Remembrance

To live in hearts we leave behind is not to die.
-- Thomas Campbell

Thank you to those of you who shared ideas for actions I can take at the time of entering a death into my family tree. Today I'm sharing those ideas, as well as the ideas they inspired.

It's all about remembrance of the family member who has passed. Take a few minutes to think and remember. What would future generations like to know about this person? What do I feel about the loss of this person? What are the actions that are appropriate?

• Write a paragraph or a list of attributes about the person. Fully identify the person, the date of the writing and the author. Place it in my files, not online.
• If memories are painful, consider writing them and then destroying them, perhaps through fire.
• If there is a possibility to speak at the funeral or memorial service, make notes about what I want to share. I've been unprepared to share at a couple of services -- I can do better.
• Update FindAGrave and/or BillionGraves. Create the memorial page. If the page exists, leave a message or add a photo.
• Find the online obituary and capture it for my files. Leave a condolence message.
• Do I need to send a card? Craft it (or buy it) and send it.
• Create a scrapbook page to memorialize the person.
• Create a memory book or shadow box. Consider gifting it to the family.

I hope these ideas will be useful to you, as they have been to me.

In closing, here is some scrapbooking inspiration in the form of a double-page paper layout. I created this several years ago in memory of my feisty maternal grandmother who I miss every day.

Celebrating Mothers

It's Mother's Day in the United States. Today, sharing an old scrapbook layout, I'm remembering my Mother and all the other women who shaped my family. I miss you, Mom!

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #1 Margaret Elizabeth McFarlane

Thanks to a lovely challenge from the blog No Story Too Small, I'm joining a lot of others committed to blogging about one ancestor a week during 2014. I want to also use this challenge to do more scrapbooking, so I plan to include a new heritage layout each week.

This week I present my great-aunt Peggy, whose middle name I share. My father thought of his Aunt Margaret Elizabeth McFarlane as a mother figure.

Her comfortable childhood was disrupted by her father's brain injury when she was about four years old. Leaving school early to help support the struggling family, one of her proudest moments was the day she graduated from Moody Bible Institute. She worked in a needle factory and as a telephone operator, as well as doing secretarial work for many years.

After her older sister died, she proposed to her brother-in-law that they marry, so she could help raise her niece and four nephews. He was not interested, instead marrying another woman. He died four years later, leaving the five orphans to be raised by relatives and in boarding school. Aunt Peggy stepped in to help guide and raise the children, never marrying. Her niece and nephews saw her as the nearest thing to a mother in their turbulent young lives.

Aunt Peggy never learned to drive and never owned a car, depending instead on Chicago's mass transit. Born on August 2, 1900, in Chicago, she died in a Florida retirement center on July 16, 1992.

Quick drop page, Bookshelves digital kit from ClubScrap

Have Any Brick Walls?

If you're like me, you've got plenty of genealogical brick walls. I've got them scattered from coast to coast and across the pond. Figuring out how to break through those brick walls is a challenge. That's one reason I advocate for taking advantage of learning opportunities.

The next big learning opportunity is for those of us with brick walls in the mid-Atlantic states. My own mid-Atlantic research list includes Maryland and Virginia, Delaware and the Carolinas. How about you? Can you "relate?"

I'm ready for more education. I'd like to learn more about the ancestors of these two Allen sisters from my favorite North Carolina brick wall.

Mother is a Verb kit by Krystal Hartley for Digital Scrapper, May, 2013

The next National Genealogical Society conference will be in Richmond, Virginia, from May 7-10, 2014. Meeting in Richmond means that the seminars will heavily focus on states and ethnic communities in that area of the United States. So this conference is close and pertinent for me. That doesn't always happen.

How about you? Can you spend a day or more in Richmond to learn from top-notch speakers? How does NGS compare to the cost of CKC or another scrapbooking or crafting opportunity? One day of 5 seminars costs $105-$115. All four days cost $195-$265. That compares to a cost of $25-$30 for each class at CKC.

Of course, you don't get to take home any class projects, but the knowledge and ideas will last a lifetime. There is even one session where we can merge interests: Creating Family History Books Using Digital Scrapbooking.

My top picks this spring include:

• Organizing Your Research without Losing Your Mind
• When the Trail Turns Cold: New Strategies for Old Problems
• In a Rut? 7 Ways to Jump-Start Your Research 
• Where Would You Go If You Had Five Days in Washington, DC? 
• How to Overcome Brick Wall Problems in Pennsylvania German Research 
• Are Those My Early Virginia Ancestors? Spanning Gaps and Developing Theories to Build a Possible Family Structure 
• Three Colonies, One Peninsula: Border Disputes on Colonial Delmarva 
• How German History Makes a Difference in Your Family History Research 
• From the Old Dominion to the Buckeye State 
• The Migration Triangle: Virginia, the Carolinas, and Tennessee 
• Kentucky Land Patents: Mind Bogglers or Treasures? 
• Inheritance Laws and Estate Settlements in the Carolinas 
• Problem Solving in the Problem-Riddled Carolina Backcountry 
• Genetic Genealogy Case Studies: Maximize Use of DNA Test Results 
• From French Towns & Farms to Virginia Plantations: The Huguenots Diversified the Old Dominion's Heritage 
• Colonial Migrations In and Out of the Shenandoah Valley

NGS conference registration opened today. Cheryl and I have our hotel room reserved and our registrations completed. Will you join us in Richmond this May?

What Just Happened?

It appears that the blogger website just choked on my posts. Was that a payback because I posted about computer glitches? It ruined my one post a day effort, too.

So just for fun and to get back on track (I hope), how about a heritage layout?

This is my grandmother on a lovely digital page from Scrap Girls. This page is built with components from Vintage Album templates and Vintage Paper by Syndee Nuckles. Flowers from the Reverie kit by Irene V. Alexeeva (now retired).

 

Sad Task

One of the saddest things that I do as a genealogist is to enter into the database the death information for a family member with whom I have a personal relationship. This week I had to do such a task. Because just after death is a highly risky time for identity theft, I'm not going to share any other information about this huge loss in my extended family.

As a tribute to this man, here's one of our World War II veterans who served in the Pacific Theater.

Liberty digital kit by Michelle Coleman for Digital Scrapper (formerly Scrapper's Guide)

Online Privacy and Safety -- Emotional Safety

Emotional safety is the most difficult of the online privacy concerns. It includes freedom from embarrassment and consideration of others' feelings.

Some of us may remember the story of the man who used a gun to shoot squirrels in his attic. We loved the story of how he shot holes in the ceiling, but I would guess he was very embarrassed that his wife shared it online in a public forum.

I have a photo of my grandfather where he was a bit less dressed than he would have liked in a hospital gown. I would never dream of sharing the photo on a scrapbook page that I posted online.

Some people are just very private, including my significant other. I'm not perfect at honoring his wishes, but I do try. My friend Cheryl hides some of the faces on her scrapbook pages to honor the wishes of her family members.

Scrapbook pages and social media are simple to manage compared to family trees. Online trees are a minefield of privacy concerns. I don't have all the answers by any means, but I do try to honor the wishes of any family member who asks.

• There is the cousin who swears "that marriage never happened!"
• The great-uncle who wants his first marriage hidden so as to save his second wife's feelings.
• The cousin whose father wasn't her father but thought he was.
• The cousin who wants to be removed from the tree.
• Those adopted in and those adopted out.

Fortunately I don't post my entire tree online and it does not automatically synchronize to any online service. That makes it simpler to manage these requests. I  heavily use the notes area about such people and their relationships. I set family relationships to show adopted versus biological relationships. Some last names are shortened to just the first letter. I might even replace the name with the word Private or Living and place the name into the notes area. Each secret is documented in the to do list so it can be revisited after people pass on.

Adoption can be tricky. The most important consideration is the feelings of the adoptee, the birth parents and the adoptive parents.

Assuming all parties are in agreement, those who are adopted into a family can be shown as any other family member. Generally the birth parents would have no say in this scenario.

Those who are adopted within the family should be able to be related to multiple parents. That will depend on the desires of the family and on the capability of your software. Here is an example of how I can document a woman who was adopted by her stepfather. I can choose to hide either relationship, if desired. First the birth father is shown, then the adoptive father.

Lastly, how to show those adopted out of the family is, I believe, the hardest scenario. The feelings of the adoptee and the adoptive parents must take precedence over those of the birth family. I've dealt with this case by starting a separate tree for such a person. It is not shared online at this time.

I hope this series has given you some ideas about protecting your family and yourself in your online life.

Online Privacy and Safety -- Financial Safety

Whenever you share online, whether it's a scrapbook page, a family tree, or through social media, privacy needs to be on your mind. I was recently asked about sharing part of a family tree that has some privacy issues and it is a very complicated subject.

Over the next three days I will share my thoughts about online privacy in three areas: financial safety, physical safety and emotional safety.

Financial Safety

You probably know the information to help protect yourself from identity theft. But what about your children, siblings, cousins and parents. Can you be revealing information that could lead to their financial lives being compromised?

Thanks to the genealogy explosion, mother's maiden name is no longer a good security question. When you have the option to pick another security question at your bank, do that. Advise your children and siblings of that, also. I never reveal my city of birth or my real birthdate. I lie like a rug about my birthdate except when it is legally needed.

Review your security settings frequently on Facebook to be sure your privacy wishes are being honored. If you use other social media where that information might be available, monitor that, too. And be mindful of what you post about your family members.

If you post a family tree online, make sure that birthdates for living family members are not showing. A former in-law posted family birthdates in the format 4-5-67. Ancestry did not understand that format and so revealed information that should have been private. Have a friend or relative check your online tree.

Look over your scrapbook pages before posting them and hide critical information. Here's a sample where I hid a relative's maiden name. Both mother and baby were still living at the time I posted this online.

Paisley Paper Kit from ClubScrap

It's not possible to prevent all identity theft. Just don't make it too easy. Hopefully, the bad guys will move on to someone who lets it all hang out.

Online Privacy and Safety -- Physical Safety

The information you post online through social media, scrapbook pages and family trees may jeopardize yourself, your family, your friends or your property.

A friend once "checked me in" to a location without asking. As it turned out, it was not a big deal, but I did ask that she not do it again. You might wonder why. Who really cares if I'm at the LSS for the evening?

If I shared my travel plans, it would reveal to would-be thieves when my home might be vulnerable. Checking in from a ballgame or a trip out of town would indicate my potential return.

But property theft is not the only concern. What if I had a stalker or was trying to escape domestic violence? Revealing my plans or current location could be dangerous to myself and those around me.

My cousin's husband works with sex offenders. What if one of his clients found his name in my online family tree and learned the names of his wife and children? Could their safety be compromised? In this case, I include him and his children with just the first letter of the last name, while my cousin is, of course, identified by maiden name only.

Another example is a child in foster care who lived briefly with my daughter and granddaughters. For the safety of all concerned, her face was masked in all scrapbook pages where she was featured.

Generations Digital Kit from ClubScrap

It's not possible to know all the safety concerns of everyone in our lives. When in doubt about sharing information about others, please ask.

Five for Friday -- A Day Late

The past few days have been a great learning opportunity and I want to revisit my five steps for scrapbooking heritage photos by sharing some of the things I've recently learned. First the five steps:

1. scan it
   
2. scrap it
   
3. research it
   
4. talk about it
   
5. share it
   

Here are five tools or goodies, most from the storytelling sessions featured at rootstech 2013.

1. Scan. Learn about digital preservation from a new, FREE, publication from the Library of Congress. The title is “Perspectives on Personal Digital Archiving”and you can read about it and download the PDF at the LOC website. This is a collection of LOC blog posts that talk about organizing and preserving our digital and physical archives. There is at least one post that discusses the future of our online lives after we die. This is an important topic we don't often think about.
   
2. Scrap. Learn about creating a digital presentation -- a digital scrapbook -- that can be played at family reunions, emailed, or even mailed on a DVD. Visit rootstech.org, scroll down to Saturday and click on the session: Digital Storytelling: More than Bullet Points - Denise Olson. She starts slow, but the payoff is in perhaps the last 20 minutes.
   
3. Research. I'm a map person and I learned about some wonderful online map sites. If you are a map person, be sure to watch Finding the Obscure and Elusive: Geographic Information on the Web - James Tanner. Visit rootstech.org, and scroll down to Thursday to find this session.
   
4. Talk. TOP PICK! Listen to a wonderful storyteller who includes tips on finding our our own stories and those of our families. She also shares tips for crafting those stories. She will make you laugh, she will bring a tear to your eye, she will touch you. Visit rootstech.org, scroll down to Thursday and click on the session: Tell it Again (Story@Home) - Kim Weitkamp.
   
5. Share. Check out a nice example of an audio/video presentation from social media guru Jyl Pattee during the Friday Keynote address. Jyl audiotaped phone calls with her grandmother and merged the audio with photos to make a video to share with her family on YouTube and Facebook. She focuses on creating and capturing special moments, and she touches on using social media such as Instagram and blogging. Jyl also shares a heritage recipe for banana cookies. I'm looking forward to trying her recipe. Visit rootstech.org, and scroll down to Friday to find the keynote session.

Although I loved the storytelling ideas, the map information presented by James Tanner was the most useful for my research. Have you ever clicked on the GPS coordinates at the top right of a Wikipedia page? I had never even realized it was clickable. This image is from his example. Try bringing up your favorite location in Wikipedia and then clicking on the coordinates to see what happens.

I hope some of these tips will resonate for you.

Outside the Color Box

It's so easy for me to use easy color choices for heritage layouts. The colors that most often come to mind are dark or soft colors like navy, rose and hunter green. I fall into the heritage color rut more than I'd like.

It is possible to think outside the heritage color box. I do find it easier when combining heritage photos with color photos, as the latter can direct the color. Today I have a little eye candy to remind myself (and you) that there are other color choices we can make.

All layouts are paper (not digital) kits from ClubScrap.

This black and white combo was a lot of fun.

A bit of yellow.

Orange and turquoise.

Rainbow.

Neon.

Happy scrapping.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 21, Ancestor Tales of Hardship

The experiences of one generation affect the lives of the next. This understanding of family systems was one of the factors that pulled me into genealogy. I wanted to understand the forces that formed my parents. Both had suffered hardships in their lives, as had their parents. My maternal grandmother's story was the one that most touched me and affects me to this day.

Imagine being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and an abusive marriage.

Leona Violet Crispen was born in 1909, the youngest, by far, of three daughters. She was the son her father never had. Instead of sewing, she learned to use his blacksmith forge, work on cars, develop film and print photographs.

Her parents divorced in 1921. I can't begin to image the impact on the young Leona. She must have lost friends and certainly her home life was disrupted. Her father moved to the house across the street, so she was able to move freely between her parents' homes. Because they had a civil and close relationship, she never doubted their love for her and her sisters.

After high school she became a telephone operator and married a young man who worked in a foundry. She soon learned that he was unfaithful and cruel. His actions left their only daughter nearly blind and left Leona unable to have more children.

As the stock market crashed in the fall of 1929, her father lost the portfolio he had inherited from his sister. He was able to keep his house and, Leona, living with her father and her husband, decided to file for divorce. Imagine, for a moment, being 20 years old with a blind infant, an aged parent with no job, the economy in free fall and still choosing to end an abusive marriage. Her strength amazes me.

Leona decided about 1931 to leave the cold midwest and move to the warmth of California. Following the famous Route 66, she miscalculated a bit. She ran out of money and gas in the Northern Arizona town of Kingman. With her daughter, she lived under a bridge and in their car while she looked for some way to support them.

Her photography experience was her salvation. The old man who ran the local photography studio wanted to retire, so he hired her and she eventually was able to take over the business. However, she lived day-to-day and struggled through two more bad marriages and divorces during the Depression years.

About 1935, Leona had to place her daughter in boarding school at the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind in Tucson. She left Kingman behind and relocated to be near her daughter. World War II found her fixing airplanes and later working at the ration board. In late 1941, she married her daughter's math teacher and, as a family, they built a stable life. After the war she found a secretarial job in the Tucson school district, where she worked until retirement.

As her choices shaped her life, they affect her family to this day. Her descendants are an Arizona family because she stopped and stayed in Kingman. Her photographic experience became a life-long passion, leading to the vast collection of photographs, negatives and slides that came to me at her death. It is directly due to her choices that I am a scrapbooker and genealogy buff. And, of course, because of those hobbies, this blog exists.

A challenge in 2008 asked that we create a layout about a role model. I chose Leona due to her strength in adversity.

Haberdashery paper kit from ClubScrap

 

Newspapers: A Nuisance No Longer

The high acid content of most newspaper clippings is hazardous when used in close proximity to heritage photos. Newsprint also discolors, turns brittle and crumbles. Fortunately there is a simple solution to protect photos and use intact newspaper clippings on scrapbook pages. Since you have a flatbed scanner for your precious old photos, you can also scan newspaper clippings and other paper memorabilia.

I keep a supply of matte photo paper for copying and printing clippings. It's heavier than ordinary printer paper, but not glossy. A white or ivory, smooth, acid-free cardstock would work as well. Once a clipping is copied or scanned, I throw away the original. Just like a photo, the scanned clipping can be resized, recolored, repaired and reused.

Sometimes a collection of clippings is worth keeping. For example, a cousin has a small journal full of newspaper clippings from the late 1800s and early 1900s. The journal belonged to her ancestor, who was a writer. The clippings include reviews of his books, as well as newspaper columns that he wrote. For that collection, the paper should be treated to neutralize the acid. I'm no expert at this process, so will instead recommend searching the internet for ideas on ways to do that.

On this sample layout, the clipping is a digital version that was resized to fit the page before it was printed.

Club Scrap Paisley paper kit

Consider scanning or copying your paper memorabilia -- it is one method to preserve and share those items that might otherwise cause damage to your scrapbook pages and heritage photos.

Fearless Females -- Agnes Emilia Fors Ekstrom

The Accidental Genealogist is another source for blogging prompts and today's grabbed me: pick one female ancestor and write a mini-profile (500 words or less). I'm pleased to introduce my Swedish great-grandmother, as well as show you a simple way to showcase a heritage photo with the pertinent genealogical research.

Agnes Emilia Fors was born August 29, 1864, in Södertälje, Stockholm, Sweden, to Erik Edward Fors and Matilda Vilhelmina Viberg. Erik Fors was a stationmaster for the Swedish railroads, so the family, though financially comfortable, moved frequently. As was the custom in Sweden, she left home as a teenager to make her own way. She emigrated to America as a servant, but returned in less than two years. She married the widowed tailor Gustaf Emil Ferdinand Ekstrom in Linköping, Östergötland on May 20, 1888. He had buried two babies and a wife and, with Agnes, buried yet another baby. Although Sweden’s official religion was the Lutheran Church, the Ekstroms were married in the Methodist Church, implying that they had changed religions as adults.

The scarcity of food and resources in Sweden, along with the desire for religious freedom, drove the Ekstroms to emigrate in 1891, joining many of their countrymen in Chicago, Illinois. Agnes raised her five children and a step-daughter with a deep and abiding love of God, as well as a love of fun and laughter. She saw four more of her children buried during her life. She raised two abandoned grandchildren, as well as helping to raise her youngest son's five orphans. Her life as a tailor's wife and widow was comfortable until her assets as a building owner were destroyed by the Depression not long after Gustaf's death in 1927. She grew bitter and resentful of her reduced circumstances. She died on November 01, 1946, in Chicago and was buried in the historic cemetery of Rosehill.

Her children were:

• Step-daughter Gerda Linnea Thorborg Ekstrom, born May 17, 1885, Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden; died October 14, 1978, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
• Frithof Benedictus Ekstrom, born March 21, 1889, Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden; died February 03, 1935, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
• Erik Ferdinand Ekstrom, born May 29, 1891, Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden; died June 14, 1891, Linköping, Östergötland, Sweden.
• Edward Gideon Ekstrom, born January 13, 1893, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died September 14, 1961, Evanston, Cook County, Illinois
• Esther Mathilda Ekstrom, born December 16, 1894, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died May 01, 1923, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
• Edna Ekstrom, born May 1899; died between 1900 and 1910.
• Oliver Ernest Ekstrom, born May 22, 1903, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois; died October 22, 1935, San Pedro Sacatepéquez, San Marcos, Guatemala.

Agnes Fors and Gustaf Ekstrom on Club Scrap Renaissance paper kit

A Simple Heritage Layout

This layout is part of a series. It's a fast and simple way to showcase a heritage photo and show the relationships to other family members. A family tree can be created with genealogy software, written on a form or drawn by hand. Trees are especially important when sharing with non-genealogists, as it helps them visualize the relationships. This is an hourglass tree -- a tree showing both ancestors and descendants of the focus ancestor. I've also used ancestor trees and descendant trees in this series. The right type of tree depends on the size of the family and the genealogical knowledge about the subjects in the photo.

I've paired a Club Scrap foiled paper with a color-coordinated background that I added to my software, which is Family Tree Maker 11. Using standard letter-sized paper makes the tree easy to print at home.

52 Weeks of Abundant Genealogy, Week 10, Genealogy Road Trips

Taking a genealogy road trip is something I love to do to advance family research -- step 3 of my plan for scrapping my family history. I can step out of my day-to-day work life, and that is a blessing in itself. Sharing time with friends and relatives is a bonus.

Scrapping a Road Trip

I've only scrapped one road trip. Honestly, I have to admit it doesn't fit with my current scrapping philosophy. My thinking now is to scrap only what will matter to my grandchildren. Since I started sorting through my own Grandmother's memorabilia, I've found that her vacation photos, while pretty, don't mean anything to me. Photos of places I've never been, or can't identify, just go into the trash.

My philosophy doesn't apply to digital pages that are not printed. Although digital files form their own sort of clutter, at least the kids won't have to decide whether or not to throw away an album. So I do create "throw-away" digital pages for use on my screen-saver, desktop or yearly printed calendar.

For the 2002 road trip that has been partially scrapped, I wrote the journaling for each day right after the trip. I picked a color scheme for the album, created a number tag for each day and chose which memorabilia would go on each page. I also had pictures that were taken with family members with whom we met along the way. I included maps that indicate locations of interest. The album is a hodgepodge of stickers, postcards, photos, maps and just plain stuff. Here's day 12, a day when I met with a cousin and also ordered a marker for my grandmother's grave at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.


Why Even Take a Road Trip?

My previous post was written in reaction to some garbage genealogy I found online. I believe that road trips are an important step to help us get beyond the simplicity and the errors of online resources and into the meat of our ancestors' lives. Today I'll introduce you to Jacob Crispen, a man who never existed, according to Ancestry, but was found during a road trip.

"I Won't Raise Jacob's Brats"

Nerinda Margaret Kerr Crispen [ Tookey] was left a widow by her husband, Jacob Crispen. She sent their three small children to Jacob's brother, who turned them away, saying "I will not raise Jacob's brats". These hurtful words have been passed down through the generations, along with this family story.

This family is nowhere to be found in the census. Using family records and stories, I acquired death certificates for the three children and for their mother. The youngest, Laura Crispen [McQuiston Kahn], had been born about 1867, according to her death certificate. Assuming 2 years between children, it appeared Jacob had died between 1866 and 1869. Clark Crispen, my great-grandfather, claimed to have been born in Oil City, Venango County, PA, in 1863. Nerinda had grown up in Clarion County, PA, and she had remarried about 1882. Mary Crispen [Infield] had lived in Pittsburgh in 1890.

I had established a timeframe and a geographical area to search for Jacob. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania civil records are almost non-existant before 1900. One resource then available via the LDS library was a probate index for Venango County, PA. The only Jacob Crispen in the index had died in 1885, too late to be the right Jacob.

National Genealogical Society, Conference in the States, 2003, Pittsburgh

When NGS 2003 was announced, I saw my opportunity to learn about Pennsylvania research and then use what I'd learned. Cousin Lorna and I registered for NGS and planned our second road trip. From her home in northern Illinois, we researched in Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including attending the conference.

Venango County Courthouse

When we arrived in Venango County, I headed straight for the probate records in the courthouse. I planned to start my trip by eliminating this source. Opening the docket, I was stunned to see Mary Infield, Clark Crispen and Laura McQuiston listed as heirs. My reality suddenly shifted as the old family story now was revealed as a cover-up.

My next stop was the prothonotary office to look for a divorce, but I had no luck. Though I found little else for the Crispen family on the trip, the time was well worth it. I found Jacob in a city directory and in a cemetery index, though his grave is unmarked. I later received a copy of the full probate file from the historical society, which houses the old files. The file told me the city where each child lived in 1885, as well as the first names of the women's husbands.

Knowing that Jacob Crispen was alive for the 1870 and 1880 census, I redoubled my efforts fo find the family in the census records. As online census indexing improved over the next few years, I continued to probe. The only trace found was Laura in 1880. I found a possible Jacob, but it seemed unlikely.

Pennsylvania Road Trip, September, 2011

Another cousin, Laurel, wanted to go on a Pennsylvania road trip. We live about 3 hours apart, so we decided to travel together to research our Kerr family, as well as the associated families. We started planning six months before we left. That planning included knowing who, what, when, where and why. The better we planned, the more fruitful our trip would be.

I have to give kudos and a shout out to Laurel, a creative and dogged researcher. I was frustrated with searching for Jacob and Nerinda Kerr Crispen, so Laurel decided to give it a try. She found Jacob and Narinda Chrisman in Clarion County in 1860, with a child named William. This looked highly possible to me. I researched the family, finding probable parents James and Ellen, and a brother, John, all with burials under the name of Crispen. But could I prove this was the right family?

Clarion County Courthouse

When we arrived in Clarion County, I started with probate records. Though James Crispen's probate was interesting, I learned nothing new. Land records were next. I noted every sale and purchase under the Crispen name. There was one sale by John and Jacob Crispen et ux. The deed cemented the family as I had hypothesized. The land had been purchased by James shortly before his death. It was sold by Jacob and Nerinda M Crispen and John and Mary Crispen. [Note: The deed is signed John Crispen Jr. That is because there was an older John Crispen in the area, and does not mean his father was named John.]

Back to Venango County

I learned long ago that research trips are circular. From courthouse to library to cemetery to historical society, then back to the courthouse it goes. This trip included 5 counties in 5 days: we visited 3 courthouses, 3 historical societies, 5 libraries and 11 cemeteries.

When we arrived at the Venango County courthouse, I returned to the prothonotary office to resume my search for a divorce. I especially hoped to read the file to learn more about the previously unknown son, William Crispen. One of the clerks suggested that the court appearance dockets might be of help. She brought the heavy old books out from the vault two at a time and I looked through each index. I found two entries for Crispen divorce filings: in 1867, Jacob filed against Nerinda M[argaret], and, in 1874, Margaret filed against Jacob. Unfortunately, both underlying files are missing from the courthouse.

Without these two road trips, it would have been far more difficult to find and prove Jacob's family. I have new research pathways and the hope of connecting with cousins descended from John Crispen. I hope one of those cousins will have a picture of Jacob to fill that particular gap in my collection.

Preparing for a Research Trip

I've developed a checklist for planning a road trip and, earlier this year, prepared for a two-day trip. Interestingly, I was planning for a Thursday-Friday trip and was tempted to not document hours of operation for other days. I had to cancel the original travel plans and now am grateful I took full notes. I will need to verify the hours of each repository just before I venture out, as hours are often reduced in these days of budget constraints. I also print a map for each location on my list.

I hope my checklist gives you some ideas about preparing for your own road trip to your ancestor's area.

Happy hunting!

---

Preparing to Go to a Courthouse

County Name YADKIN, NC

Formation Date 28 Dec 1850

Parent Counties Surry

Child Counties None

County Seat Yadkinville 27055

Courthouse burned in years none

Records	Years	Public	Fee	Who	Address	Hours	Phone
Birth	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Death	From 1913		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Marriage	From 1850		10.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225
Burial
Divorce	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Probate	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Court	From 1850			Clerk Sup Court	101 South State Street		336-679-3600
Deeds	From 1850		.25 to 2.00	Reg of Deeds	101 South State Street	M-F 8A-5P	(336) 679-4225

Genealogical Society location and hours

• see below

Historical Society location and hours

• Yadkin County Historical Society, 216 North Van Buren Street, Yadkinville, (336)-679-2702

Library location, holdings and hours:

• The Charles H. Stone Memorial Library, Danbury Public Library and Yadkin County Public Library have large Genealogy/History rooms that are available to the public.
  YCPL 233 East Main Street (336) 679-8792 Mon, Thu 8:30A-6:30P; Tue, Wed, Fri 8:30A-5:30P; Sat 9:00A- 12:00P
  The Paul Price Davis History & Genealogy Room at the Yadkin County Public Library houses census records, cemetery records, marriage records, family histories, will and deed abstracts, Civil War and Revolutionary War rosters. The Yadkin Ripple, the local newspaper, is on microfilm from 1893 to 1988. Paper copies of the newspaper are available from 1989 to the current issue. A microfilm reader/printer is available.

Cemeteries of interest	Location	Hours	Phone
Swaims Baptist Church	See map Keziah Caroline Swaim Chappel Birth:      Dec. 27, 1824 Death:    Nov. 29, 1869 Married to Moses Chappell April 7, 1851

Should I Scrap an Original Heritage Photo?

The question of whether to scrap a heritage photo always generates a lot of discussion in scrapbooking forums. Someone once made the comment that you have to store the original photo somewhere, so why not put it on a scrapbook page. That idea resonates with me and I've started to do that. But there are a few considerations.

I personally don't have any tintypes or daguerreotypes, so I have no thoughts about them. However, my inclination is that I would not put them on a scrapbook page. I also don't use photos on heavy cardboard which has warped. Those stay in storage without pressure that might crack them.

Keep it acid free. Don't include newspaper clippings or other old paper with heritage photos. Newer paper is usually not processed with acid. Invest in an acid testing pen if you have paper memorabilia to mix with photos. The pen can also test scrapbook papers and embellishments. I'll talk about newspaper in another post.

Watch the bulk. Lumpy embellishments can damage photos on nearby pages. Plan your pages to assure each photo is protected from damage. My style is to save the lumpy embellishments for non-heritage pages. Use your imagination to create flat embellishments. Don't overfill the album, either.

Adhere with care. Never put any adhesive behind a face. If it does cause deterioration, that precious part of the photo will be lost. But since you've already scanned the photo, you'll have another copy, right?

Club Scrap Journeys paper kit

Consider using photo corners rather than adhesive. My favorite corners are clear plastic. They are visible but won't affect the page design. There are also many colored corners available and they can even be embellished with stamps, markers or paints. Black corners look vintage. By using corners, the photo can also be removed from the page so the back can be viewed.

Don't crop the original. If you want to crop the photo, it's far better to work with the scanned image and reprint it. Cropping an original photo is just not reversible and one day you might regret cutting something away.

The sample pages use plastic corners and show a little trick. The brads at the bottom are not real -- rather it's Stickles -- to help avoid anything bulky that might damage a photo.

Five Steps for Scrapbooking Heritage Photos

A year ago I was asked about the heritage scrapbook layouts that I'd been sharing in scrapbooking forums and galleries. Comments and questions touched on what to do with too many photos, what if there were only a few photos in the family, and how to move past the fear of actually using the photos.

Here is an amplified version of my reply.

I have five steps for those of you with too many heritage photos or too few:

1. scan it
2. scrap it
3. research it
4. talk about it
5. share it

You know how, when we started scrapbooking, we were afraid to actually use these precious papers. It's the same with heritage photos. We think they need just the perfect layout and we are scared to commit to using them. We are paralyzed by that fear.

When we scan the photos, they lose their power. We can scrap them many times, in many ways. If we have too many photos, we can toss those that are not scrapworthy. With the scanned images, we can even do interesting things with digital manipulation.

The Rest of the Story


If you have too few heritage photos, the last three steps may lead to acquiring scanned photos from cousins and other researchers. You have to work hard to find those connections, but if you truly want to see photos of your ancestors, it is worth your time.

I cannot emphasize enough that scanning photos is the most important step to take. It allows us to preserve photos that may be in bad shape or may be lost to a future disaster. It enables us to quickly share the photos on photo-sharing sites, by email or attached to online family trees. It empowers us to use the photos on our scrapbook pages, whether digital or physical.

Club Scrap Renaissance paper kit, chart from Family Tree Maker 11

One Photo, Used Many Times
 
One enormous benefit of scanning is being able to reprint and reuse a photo at will. Here is an example of using one photo many times. My paternal grandparents' wedding photo is one of the few photos of them together. The original photo is not even in my possession. By following my five steps, I have a scan of this gorgeous photo that I use as often as I need it.

Club Scrap Journeys paper kit, title cut with Cricut

Club Scrap Memoirs digital kit