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Who else is a Genealogy Nut??

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Comments

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited July 2015

    Congrats to jcfree on the NED! It was a diagnosis similar to yours (both lobular & ducal tumors in rightie) that led to my concern and eventual genetic testing. Apparently presenting with two different tumors is somewhat unusual.

    What fascinating stories. Writing these up in manuscript or book form could be a great project...

  • jcfree
    jcfree Member Posts: 30
    edited July 2015

    vlnrph, that's interesting that having lobular and ductal tumors is unusual. I just know that my right side had a large tumor with several smaller ones, basically was full of cancer. The Tumor Board wanted me to have masectomy ASAP after chemo ended as they felt that the cancer was mostly localized within the breast and that it would have a higher chance of a recurrence in that breast and it may not respond as well to chemo as the first time.

    I have thought about writing in book form just for our family of the stories I have found of our ancestors. When I feel better I want to do that and put all information in one format that family can easily access. I find geneology fascinating also, love to hear of interesting characters and stories.


  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited July 2015

    JC, so perhaps your IDC was only found via tissue analysis/pathology post-op?

    I kept asking and trying to find out how common it was to have more than one type, in separate quadrants. Lobular does have a tendency to be multi focal because of the growth pattern and there are a few gals on these boards who report a mixture (with ADH, LCIS, etc) but the medical literature does not describe many cases like mine. Maybe they have to eliminate complicated cases from clinical trials but even with all the data out there I could never find my answer. It was a mystery similar to the roadblocks I have found in tracing my ancestry!

    Depending on your age, an appointment with a genetic counselor might be illuminating. My insurance covers testing for people diagnosed prior to age 50, or who meet other criteria. There was no history of BC or ovarian in our family, just an aunt who died from cancer of unknown origin...

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited August 2015

    TLC has now aired two new episodes of "Who Do You Think You Are?" on Sunday night, involving actress Ginnifer Goodwin and author JK Rowling. Very interesting subjects including criminal/drug addiction issues and French military personnel. It seems like much of the research would not require going to the particular locations in person however it is fun to see the various places which hold archival information. I suppose it makes better TV viewing.

    I keep hoping they feature a medical mystery concerning hereditary disease but I guess that, except for Angelina Jolie, not too many celebrities want their family health history highlighted!

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2016

    PBS has finally begun broadcasting some new installments of "Finding Your Roots" on Tuesday nights. They were on hold for a while after the Ben Affleck controversy - he wanted to conceal evidence that his ancestors were slave owners (which brought more attention to that fact than if he had let it be mentioned in the show!)

  • grammakathy
    grammakathy Member Posts: 126
    edited January 2016

    Thank you for posting this about Finding Your Roots. I'll make sure it is recording for me to watch. I've been into genealogy for over forty years - starting when our first son was born. Mostly, I just collected papers in a folder, and then typing everything into a genealogy program twenty years after that. The biggest scare for me after receiving my diagnosis of BC was what would happen to my records and papers. I can't imagine my sons would sort through it all and figure out what it means. I decided then to sit down and form my research into PDF books on DVD's and distribute them to various cousins in each branch of the family. I started in January 2015 and finished in December. These books also have family tree and DNA information and old photos. There are seven books (my husband's family and mine) and the pages total over 4,700. Hopefully someone out there will take it to the next stage some time in the future since genealogy is never complete since births and deaths continue to occur. I can't describe the sense of relief I felt after they were complete and the sense of responsibility was off my shoulders. Now I have moved on to other projects I would like to do. Although I do intend to photograph the important items that have been handed down to me and write up a story on each - again so my sons can decide to keep the items or just the stories and photos. I found that I need to update the wall chart I made years ago too. I guess it never ends!

  • blessings2011
    blessings2011 Member Posts: 1,801
    edited January 2016

    So I got a couple of emails from Ancestry.com letting us all know that they would be discontinuing the production and support of "Family Tree Maker" software program...

    Bawling

    Any suggestions for a good substitute?

  • grammakathy
    grammakathy Member Posts: 126
    edited January 2016

    I switched from Family Tree Maker to Legacy Family Tree years ago and love it. There is a free version that works well. Paying for the full version opens up several other capabilities but you can try the free version first and decide if you want the additions.

  • blessings2011
    blessings2011 Member Posts: 1,801
    edited January 2016

    Thanks, grammakathy!

    Now if Legacy can just sync all my FTM info for free!!!! Shocked

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2016

    What a fabulous accomplishment grammakathy! At least one of your descendants will find all that work to be of value, I'm sure - I appreciate so much what a few of our cousins have done (on both sides of the family).

    The mention on this week'sTV program of Maya Rudolph's mom dying from BC at such a young age caused me to wonder if there could be a genetic component...

  • grammakathy
    grammakathy Member Posts: 126
    edited January 2016

    I was able to convert from Family Tree Maker to Legacy years ago. The only problem I had was "Notes". The conversion blended some of the words together, leaving out some spaces between words. It was something I could fix. vlnrph - I felt the weight of the world was off my shoulders when I finished this project. My family did not save things and so many cousins had let me scan documents and photographs. The least I could do was share my research with them.

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited January 2016

    Yes I like it. Have any of you used find a grave.com? I have found several of my ancesters and husband's too. I have been adding memorials and photos. I never joined ancestry.com. I use find a grave kind of as a family tree, and it's free. You can link people together. I have one ancester that is driving me crazy I can't find too much on him.

  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 70
    edited January 2016
    I don't know how everyone else feels, but perhaps anyone interested in posting about their brick walls could get another set of eyes to offer some insight. Just a thought if anyone is interested.
  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2016

    ok, I'll bite! The Swedish army up until 1809 had men in various locations all over Finland. They took soldier names often based on the location to which they were assigned. Would not be good to have half a dozen guys allanswer to "Matt Johansson" when they got together for drills which meant they needed a short, distinct moniker.

    My ancestor was Anders Oberg but was also listed as Seltingsbacka on his marriage record. The Lutheran church required fairly complete record keeping however lots of them are not yet accessible on line. I may end up going to Scandinavian research centers in Minneapolis or Chicago to see if they can help. Has anyone else done this?

    I joined findagrave.com a couple months ago in order to contribute some cemetery photos we took last summer. Also signed up on the Ellis Island site which is free. Reluctant to pay for ancestry since I can use it at our local public library. Spent a couple hours at the Wisconsin Historical Society building in Madison yesterday and will be going back next month. They have so many cool things to look at that cannot be checked out to take home...

  • lintrollerderby
    lintrollerderby Member Posts: 70
    edited January 2016

    Hi vlnrph,

    Can you tell me where your ancestor lived, approximate date of birth, and if there's something specific you're looking for? Thanks. I did a quick search on Ancestry for him and found a passenger list from 1897 and a naturalization index for a person with the same name. I also found some probate documents for an Andrew Oberg from Dakota, Minnesota. I've seen peoples' names morph quite a bit from different points in their lives, so I included it here in my post.

    Have you had much luck with familysearch.org or from ordering films to be sent to you locally?

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited March 2016

    Haven't been to this thread recently but appreciate lintrollerderby's comments. I have not tried to order films from family search. What I find almost hilarious is the creative spellings they devise for immigrant names. Granted, the census takers and other writers didn't always get it right either and sometimes we just need a good laugh!

    My Anders Andersson was born in 1785 and married a Maria Patana in Veteli, Finland on 15 October 1809. He died in Kortesjarvi on 18 April 1852 (the peak Finnish emigration took place about 50 years after that, somewhat later than most groups). It would be interesting to find out how much Swedish background we have which means I need to locate his parents, place of birth, etc.

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited March 2016

    Just spent a bunch of time with census ny columbia county for 1800 and 1810 looking for my relative, I really appreciate auditors that had nice handwritting.

  • grammakathy
    grammakathy Member Posts: 126
    edited March 2016

    definitely I appreciate good handwriting! You wouldn't have wanted to hear my comments about the handwriting I was trying to read from the Catholic parishes of County Galway! Yikes. We're these the same priests who emphasized good penmanship in Catholic schools in my youth

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited August 2016

    This the first time I am going to one of those large genealogy family reunions. There is a guided graveyard tour for some of our ancesters. I am excited; I have found several of my family, even one revolutionary war first lutenient,. I had to go in the woods to find the stone. Anyone else like doing this stuff?

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2017

    Bumping for the new year (this thread had dropped to the second page!)

    Since I last posted, my husband's mom moved and gave us photo albums with pictures going back to the 1920s. Some dates/locations are noted however very few people identified. This state of affairs set me into researching both sides of his family including interviews with a 92 year old aunt who, luckily, has an excellent memory.

    Has anyone else had the challenge of figuring out their in-law relatives with minimal clues as to who's who?

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited January 2017

    I keep digging. I recently found more info after joining ancestry trial period. I am not sure I want to continue to pay $20 a month. I am hoping to meet up with distant relatives and share pictures and letters I have.

    I am thinking of going back to new york to do a little library sesrching. Fultonhistory website is great searching old newspapers.

    I love the ides of transcription and getting microfiche documents digitized.

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2017

    Hi meow! I'm too frugal to spend $$ on this hobby when so much information is out there for no cost. You just need to know where to look...

    Ancestry access is available through many public libraries and, here in Wisconsin, I can use a version called Heritage Quest for free from BadgerLink on my computer at home.

    I see above that you did some cemetery walking. I've dragged my husband to three so far (two were for his relatives) and joined Find A Grave in order to contribute photos, etc.

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited January 2017

    oh yes, found a huge find in Chatham Ny. The old cemetery was on private property and the man who lived there was good enough to let me go up the dirt road. I found my 6x great grandparents in the woods off the road. My 6x grandfather was a 1st lieutenant in Revolutionary war. Exciting for me.

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited January 2017

    Find a grave has been so helpful. They need volunteers to take photos.

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited January 2017

    Amazing - you could still read the headstone inscription? Perhaps the shelter of the woods gave it protection from the elements of wind/rain. I can see wear on the ones exposed to weather in pictures only a decade or two apart. It is so important to preserve images before time and vandalism take their toll...

    My husband had a forebear who was a Civil War veteran but we'd have to go back to Europe to find out what anyone was doing around 1776!

    Genealogy research provides an excellent reason to travel. I find new historical perspectives when there is a personal connection on which to focus.

  • geewhiz
    geewhiz Member Posts: 671
    edited January 2017

    Hi -

    I just saw this and thought I would say "hello!". I am a geneaology nut for sure. I have a Revolutionary War patriot too but I need to get all those records pulled. I know that someone else has tagged onto him too, so I won't be reinventing the wheel, but it would be cool to be a DAR.

    I also research my Irish roots and it took me back to Ireland where I met cousins a zillion times removed. I keep in touch with them and it has been SO much fun!

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited January 2017

    Some stones are not very readable others look as good as ever after 250 years. It depends also on the stone type. Acid rain as really done a job on some for sure.

  • vlnrph
    vlnrph Member Posts: 524
    edited March 2017

    Time to bump this thread again and let everyone know that TLC is airing new episodes of the "Who Do You Think You Are" series produced by Lisa Kudrow. Her former sit-com 'friend' Courtney Cox was featured earlier this month. Sunday night seems to be the primary viewing opportunity but there are other showings and maybe on demand opportunities to catch up. I like seeing how they investigate things...

  • meow13
    meow13 Member Posts: 1,363
    edited March 2017

    Anyone else considering DAR membership?

  • summerangel
    summerangel Member Posts: 182
    edited March 2017

    Meow, I'm a DAR member, thanks to my mother signing me up along with herself. :) My father is a former leader in the SAR as well. They do good work and have a lot of interesting events. I found the age difference between myself and the other members of the local chapter to be too great to really fit in, but I'll definitely consider becoming active in another 15 years or so.

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