!  Actually, 11 months and 2 weeks until the portfolio is due.  Since I travel for business once a month I lose a lot of time so I have to develop a workable plan to meet the deadline.
I reviewed the suggested timeline before submitting the application and thought it best if I worked on one portfolio requirement in depth during each of my upcoming school breaks - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Spring and then using my earned vacation time since I work 12 months to complete anything left to do.  That plan was great in theory but as the holidays approach I realized it wasn't going to work.  I'm the go to house for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's meaning I'm having family stay with me.
My revised plan is to write on one day on the weekend, do nothing on Monday, reread whatever I wrote on Tuesday, edit Wednesday and Thursday, do nothing on Friday and begin the process all over again the next weekend working on one portfolio requirement at a time.  That's how I accomplished the portfolio when I submitted it for National Board Certified Teacher so I think that's the approach I'll take again.
Last weekend I decided to get organized. I always tell my students to have all the supplies they need readily available to minimize wasted study time so I attempted to practice what I preach. Unfortunately, it didn't work out so well.  Last month hubby and I decided to move some furniture around between the kids' old bedrooms.  When we became empty nesters our grand plan was to have one room be a home office and the other, a craft/exercise/guest room.  We selected the smaller, darker room for the office but it doesn't work with both of us in there and the lighting is not good on our old eyes so now we've decided to flip flop rooms.  Then we realized that the smaller room really won't work for crafts or exercise and it should just be a guest room.  We get a lot of family visitors (sometimes I think I'm running a bed and breakfast for free!) and if it's being used by a guest, we wouldn't be able to work on crafts or exercise so the larger room will have to have work space for craft projects, besides a research area and enough room to work out.
In hindsight, this is a terrible time to make this change with the genealogical clock running.  I thought it wouldn't be that much of a problem to purchase furniture that would work for us but I'm not liking most of what I see.  Seriously considering getting 2 glass computer desks with a corner connector for the printer/scanner/copier and a table.  I'm over laminate top desks that look great initially but fall apart quickly.  I don't like the prices of solid wood desks and most aren't designed for flexibility.  Hubby loves his desktop system and I'm a tablet and laptop girl.  So for now, I'm between the old desk set up and spreading out on the dining room table which isn't going to work with the holidays fast approaching.
Last weekend I re-read and printed all the Skillbuilders on the Board for Certification of Genealogists site. I strongly recommend taking a look at the Skillbuilders if you haven't ever done so.  They're brief but powerful reminders of effective practice.  You can check them out here.  I put the copies in a binder in the order I need to refer to them as I work through the portfolio. I tabbed the binder by the various portfolio requirements and included a copy of the submission requirements and rubric so I can remain focused. I like everything in one place so I don't waste time looking up processes when I'm in the writing mindset.
I had previously printed and assembled all of my research notes and records for the families I'm going to be writing about so it was easy to include this in the binder.  I've started the Kinship Determination Project, identified what I'm using for the Applicant Supplied Document, and have accumulated a lot of info on the Research Report Prepared For Another Person (but haven't started writing it yet).
I'm still torn about the Case Study.  What I really wanted to do would make me change the Applicant Supplied Document because you are limited in portfolio submissions to one per family.  I could change the Applicant Supplied Document but the backup would make me change the Kinship Determination Project and I've already begun writing that and am happy with the line I selected. Decisions, decisions!
The introductory email mentioned I'd be receiving the final application in 2 weeks.  I have a business trip scheduled for this weekend but I happen to be going to a destination that I can research during off times I'm happy I can still keep up with the planned schedule.
I previously wrote the resume and updated it over the past week.  Will have to do that again several times, maybe quarterly, until I'm ready to submit.  While I'm off for Thanksgiving I hope to have completed a very rough draft of the Kinship Determination Project (KDP). I re-read what I wrote a few months ago and hated it!  I started a rewrite on Saturday, put it away til yesterday and when I reread it I was pleased as it was in the direction I wanted to go.  For me the KDP is the most formidable portfolio entry so I'm tackling it first.  I'll be so glad when that's done.
Next I plan on working on the Research Report as I may have to travel within the state to obtain additional records.  I can do that during Christmas break around the family visits.  I'd like to have that done by the end of February.
In the back of my mind I'll keep thinking about who I should chose for the Case Study and I'll spend March and April working on that project.  Since I might need to request additional records I may have to flip to working on the Applicant and Board Supplied Documents.  Will see.
Hopefully, by late summer I'll have everything near completion and then I can spend 2 months editing towards the final product.  I'll keep you posted on my progress and if I miss a blog posting or two, send good thoughts my way 'cause you'll know I'm hard at work on the portfolio ;-)

Beware of Genealogy Bullies and Record Thieves!

Bullying is often an overused term to describe boorish behavior.  Disrespectful behavior alone, however, does not accurately describing a bully.  A bully is “a blustering browbeating person; especially : one habitually cruel to others who are weaker.”1  Habitually being the key word here, a bully must repeatedly and regularly act in a threatening way.  

When a bully is mentioned most visualize a schoolyard thug or an overbearing boss.  But bullying isn’t solely dependent upon face-to-face contact; online bullying is rampant and the field of genealogy is affected.

On several occasions someone has tried to bully me online.  I don't like to report people as I am a proponent of free speech, however, when an individual repeatedly threatens than I believe the individual’s right to free speech needs to be reined in by the online community.

I first encountered a genealogy bully in 2009.  I received an email regarding my public tree on Ancestry.com from a woman who claimed my documented 4th great grandfather was incorrect and that I needed to remove his name immediately or she would “take action” against my “fraudulent” posting.  I looked at the sources and they appeared to be sound – census, marriage, burial.  I wrote back listing the citations.  The woman responded without taking into consideration the information I had provided.  She then stated, “I intend to report you to Ancestry because of your negligence.”  Negligence?  “You are NOT related to me.” she added.  With an attitude like hers, who would want to be related to her?  I certainly didn't!

At the time, genealogy was my hobby and I didn’t have the confidence in my work that I do today.  She had a title included on her emails that she was a historian with a genealogical society so I thought she had some degree of credibility and expertise that I was lacking.  I went back and looked again at my documentation.  The great grandfather’s name was fairly common so maybe there was more than one in the area at the same time and I had confused them.  I didn’t find any others, though. 

I decided to save the information by disconnecting the parents from the child. That way, the offending parent's info was still available as I didn't want to make my entire tree private nor did I want to lose the documentation by removing the rest of the line. I could always find the disconnected people by using the "Find a person in this tree" search on the website.

Several years later I found further information related to the family.  I reconnected the parents back on my tree.  Sure enough, I received another email from the woman.  Again she demanded that I take down the information or she would contact Ancestry.  I responded that I was not going to take down the information as I believed it to be accurate and that I was going to post her emails in the comment section of my ancestor so that others could see her threats.  I reminded her that she had contacted me previously without objectively looking at my sources.  She didn’t respond and I doubt she ever contacted Ancestry as that seemed to be the end of it. 

My next encounter with an online bully also happened via email through Ancestry.com.  I have updated all of the Harbaugh family since the 1947 text, Harbaugh History, was written by Cooprider and Cooprider.  I was contacted by a male who said he had been in an antique shop in California and discovered a photo of a Harbaugh I had in my tree.  He had purchased the photo knowing I would want to have it.  I replied that I would be happy to attach the photo to my tree and thanked him for contacting me.  He instantly replied that I would have to pay him for his trouble.  Whoa!  I never asked him to go to any trouble nor did I post a request for a photo. I responded that he might want to contact a closer relative as the photo was of a 3rd cousin several times removed.  Again, he responded quickly trying to make me feel badly.  It didn't work, I reported him to Ancestry. 

Unfortunately, he’s not the only antique store bully out there as I’ve been contacted several more times by individuals who demand a ransom for what they found. 
I also tend to get contacted by people trying to make a quick buck who don't understand genealogy.  Although this isn't an example of bullying or stealing I think it's funny how people try to get money from genealogists.  Here was the email exchange:

"Lori, 
Can you please call me xxx-xxx-xxxxx. I think I have your Bible here... 
S"

I responded:

I'm not missing a Bible, S. Who's Bible is it? Lori

The response:
Hello Lori, 

This Bible contains names such as Jacob, Edwin, Delphene. 

S.

My response:
Hi! I have one Ortha Delphine Harbaugh in my tree. She is a 3rd cousin 3 times removed from my husband. You need to try to find someone closer to her to contact you. Lori

The Bible owner didn't even provide a last name.  She found people in my tree with the names Jacob, Edwin and Delphene and writes to me saying she found my bible.  Must think I was born yesterday!
Photos and bibles in antique stores always sadden me.  They belong in a family’s home and not a musty store.  Yet, that does not make it acceptable to demand payment for a nonrequested action nor bully the person who refuses to pay for the item.  To me, it's a take on kidnap and ransom.

My 7^th great grandfather’s indentured servant record became available on Ebay awhile ago and I was contacted by the overseas seller to purchase it.  I downloaded the image shown on Ebay, attached it to my tree with the email as the source, and replied, “No, thanks.” He probably destroyed the original as there's no record the document was purchased or attempts to resell. Since the record contained other individuals who had become indentured at the same time as my great grandfather it appeared to be a court log.  I have no clue how the seller obtained it but I assume it was stolen from the government archives.  Would I have loved to have had the original?  Sure, but I’m not going to reward someone monetarily who has stolen public records.  Do I know for sure he stole the document?  No, but why he'd try to sell an original public record that should be in an archive makes me suspect.

I can't claim my interactions with the seller was bullying as he didn't threaten me.  What I can say is that there are more and more people who are trying to prey on those who are interested in preserving the past.  Genealogists Beware!

1Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, Web. 07 Nov. 2015.