Dale Cox's Books and Publications Spotlight

Dale Cox's Books and Publications Spotlight

Attending my genealogical society meetings has been a challenge for the last few years, but I got there today.  The GSOC is one of those vibrant organization with excellent leadership--the society refuses to close its doors or shrink into obscurity; in these times and days that can happen to small or large societies.

As long as there are speakers like Dale Cox willing to visit and share, the society will continue to be a boon to the community.  That's just one element of success, but it's an essential part of the recipe.

Dale spoke without giving a power point presentation.  Thank goodness--I often think ppp's can get in the way of the speaker's and audience commune-i-cation.  His stories were based on factual research of the early history of Florida and its denizens.  He has written several books in an effort to bring to light the various battles and sites that were involved in the early Seminole wars occurring as early as 1818.

Many of us came away from the presentation truly concerned about the lack of our state's participation in educating our children regarding the Scott Massacre, and other important events that helped to shape not just local history, but national history as well.

Mr. Cox was asked by the blogger (me), if he had done any historical research on the recent issues which were raised regarding the Dozier School in Marianna.  He had and gave a short summary of the facts and interviews that he had gathered.  He believes that between the fire of 1914 and the Spanish Flu in 1918, some of the unmarked graves, if not all, will be found to correlate with those two events.  Punishment of wayward children during the years that the institution was operating, was very corporal; society had not arrived at the level of enlightenment then, that exists now.  This being said, there are all kinds of social clues to what did and didn't take place on the campus of this state institution.  Some of the boys that "graduated" from the program left, never to return again.  Several took up residence in Marianna, Florida, suggesting that life back home was no picnic, either.

It is easy to jump to conclusions and judge people according to our understanding of decency.  Sensational accusations can sometimes become inflated and politicians may use any excuse to gain publicity and/or laurels in stirring up trouble.  My own husband spent several of his early years in an orphanage run by a religious institution and the stories he told me are enough to make you sick.  Were all of his memories bad ones?  Not necessarily; he spoke of a Christmas when the trustees brought candy for the children (that was the happy time).  I gathered from Mr. Cox that the stories you will read at Wikipedia and other web sites, don't convey a totality of the actual situation at the school, during the years it was operational.  

External Links: 
State Report; 
2009 Article; 
Dale Cox column
Bellamy Bridge

The Ancestry Insider: FamilySearch Family Tree Released to the General Public

The Ancestry Insider: FamilySearch Family Tree Released to the General Public

Imagine That!

I have been using Ancestry.com for years.  Recently, I suspended my account for economic reasons.  I knew that I could still work on my family trees and I also knew that certain databases at Ancestry are available for free.  Knowing and experiencing things is two different things, though.

Imagine my surprise when I went to my family tree and plugged in a name; my Hebert D. Hill was in the tree and when I brought up his name I received the notification that there were three records available that could match my man.  I clicked on the Social Security Death Index and wasn't really able to access it because by golly, I no longer have the status of a paid member.  However, the "refusal" had the year of death printed in the "hit".  Semi-Sweet, huh?!

Tried their next suggestion/hit: Public Records, which I also was not permitted to fully view.  Finally, the third record which was fully available (oh goody!) was the 1940 Census record!  There were no holds barred.  I was very pleased, of course.

My other favorite website is FamilySearch.org.  I like the records that they have available.  I like being able to "create" and/or cite a record from another website.  But the family tree isn't nearly as easy to use as ancestry.com's.  However, it's early, yet, and I'm sure FamilySearch will improve over time, and IT'S FREE!

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research

What's In A Name?

What's In A Name?: Everything!  Absolutely everything.  While browsing around the internet highways and byways I came across a favorite blog of mine -  Looking4Ancestors.  Now Kathryn Lake Hogan is not a stranger to me.  Well at least I didn't think so until I saw the  genealogy super hero name she is AKA  -  "The Honey Badger of Genealogy"  Now how cool of a name is that?  I am positively fluorescent green with

Family History Expos Genealogy Blog

Family History Expos Genealogy Blog

Here's some important news on the blog for Reunion users.

Scheduled Family History Expos

Scheduled Family History Expos   

I've added this link because with the season of Autumn, I always feel a resurgence of the wanderlust in my nature.  Who doesn't love a field trip in the fall?!

There are in the navigation bar of the web site other goodies: the shopper in me is also more likely to come alive with Christmas not that far off.  Click on the Blog for material that will stimulate your brain and consider subscribing to the free newsletter. 

Understanding Our Ancestors

Is your ancestor's hat back in style?

Maureen Taylor wrote this article and it made me think of the old homily, "There's nothing new under the sun".  I don't know if it's true about hat styles, but once you get into digging up your family history, you may be surprised how much you have in common with your ancestors!  

You may not be wearing the same hats or fashions as Grandpa Hill, but you inherited more than a surname.  You may have a talent for strumming the banjo and as you start your collection of old photos, you may come across one of your Great Uncle Ned playing a ukulele.

Family History is a popular hobby because it lets us step out of our modern day personas for a little while and go back to where we came from.  Was life really more simple and satisfying back "when"?  How did the family entertain themselves on a Friday night?  Perspective is the reward for digging up your genealogy; our lives may not be carefree but we probably are more likely to survive and live longer lives than our forebears did.  

We might get the impression that all of our people were farmers.  Yes, my progenitors were farmers, but that was just in one census! In other census records, the same folks might have turned to being the village "smithy"or leaving home to go work in the steel mills of Chicago.  Actually, most everyone in the South had a garden, but my great grandfather also sold cars for a few years and took on the role of minister and school teacher at one point!

Let's go into this journey of searching out our family history with wide-open minds and eyes: let the records and the facts lead us where they may.  We aren't going to be judging the past generations, goodness knows!  Not unless we want to be judged by our descendants.  We've come to family history looking to pull a rabbit out of the hat, but the magic is that we get to piece, by piece, assemble a jigsaw puzzle out of the whole cloth of history and the timelines of our ancestry.  So rewarding!  What kept them going?  How did they fare?  If you didn't love the kinfolks already, you will, somewhere along the journey, know without a doubt that you're related and a rush of emotion will fill your heart; they survived, they trucked through it, they overcame, they found a way and because of it, YOU ARE.