Doing Honor to Family

There are many different ways that we as genealogists and family historians find to honor the memories of our ancestors. Many of us write stories taken from the bits of information we glean from research, others of us love the joy of making beautiful scrap book pages, and still others are content to gather all available information in our software programs and make printed family trees to hand down. All are worthy endeavors to keep the memories of the past alive.

The two of us, The You Go Genealogy Girls, find many different ways to honor our loved ones. Girl #1 has made purses and bags with photos on them and Christmas tree ornaments. I love to do scrapbooking pages and wall art of various types, all with photos and trinkets of our ancestors added. I am running out of wall space to display everything and have even helped Number 1 fill up her wall space too.

We are lucky to be the proud owners of a beautiful family photo of our Great Great Grandparents and their family, The George Albert Copsey family which was taken in Custer County, Nebraska in about 1886-87. Not only do we have this treasured photo of their family and their sod house but it is also an important photo in the collection taken by the famous early photographer, Solomon D. Butcher. He made many early glass plate negative prints of the Plains, mostly in Nebraska during the later part of the 1800's and often centering around Custer County, Nebraska. This collection of glass plate negatives is at the Nebraska State Historical Society. Ours is a photograph and the original glass plate negative from the Butcher collection can be seen HERE and the plate details are available HERE. We invite you to take a look at the original glass plate, it is quite interesting and has a somewhat different look from our photo.

Many of the Solomon D.  Butcher photographs can be seen on the Library of Congress American Memory website. If you are a student of history and especially that of the early Plains and  American west those photos offer very poignant views of sod houses and the families who lived during those early years.

Cropped closeup taken from our original photograph of the George Albert Copsey family.

As many of you may already know, Ruby recently wrote a helpful new book about doing "Genealogy Research in Nebraska". Of course she had many hundreds of family photos that she could have chosen from to use on her book cover but our Copsey family is the one she wanted to use and when she suggested that to me in the pre-production stages, I was in total agreement that she had chosen well. What better way of doing honor to one of our dearest families? We are both so proud and so thankful that the Copsey's chose so many years ago to have their photo taken for posterity. Little did they know that thanks to Mr. Butcher, their Great Great Granddaughters would "make them famous" 130 years later! To us they were already a great family in our knowledge of their history and accomplishments...and were it not for them just where would we be? It is they who deserve our love and we honor them each time we look at those faces.

One of my other postings on my photo blog Taken Somewhere in Time has more early photos and information about Effie Mae Copsey, our G Grandma, the little girl with the doll in the sod house picture. "Great Grandma Gardner's Photo Timeline"

Ruby's book cover!

Ruby's book can be ordered from Roots Family Publishing: HERE.


Thanks for stopping by our blog!  ~Cheri, You Go Genealogy Girl #2

The Girls Stay Home, The Girls Travel

After being home exactly one week from attending the Family History Expo in Overland Park, Kansas, I am enjoying the comforts of home, but also longing to get Lil' Red back on the highway.  YGGG #2 has been home most of the summer and she is anxious to get under some wheels and travel.  Unfortunately we are going different places at different times.  She and her husband are going on a much needed camping vacation and I am leaving in less than two weeks for my high school class reunion.  Notice I didn't precede it with a year!

Summer is far from over even though school bells will be ringing here in a couple of weeks.  They can just ring because I am not going back to school.   At least I'm not going back to school in a building with regimental classes.  I can select my classes.  Genealogists are not exempt from the learning process.  There is always something new to learn.  That is why this year's theme for the Family History Expos is appropriately titled, "Where Ol' Dogs Learn New Tricks!"

This summer I purchased books at the various Family History Expos.  Many were from Family Roots Publishing's booth in the exhibit halls.  As my genealogy grows and develops, I have to stay informed of techniques, records and resources.  Internet does a great job of supplying information, but some of the best is still found in genealogy books.  Christine Rose's new book, Military Bounty Land 1776-1855 was one of my first summer purchases.  An older publication I purchased is Inheritance in America From Colonial Times to the Present by Carole Shammas, Marylynn Salmon, and Michel Dahlin.  I am not anxious for cold weather and particularly not for snow, but a stay-at-home day with my books would be welcome.

After those school bells ring my plans are to continue traveling.  I have long accumulated research needs in eastern Nebraska.  A trip to the east coast to visit family and relatives, as well as do genealogical research, is also anticipated.  Fall is a great time to travel and see the country in different colors, at a slower pace and with renewed vigor for research tasks.  I will stuff the books in my bag and read as time permits.  There are always evenings to learn new genealogy tricks, or while on airplanes, or even when camping.  Both of the You Go Genealogy Girls hope you never stop learning.

You Go Genealogy Girl #1 -- Ruby

Lazy Day...a December Sunday

Have you ever had one of those weekend days when you have so much to do and no ambition to do it? I will bet that every genealogist has gone through one of those such days. Your desk is piled with papers waiting to be filed, files already on the computer need to be organized, newly arrived photos need to be scanned, Christmas gifts for early shipping need to be wrapped, wash could stand to be done (even though it is Sunday), Hubby is home from work and wonders what will be for dinner ...and so do I! Oh my, the list just goes on and on.

Today the sun is actually out and it is warmer outside without the darn wind blowing. I should go out and finish a bit of Holiday shopping this afternoon as I have conveniently put that off citing windy conditions that have kept me from it all week. I hate shopping in the wind: car doors fly open often jarring the hinges, something always manages to blow out of the car, the automatic door of the store never opens and I am just plain grouchy when it is windy. Maybe shopping would cure the Sunday lazies. Maybe not.

Let's get busy and cook a great seven course meal as it has been while, even for that. Sounds really good, doesn't it? Mom's homemade chicken and noodles with fresh mashed potatoes, baked squash and maybe even a pie. Yum, wish I had a cook....and a maid!

It would be awesome to see those 1830's family Bible pages all scanned and printed out on beautiful paper. Great, great, great Grandmother probably spent a Sunday just like this all those years ago just getting all those names added to that Bible. A thoughtful scrapbook page would surely show them off beautifully. You Go Girl #1 is also anxiously awaiting the appearance of those treasured scanned pages. They seem so content in their little box all packed among photos of their family, this is not the day to disturb them.

Those nasty dirty clothes....well I am sure we can find something clean to wear tomorrow. We might be sporting summer shorts, tank tops, and inside-out underware but since it is winter anyway and the furnace is already running we can just turn it up a few degrees and be wonderfully comfortable!

Speaking of comfortable- I have decided, this will definitely finish out as a lazy day Sunday.
I'm on the way to the kitchen to tackle the arduous chore of throwing some things together in the crock pot for "supper" and the ice cream cake is already waiting in the freezer for dessert. The maid can at least serve it when it is ready!

A grand cup of hot, white chocolate in hand and my cozy soft blanket wrap are all I need this lazy afternoon in December. I will settle in my easy chair with my four new genealogy magazines that have been beckoning to me. Actually they have been calling to me for several days now so it is only proper that I should answer that call. They might just decide to disappear in the shuffle, never to be seen again if I do not pay them some homage this day. I will also dream on that Christmas List from the last posting, that will come when I lay down my new Internet Genealogy magazine right in the middle of an article just to catch a few winks. ;) What of all that "other important stuff"? I bet it will still be around on Monday and maybe I will even get that shopping done...tomorrow.


Thank you to Susan Peterson from "Long Lost Relatives.Net" for awarding us with the ANCESTOR APPROVED award, our second one! We are blessed with good friends and loyal readers.

You Go Genealogy Girl #2--Cheri
----------------------------------------------------------------

image of lady and Santa from :"Two Dog Pond" blog. She makes beautiful glass art jewelry. Check it out for unique handmade gifts from Nebraska!

This and That and Not Much Else

What do you do with a painful knee and limited patience? I'm suppose to rest, but I didn't hear that ... maybe it was a whisper in my ear. While I am progressing each day after my surgery, it is slower than I anticipated. After all, I consider myself a SuperWoman, or is that SuperGenealogist?

For almost a week I have hobbled around with and without the walker, going from my recliner, laptop and TV to the computer/genealogy room. I have now achieved the ability of taking my walker outside to the mail box. This morning I decided to wheel two houses to the west, turn around in their drive way and wheel back home. Before I got back to my house, a nurse at the rest home complex across the street, was watching me. I suspect she thought I had escaped.

I am anxious to return the walker to my genealogy friends who generously loaned it to me. My granddaughter's 11th birthday party is tomorrow evening at the bowling alley. She wants me to come, but not with the walker. That makes me feel good as she doesn't want her friends to think her granny has suddenly gotten old and decrepit. The walker can be useful, though. It's great for transporting items from room to room, such as my bagel and tea in the morning and books and magazines when I change locations.

On the plus side, I have read through numerous genealogy periodicals that have piled up. I bet I'm not the only one who accumulates them in stacks. I have been reading messages and leaving messages on GenealogyWise. The FGS Conference blog is keeping me entertained and green with envy that I'm not at the conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. I am also dreaming of the day when I can walk around the block and also go to cemeteries. All in time! It's been a long summer!

You Go Girl #1 ... Ruby

P.S. You Go Girl #2's hubby, "Go Hubby," called me yesterday. They are still in the mountain wilderness in Wyoming. He drove to where he could get a cell signal to make sure I am okay. Isn't that special of him? He said #2 was alone in camp with the dog and her genealogy. So far they haven't turned into bear bait!

Cause of Death ... Squeezed by Genealogy Books

In May of 2008, Cheri and I visited her son and family in Topeka, Kansas.  You can read about this unique family on her blog, Those Old Memories.  What great fun when my nephew, Jason, suggested we visit the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library.  

The library is located at 1515 SW 19th Ave. in Topeka; 785-580-4400.  They are open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from noon to 9 p.m.  The library contains books and a lot more.  There you will find a museum/gallery with displays, a cafe, booktique, computer training center, homework center and even quiet reading rooms.  They have massive collections of books, multimedia, etc.  

On the second floor are enlightening exhibits about Topeka and the area and ... drum roll ... the Special Collections Topeka Room, Genealogy Center.  To learn more about genealogy from their location click on genealogy & local history at their web page.  

Cheri did not go too prepared and so was a bit confused where to start and what to do.  She seemed to focus on my well being.  The genealogy section is equipped with some electronic space savers storage solutions which are book shelving units that close shut and open by pushing a button.  She reminded me several times not to get caught between the bookcases should somebody pass by and push a button.  

I was not too concerned ... after all it might be the way a genealogist wants to depart this life. Squeezed by genealogy books!