There is such an emphasis on official family - bloodlines - in genealogy that I would like to talk to you all about documenting other, important, non-official, friendship, as a part of a family history project.
Friendship is also an important part of our lives and special friends, those who have known us for years, should be part of our oral history, written history, and inclusion. When someone has lived with or partnered with another person and has considered this to be a marriage, a marriage which was not or cannot be legal, we cannot pretend this relationship did not or does not exist.
There is so much emphasis on family in genealogy and family during these holidays. Let us not forget those who never married or never had children!
27 December 2011
25 December 2011
18 December 2011
LIFE OF THE PARTY by CHRISTOPHER OGDEN
Excerpt: page 31
"The numbers were phenomenal, but huge numbers of domestics worked in houses throughout Britain. The 1931 census showed that 1.3 million women and 80,000 men were working as household servants, an increase of 100,000 over 1911. Wages rose after the war but were still remarkably low, ranging from twenty five to fifty pounds a year for parlor maids and cooks."
"The numbers were phenomenal, but huge numbers of domestics worked in houses throughout Britain. The 1931 census showed that 1.3 million women and 80,000 men were working as household servants, an increase of 100,000 over 1911. Wages rose after the war but were still remarkably low, ranging from twenty five to fifty pounds a year for parlor maids and cooks."
15 December 2011
THE BATTLE FOR CHRISTMAS : STEPHEN NISSENBAUM : BOOK REVIEW
Recommendation!
Stephen Nissenbaum takes wassailing, an English custom, to the early American colonies where Christmas was a day for reversing roles, and the gift giving was more like a Halloween trick or treat. Perhaps the idea was to let off resentment?
Christmas as we know it to be was invented by New Yorkers who leaned on a myth that the holiday was from the Dutch heritage of early residents of Dutch New York. In early new England the day was not celebrated because the festivities were not considered to be Christian behavior.
Perhaps no better a day of the year existed for slaves. A good portion of this book by Stephen Nissenbaum, a Professor of History at the University of Massachusettes, is devoted to the relations between slaves and their masters.
Genealogists will learn more about the Freedman Bureau too!
Maybe you'll want to read this one after the holidays?
Book is C 1996 by the author Stephen Nissenbaum and published by Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf.
Stephen Nissenbaum takes wassailing, an English custom, to the early American colonies where Christmas was a day for reversing roles, and the gift giving was more like a Halloween trick or treat. Perhaps the idea was to let off resentment?
Christmas as we know it to be was invented by New Yorkers who leaned on a myth that the holiday was from the Dutch heritage of early residents of Dutch New York. In early new England the day was not celebrated because the festivities were not considered to be Christian behavior.
Perhaps no better a day of the year existed for slaves. A good portion of this book by Stephen Nissenbaum, a Professor of History at the University of Massachusettes, is devoted to the relations between slaves and their masters.
Genealogists will learn more about the Freedman Bureau too!
Maybe you'll want to read this one after the holidays?
Book is C 1996 by the author Stephen Nissenbaum and published by Borzoi/Alfred A. Knopf.
14 December 2011
MY REINCARNATION : 2011 NEW REINCARNATION DOCUMENTARY : AN ITALIAN- TIBETAN JOURNEY
This film looks interesting! Tibetan master Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is this young Italian man's father, and you know those Tibetans: They can locate a reincarnated master anywhere in the world based on their astrology!
12 December 2011
NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SWEDEN : INFORMATION IN ENGLISH
HERE IS A LINK TO THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF SWEDEN with the basic information in English. I haven't clicked on all the links in Swedish but a translation feature to English did come up on the military records, so maybe this is in process.
Click on the title to get to the link.
Click on the title to get to the link.
11 December 2011
CIVIL WAR LINCOLN VISITING CAMP
Perhaps you can help me identify the two men in this photograph with President Abraham Lincoln!
08 December 2011
1639 BODIES BURRIED IN LOS ANGELES; THE UNCLAIMED, THE UNIDENTIFIED, THE ESTRANGED, THE POOR
Imagine if you outlived all your friends and no one was there to bury you, or you become homeless and die on the street without identification. Would anyone attend your funeral? The answe in Los Angeles is yes. Yesterday several hundred bodied which had been creamated first were buried and these are people who were kept at the cornoners for 2-3 years before put into the common grave.
"It's hard, especially when you have to cremate babies," he said. "Off the top of
my head, there are about 300 babies this year from hospitals around the county,
with families who can't afford to bury them."
Linking to the article...
"Interfaith burial rites and prayers were included, with readings from the
Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish and Christian traditions. The ceremony concluded with
the Serenity Prayer, Psalm 23 and a blessing of hands over the burial site."
"It's hard, especially when you have to cremate babies," he said. "Off the top of
my head, there are about 300 babies this year from hospitals around the county,
with families who can't afford to bury them."
Linking to the article...
"Interfaith burial rites and prayers were included, with readings from the
Islamic, Buddhist, Jewish and Christian traditions. The ceremony concluded with
the Serenity Prayer, Psalm 23 and a blessing of hands over the burial site."
05 December 2011
BRITISH CURRANCY CALCULATION FROM NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF GREAT BRITAIN
If you're reading British documents that mentions pounds in, say, 1790, you might want to find out what the amount would be in today's market. Here's the link to a currency calculator that can do the job for you quickly. This should help you imagine what money mentioned in wills and other documents means today, though be aware that back then, as now, real estate prices varied by the prestige of the neighborhood. Forensic Genealogy fans should especially find this valuable.
04 December 2011
03 December 2011
HUGUETTE CLARK'S TWO WILLS START LEGAL SKIRMISHES OVER $400 MILLION
Imagine being worth $400 Million, checking yourself into a hospital at 84 and living another 20 years, not even thinking about a will until the age of 98, and changing it one month before you die! This is the story of Huguette Clark, an heiress to a Copper Mining Fortune out of Colorado, who lived in New York City, married once - no children, divorced in 1930 and never married again. She hadn't stepped foot in her Santa Barbara estate for 50 years and now it may become a museum.
So very many articles about this controversial character reminding me how important it is to look up wills, probate actions, and other legal papers when searching for those who lived before us, not just for genealogical data, but to better understand their lives.
So very many articles about this controversial character reminding me how important it is to look up wills, probate actions, and other legal papers when searching for those who lived before us, not just for genealogical data, but to better understand their lives.
01 December 2011
Our genetic and spiritual ancestors help us with our research quests and, while we follow a linear research path, amazing dreams and synronicities abound.
We explore multicultural ancestry worship and the use of genealogy for past-life verification, as well as practical ways and means to achieve your research goals.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)