Tombstone Tuesday: Stanley Wangsgaard

Stanley Wangsgaard is a distant relative of mine, and I've only seen his headstone via FindAGrave.com, but I have to say, the backside is a genealogist's DREAM!

(click to enlarge)

image credit:  Nathan Bingham

grave of 
Stanley Wangsgaard (1920 - 2006)
Huntsville Cemetery
Huntsville, Weber County, Utah

Wordless Wednesday: Muriel Peterson Nordseth

Tombstone Tuesday: Muriel Nordseth

grave of
Muriel Theolyn (Peterson) Nordseth (1930 - 1973)
Mount Hope Cemetery
Watertown, Codington County, South Dakota

Happy Birthday, Grandma Muriel.

Madness Monday: The Crandall Bible

What's that, you say?  It's a Bible, sitting on the table at my grandma's family reunion a couple of weeks ago.  (I say it's my grandma's family reunion because Grandma is my mother's stepmother, and I've never known her extended family all that well.  But she's still my grandma.)  The date on the title page indicates that it was published in 1814, but it includes handwritten birth dates, marriage dates, and death dates that go back to the 1780's.  It's beautiful.  I wish I could claim the Crandalls within as my direct ancestors!

And yes, that's a small child hovering over it--probably a very nice, very sweet little girl.  She was one of a half dozen children running wildly around the American Legion hall that day... right past the family Bible.  And here's what nearly drove me to a panic attack:  The Bible was left there for a good part of the afternoon, so that family members could peruse it, with their LEMONADE and COFFEE on the table right next to it!!!

Oh, I had to share this with you, geneabloggers, because you're the only ones who understand why I was developing a nervous tick while sitting at the next table.  Nobody else around me seemed to get it.

Eventually the Bible was packed up and Grandma's sister took it home again, unscathed, but that was just a matter of luck.  I took as many pictures as possible to add to Ancestry.com and share with other branches of Grandma's family who might be interested in seeing it, and I'll be saying little prayers that nobody tips a glass of lemonade!

Gene-ADHD

I think I have some sort of genealogy-related attention deficit issue, really.  My poor little blog is wasting away, and while I've been busy, busy, busy with my family tree, I don't have any real focus lately.  Part of the problem is actually a happy sort of distraction--I've found several distant cousins via Ancestry.com, and updating and exchanging info with them has had me climbing up half a dozen different branches of the tree.  The other part of the problem is not so interesting--I've been trying to organize my home office, and the more I dig things out and try to figure out where they should go, the less organized I seem to be.  (But it has to get worse before it gets better, right?  Right.  That's what I keep telling myself, anyway.)

More updates coming soon, really!

Tombstone Tuesday: Marie & Ted Peterson

On Memorial Day, my parents, daughter, and I visited the graves of many of our relatives around Irene, South Dakota.  Our first stop was to the grave of my great-grandparents, Marie and Ted Peterson.

Great-Grandma Peterson was the only one of my biological great-grandparents that I knew.  She passed away when I was 13.  I miss her still.

Crazy

Here in South Dakota, it's been cold.  Just a few hours away, it's been snowing.  In May!!!  This is the kind of stuff that makes us wonder "Why oh why did my ancestors choose to live here?"

Yesterday I came across the answer in the Bismarck , at least for my great-grandma, Josie Scriver:

The Bismarck (ND) Tribune, Saturday, 16 April 1949, pg. 1

Insanity.  There's no other reason to explain it.

(OK, I guess she really liked her sister Selma in Mott, North Dakota.)

German Genealogy

Today my mom and I ventured to Brookings, about an hour north of where I live, for an all-day seminar on German genealogy.  I didn't know anything about the organization hosting (the Brookings Area Genealogical Society) and I don't have any German ancestors, but I figured there's always something useful to learn.  My husband does have one great-great-grandmother of 100% German parentage, and I'd love to learn more about her roots.

The speaker was Roger P. Minert, Associate Professor of Family History at Brigham Young University, and he was fantastic. Really, if your local genealogical or historical society is looking for a speaker on German genealogy or German history, this is your guy.  I was so impressed by the depth of his knowledge and his use of real-life examples to teach about German records.  I have a Master's degree in German, so I probably know more about German history than the average person, but Dr. Minert put history in perspective in a way that I loved.  I left very intrigued by German genealogy and my husband's and daughter's Wagner ancestors.

I want to send out my thanks to the Brookings Area Genealogical Society for putting together such a great program, too!  I'll definitely be attending their future workshops.

Census Day

Was anyone else sort of disappointed in the 2010 census?  I couldn't believe that there were so few questions!  If they're going to go to the effort of getting every single household in the US to fill this out, why not get more information?  This is going to be practically useless to my great-great-great-granddaughter someday.

Wordless Wednesday: Scriver Siblings

my grandfather, Howard "Shorty" Scriver (far left),

with (left - right) brothers Maynard and Harold and sister Ethel

July 4, 1980 - South Shore, SD
Man, I wish I'd gotten some of those skinny Scriver genes!

Are Sperm Donors Really Anonymous Anymore?

Today MSN featured a Slate article titled Are Sperm Donors Really Anonymous Anymore?  I found it really interesting the way DNA testing and common genealogical research techniques combined to track down an anonymous sperm donor.  I can't imagine missing half of my family tree, wondering where my roots were and who half of my biological relatives are, but I have a relative who came into the world this way.  Would you try to track down your sperm donor father, too?

TV for Genealogists: Coming soon...!

I am SO looking forward to this one!

TV For Genealogists: Find My Family

Who's been watching "Find My Family?"  Probably most of us genea-bloggers have, I suppose.  Being a huge fan of "The Locator," I had mixed emotions about this new show... I loved the idea of it, but I hated that it seemed to be ripping off another program.

Of course, I've watched.  How could I resist?  I love to see just how the show goes about finding people.  I feel for the people who just want to know their roots and connect to someone who is their own flesh and blood.  I love that the show acknowledges that adoption isn't just a happy ending--and adoption is wonderful, don't get me wrong--but also a big part of the adoptee's self-identity.  I love that it acknowledges the sacrifice a woman makes when she knows that she can't give her child what he or she deserves and gives up a child for adoption, because that sacrifice is huge.  It should be celebrated, and that means acknowledging the pain involved.

But as much as I feel for these people, I guess I don't feel for them as much as the hosts of the program do.  OMG.  Tim Green is always crying and simpering and seems more moved by the whole thing than the actual people involved.  After a while, it just seems insincere.  Maybe he's affected like this because he himself is an adoptee (or so it appears on the ABC website), but Tim, dial it down!

I don't know if I'll keep watching (is it still on the schedule?)... I'm a couch potato, so I probably will.  However, to those of you who have just discovered this show and love it, switch over to WE and check out "The Locator."