Wordless Wednesday - Time Marches On and ON

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward


My mother, Mary Jane (LITTLE) GARDNER received this clock in 1979 from her mother Emma May (BRISTOL) LITTLE-MARVIN who received it from her Grandfather, Ambroid SHEERAR of Cortland, New York. 

The clock has since been passed down to my son Michael John ABERLE in October 2013. He wanted the clock and wanted to fix it so it would work. Yes, we still have the key, thank goodness. But like any curious person would do is take off the back cover to FIND ALL the wonderful information on the inside of the back cover. As you will see, the owers signed the piece with whatever they had. My 2x Great Grandfather just signed it and it is very readable,(but not really sure who signed it) but my Grandmother (actually my Grandfather) signed it with a felt tip pen and you can see how it is absorbed and runs and is very hard to read now. My dad must have used a ball point pen but printed and it is difficult to read. I never even thought about doing that. And so my son signed it too, readable too. Thank you Michael.

 

Above it reads on the face of the clock: H. B. Horton's Patents April 18, 1865 and August 23,1866  The Ithaca Calendar Clock Co (which is what the "ICCCo" stands for at the top of this section) Ithaca, New York.  Ithaca, Tompkins Co., New York is just down the way from Cortland, Cortland Co., NewYork where he lived. So I know that my 2x Great Grandfather Ambroid SHEERAR bought this clock in the Ithaca, New York.

 

Above: This is the top half of the inside back cover. It shows the clock was first cleaned by R.M. GRISWOLD February 18 1886 again in 1893, 1952 and again in 1974 (Wellington, Lorain Co., Ohio- this is a mystery place and needs some attention)

Above: This is the bottom half of the inside of the back cover. The bottom area shows the owners of this clock. Starting with my 2x Great Grandfather Ambroid SHEERAR and ending with my son Michael John ABERLE.

 

What an exciting find! I have not done any research on the clock maker yet but I will when I have time. If anyone has any information about the clock or clockmaker please let me know. Thank you. 

 

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Society Saturday - Happenings in March

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward

What is happening in March with Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society?  Time to mark your calendars. If you need to know more about our activities and dates later in the year click here.

                                                         March 2014

                                     Please Come Out and Join Us

Thursday, March 6

Root Cellar Board Meeting - members welcome!

10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Drive, Citrus Heights
 

Thursday March 6  Legacy Family Tree software Special Interest Group (SIG) 1pm - 3pm with Marian Kile (first Thursday of Month) Family History Center, 2745 Eastern Ave, Sacramento, CA 95662   Friday, March 7 Root Cellar SGS Extraction Meeting 9am to 12 noon Center for Sacramento History,551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95811 Contact: Marilyn Ulbricht mulbricht@sbcglobal.net Alot going on with this committee. But we can always use more help. You know those records that you are looking for in another state, we'll as we are extracting those same records here, we hope someone in another state is doing the same. You can see why it is important to join in, it is not difficult, hand writting might be a challenge, but there is lots of support to help you. Find out if you would like to do this.

Thursday, March 13Root Cellar Membership Meeting - Visitor Welcome!

7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Christ Community Church, 5025 Manzanita Avenue, Carmichael

6:15 Pre-Meeting Open Discussion - "Tracking the Western Migration of your Ancestors"

7:00 Program “Western Migration Trails” Presented by Kathryn Marshall.

Friday, March 14

Root Cellar SGS Extraction Meeting

9am to 12 noon

Center for Sacramento History,551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95811

Contact: Marilyn Ulbricht mulbricht@sbcglobal.net

Alot going on with this committee. But we can always use more help. You know those records that you are looking for in another state, we'll as we are extracting those same records here, we hope someone in another state is doing the same. You can see why it is important to join in, it is not difficult, hand writting might be a challenge, but there is lots of support to help you. Find out if you would like to do this.

Wednesday, March 19

Root Cellar Workshop

1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Drive, Citrus Heights

Share your successful finds and brickwalls. The session may include a webinar and/or a demo of a research tool. Guests welcome!

 

Friday, March 21

Root Cellar SGS Extraction Meeting

9am to 12 noon

Center for Sacramento History,551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95811

Contact: Marilyn Ulbricht mulbricht@sbcglobal.net

Alot going on with this committee. But we can always use more help. You know those records that you are looking for in another state, we'll as we are extracting those same records here, we hope someone in another state is doing the same. You can see why it is important to join in, it is not difficult, hand writting might be a challenge, but there is lots of support to help you. Find out if you would like to do this.

 

Wednesday, March 26

Reunion for the Mac Special Interest Group 

10:30 am to 12:30 pm

FamilySearch Library, 2745 Eastern Avenue, Sacramento

Brainstorm solutions to users' problems, questions & explore ins/outs of the best Mac genealogy program. Contact Ron Setzer (PreservesEditor@rootcellar.org) to be added to our email list. All are welcome

 

Friday, March 28 Root Cellar SGS Extraction Meeting 9am to 12 noon Center for Sacramento History,551 Sequoia Pacific Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95811 Contact: Marilyn Ulbricht mulbricht@sbcglobal.net Alot going on with this committee. But we can always use more help. You know those records that you are looking for in another state, we'll as we are extracting those same records here, we hope someone in another state is doing the same. You can see why it is important to join in, it is not difficult, hand writting might be a challenge, but there is lots of support to help you. Find out if you would like to do this.

 

Saturday, April 5 Root Cellar SGS Spring Seminar  9:00 am to 3:45 pm Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church, 11427 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, California   Guest speaker Geoff Rasmussen, Legacy Family Tree Genealogy Software and host of Legacy Family Tree Webinars. TOPICS: * Timelines and Chronologies: Secrets of Genealogical Success * Googling Around with Google and Other Fun Technology * The Latest in Digital Imaging for Genealogists * What's New in Legacy 8

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Wordless Wednesday - Turning 90?

Editor's note: Today's post was written by  Sandra Gardner-Benward

Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society has this great little ritual of celebrating 90th birthdays of its members. And another one has turned 90 last month. At our February General Meeting we celebrated with cake, punch, and the birthday song.

                                                    Happy 90th Birthday
                          Frank WILPER

 

 

            The first corner piece with all the extra frosting goes to the birthday boy.......  oh yummy!!!

Thanks to all the elves for putting the whole event together.

Born 21 January 1924 in Salmon, Lemhi Court, Idaho to Frank and Margaret (Hanlon) WILPER. Frank served in the Army Air Force. 15 October 1949 married Irene QUENZER in Boise, Idaho. They started a family and the children started families.

In 1990, he visited Root Cellar Sacramento Genealogical Society which was meeting in the Carmichael Public Library. In 1995, he felt the calling and was elected Vice President and in 1996 he was elected Treasurer. Her remained Treasurer for 17 years until last year when he said ENOUGH. Frank was involved in the extraction of the California Homestead Act Records for Sacramento County 1860-1929. (Index of 11 books and boxes of original records) Thank You Frank - great job.

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Motivation Monday - Virginia is the Place to Be in May

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward

Are you attending the National Genealogical Society's  2014 Family History Conference in Richmond Virginia?  It is the place to be in May. Registration has be open for a while now, hotel rooms are going quickly. Do you need to make those airline reservations or those are done.
 

 

                                                The local host is the Virginia Genealogical Society

The first permanent English settlement in North America, Virginia has been home to countless individuals - some remained for generations; others moved on to the next frontier. The conference will explore the origins of those who settled within Virginia's borders whether they came by land or sea. The program will include neighboring states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee, with special emphasis on migration into and out of the region down the Carolina and Great Wagon Roads, over the appalachian Mountains, and south to Texas and beyond.

The four day conference will include more than 150 lectures by nationally known experts.
Conference Highlights: Two influential genealogical organizations, the Board of Certification of Genealogists (BCG) and the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) will each celebrate their fiftieth anniversary in 2014. The Friday night banquet will pay tribute to both organizations.

I will not be attending this conference, but I do hope to give you some details as it comes closer. If anyone from our organization is attending, please let me know. It would be fun to see the conference through another's eyes.


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Society Saturday - Ancestry - Something New

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward


So did you go home and get on Ancestry.com and try some of the little hints and tricks that were discussed at the meeting. Did you have any luck? Did it make a difference? Did you get better quality searches? If you haven't done it by now, will you remember what was discussed. Good thing we received a pretty good handout.

We certainly enjoyed a good meeting and a great topic for our January 2014 general meeting. Tamara Noe returned again and gave us a more detailed Ancestry.com presentation on more advanced searches and filters. The room was full and people were anxious to know the secrets, hints, and tips and making your way through Ancestry and all its files and documents. Very very interesting and we all learned a lot. Lots of questions and lots of interaction. Isn't it great when someone asks a question or makes a statement, and others answer, or comment and continue the discussion. Everyone is a winner tonight.

We hope that people went home to try out all the suggestions, all the hints and tips that were discussed. I sure did and am finding that I am having better results. THANK YOU Tamara!!


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Follow Friday - Life AFTER RootsTech 2014

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward   

RootsTech 2014 is over. No really, there are lots of videos to watch, all those streaming sessions - 30 in all from 2013 & now from 2014, plus going through my notes and transcribing them, getting all research information in order before it is lost or misplaced. So RootsTech2014 is over but hasn't really ended. It just keeps giving and giving. If you didn't go, and even if you did, take advantage of all 30 free streaming sessions available on RootsTech

Was it worth a week out of my life to attend? Did I benefit from the World's Largest Genealogical Library being in the same place? Did I use my time wisely?  Yes it definitely was worth the week of time. I planned ahead, and tried to follow my plan. There is so much to go through at the Library- from local, to state by state, to over the pond and into Europe. Microfilm, fiche, and books and maps.......  online databases and books that have been digitized and are available to download in its entirety. Love that. Keep checking back because FamilySearch is continued to digitize all the books in their library and vault. Wow, I just find that mind boggling ......... and we are all still indexing (I am - are you?) so file by file, document by document are being done and put up for everyone to search through.

The trip home was not as I had imagined - very different. We drove and so left about 8am from Salt Lake City, Utah Sunday on our way home to Sacramento California. It was clear, crisp and cold when we left. By the time we crossed over into Nevada it was almost a white out. I came on us very slow.........  a few rain drops, then it was heavier rain and then sleet and then snow and all of a sudden we could barely see in front of us.

We were following a truck which we continued to do........  after a while all we could see is the glow of his red tail lights- barely. We kept asking where are the snow plows and then we saw one on the other side going east NOT west for us. Then the truck pulled off and we were in fresh new snow. OH MY!! I believe we were probably traveling about 25 miles an hour if that. It was a little scary but we got through. Then it was clear again........... Reno was clear and then we started up into the Sierra's and the weather was starting all over again.........  light rain, heavier rain, sleet and then snow. This time the snow plows were at work. We did have four wheel drive and brand new tires. YES YES we did have chains in the trunk just in case, but it turns out we did not need them. We did get over the mountains before the pass was closed down and chains were required. Great driving Ron, really great. It is wonderful to be out of the snow, ice and COLD and back to central California winter weather (60's) and rain........ oh my we certainly need the rain. Apparently our first rains this week brought Folsom Lake back up 15 feet. I can't even imagine that much water.

It was a wonderful time. Now I need to organize the materials and notes so I can continue to go forward.


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Sentimental Sunday - RootsTech 2014 day 3

Editor's note: Today's post was written by Sandra Gardner-Benward    

 What a good last day for the conference. It didn't snow again but it did rain while we were inside for the day.

The Keynote Speakers this morning were outstanding- it was really a roller coaster of emotions. The first speaker was Todd Hansen, is an Emmy Award winning  TV host and producer. He currently hosts and produces The Story Trek on BYUTV. His stories and presentation were outstanding. His message is that everyone has a story (or two) and they need to write down your stories. He cannot tell everyone's story even though he would like too, so he needs our help to get everyone's story written down and kept for generations to come.
 
The second speaker Stephanie Nielsen, is a mother and wife first and then a blogger of nieniedialogues.com. She also has a New York Times bestseller memoir, Heaven is Here.  In the summer of 2008, Stephanie and her husband were involved in a serious airplane accident in Arizona  While they miraculously survived, Stephanie experienced life threatening burns covering her arms, legs, face and hands. Her story is amazing, not sure that I could have stayed so positive. Yes, I was in tears but probably were for joy.

Sat with Marilyn during our luncheon sponsored by Ancestry,com. We are going different ways the last couple of days, so it was good to get caught up .The topic of discussion was from a panel of Ancestry experts to discuss AncestryDNA, what is happening, what is coming. They gave us an idea of how the process works after you complete your kit and mail it off. Very eye opening.

Can I Do My Genealogy On My Tablet.........  tablets are small and compact, but can you actually do your genealogy on these things. The answer is Yes, yes you can!! Pamela went over a lot of genealogy apps that will work on the PC and Mac. 

Using Pinterest for Family History-Kevin Knight - very good presentation. I really learned a lot and think that I will go back and try this again. I am excited about this. It does have a great potential for genealogists.

Finding Stories on Google Books......... Jimmy Zimmerman. Nice young man, well spoken and composed and understood the subject. He had a great family story that threaded through his presentation. A lot of books in the Google Books section are out of copyright and usually you can. download the whole book. But there are some that have limited views and some that have only snippets (teasers) and ones with no previews. There are so many features- try it out and see, Apparently, just like indexing, more and more books are digitized and come available for viewing.     

I expected to go into the exhibit hall for the last hour and found that it was already closed, despite the fact that the app showed Saturday from 10 to 6. Oh well, I guess I was done. I finally got back to the hotel. Guess who has set up business in the hotel Family Roots Publishing Co. They are our book vendor for our seminar for several years. They are not here full time, but Utah is their home. I stopped to say HI and to look. Book: German Maps and Facts for Genealogy; Census Birth Year Chart; Genealogy at a glance: Family History Library Research (cheat sheet);and a very sweet book for my granddaughter to start her off - Evie finds her Family Tree. OK OK now I am exhausted. Up to the hotel room and something to eat for dinner. The library is open till 9pm tonight, and I was tempted but I am tired - my eyes, my body and my mind.
 
Oh did I mention that Saturday was also Youth Day - thousands of young people everywhere. It is good to see the conferences including a special day with special events just for them. They all were given neon green and neon orange backpacks. They were everywhere. At the end of the day it looked like they had a great time.

 
I did go into the Exhibit Hall once today just so I could say I was in there.  It was first thing this morning,,,,,,,,  I went right for the BackBlaze booth with laptop and external drive in hand, I was able to install BackBlaze   which will back up my laptop and external drive. It is full coverage Free for a year. YES FREE for a YEAR. So now I will have time to evaluate it.
 
          As you can see the exhibit hall was a place to be  - very crowded with lots going on. Lots of demo sessions at many of the various booths. Lots of positive activity.

 And of course BackBlaze was very busy. Lots of questions and lots of people bringing their laptops to install their FREE Year of backup. Thank You to BackBlaze

 The installation of the program was quick, there was a waiting line most of the conference. But as I said it went quickly.

And our friends from Southern California Genealogical Society promoting their Society and the upcoming JUNE 2014 Jamboree. If you remember back, I won a free registration for this year and I am excited about it. I did stop long enough to register for the DNA Day Wouldn't it be just wonderful to win that too. I am not holding my breathe.

 .... now mark your calendars for ROOTSTECH 2015 Conference. And a  bonus for next year will be that RootsTech is partnering with Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS) for 2015.                  You will get it all at one major conference.

 We are off in the early morning for that long drive home.


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