Congratulations Karen, this will be a valuable resource for academia as well as genealogists. Dawn -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Karen Rhodes Sent: Friday, March 17, 2017 2:03 PM To: Transitional Genealogists Subject: [TGF] My work on St. Augustine, FL, is going big time I received a phone call from my major professor last week, and he was excited about a project he is spearheading to gather data on, identify, and relate people who lived in Florida during the Spanish colonial periods, 1565-1763 and 1784-1821. My work on St. Augustine's population during that latter period fits in like a hand in a glove, he said, and he wanted me to take charge of that portion of this project, to be called the Colonial Florida Digital History Institute. This will be a huge collection of data to be fed into a relational database that will be mounted online and available to the public. Teachers and students can use it for research; family historians and genealogists can use it, as well. The project will be launched on the web this fall, beginning with coverage of all the individuals who were part of an expedition to La Florida in 1566. Other data sets covering other expeditions, settlements at St. Augustine, Santa Elena (today's Parris Island, SC), and other locations, will be mounted as the data are input and prepared for the site. This is an ongoing project. My part won't be mounted probably for another two years, at least. Participation in the project comes with a title, but without compensation of the economic sort. Oh, well. My participation will constitute publication for academic purposes, and will look really good on the curriculum vitae. The title is Principal Investigator for East Florida in the Second Spanish Period. Hey -- I'm a P.I.! I told my major professor, now my colleague (I got my master's degree in May of 2015), that I was sure my genealogical training would work well in this project, and he said that it would, indeed. Here is a way in which genealogy is putting its foot in the door of academia. I'm all for that! The website will have more than the aggregation of data in a searchable, relatable format. There will be digital scans of original documents from the diocesan archives of the Catholic cathedral at St. Augustine, some 6,000 baptism, marriage, and burial records, and other documents. There will be stories -- tales that we research staff will glean or have gleaned from our researches in the original documents. I have a couple of highly amusing stories from the marriage petitions in St. Augustine from 1784-1803, and one very sad story of the suicide of a St. Augustine doctor. And there are more stories lurking in the documents. I've already talked to descendants of Minorcan (came from the Balearic Island of Minorca, just southeast of Spain) and Floridano (of Spanish ancestry born in Florida) who live in the north Florida area, and they are excited about the project. I'm excited, too. Karen Packard Rhodes Middleburg, Clay County, Florida ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. https://www.avast.com/antivirus

That is awesome, Karen! Keep us updated! Harold Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ® midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL On Fri, Mar 17, 2017 at 4:02 PM, Karen Rhodes <bitbucket001@comcast.net> wrote: > > I received a phone call from my major professor last week, and he was > excited about a project he is spearheading to gather data on, identify, and > relate people who lived in Florida during the Spanish colonial periods, > 1565-1763 and 1784-1821. My work on St. Augustine's population during that > latter period fits in like a hand in a glove, he said, and he wanted me to > take charge of that portion of this project, to be called the Colonial > Florida Digital History Institute. This will be a huge collection of data > to be fed into a relational database that will be mounted online and > available to the public. Teachers and students can use it for research; > family historians and genealogists can use it, as well. > > The project will be launched on the web this fall, beginning with coverage > of all the individuals who were part of an expedition to La Florida in > 1566. Other data sets covering other expeditions, settlements at St. > Augustine, Santa Elena (today's Parris Island, SC), and other locations, > will be mounted as the data are input and prepared for the site. This is > an ongoing project. My part won't be mounted probably for another two > years, at least. > > Participation in the project comes with a title, but without compensation > of the economic sort. Oh, well. My participation will constitute > publication for academic purposes, and will look really good on the > curriculum vitae. The title is Principal Investigator for East Florida in > the Second Spanish Period. Hey -- I'm a P.I.! > > I told my major professor, now my colleague (I got my master's degree in > May of 2015), that I was sure my genealogical training would work well in > this project, and he said that it would, indeed. Here is a way in which > genealogy is putting its foot in the door of academia. I'm all for that! > > The website will have more than the aggregation of data in a searchable, > relatable format. There will be digital scans of original documents from > the diocesan archives of the Catholic cathedral at St. Augustine, some > 6,000 baptism, marriage, and burial records, and other documents. There > will be stories -- tales that we research staff will glean or have gleaned > from our researches in the original documents. I have a couple of highly > amusing stories from the marriage petitions in St. Augustine from > 1784-1803, and one very sad story of the suicide of a St. Augustine > doctor. And there are more stories lurking in the documents. > > I've already talked to descendants of Minorcan (came from the Balearic > Island of Minorca, just southeast of Spain) and Floridano (of Spanish > ancestry born in Florida) who live in the north Florida area, and they are > excited about the project. > > I'm excited, too. > > Karen Packard Rhodes > > Middleburg, Clay County, Florida > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Thanks for all the book suggestions! There were so many, I created a new WorldCat list to jot the titles down for safe-keeping. I also searched for "serendipity" and browsed through dissertation titles. It's interesting to imagine how it might apply in other fields. Cyndy Cynthia Richardson Orange County, CA

Marty Hiatt and all,Thank you for what you wrote.  Yes, what happened to you with your aunt is wonderful.  Your ancestors want to be found.  I have had a somewhat different experience with a particular ancestor. Every time I work on Nicholas Miller (Nicolas Mueller, German immigrant) I get such feelings of darkness, foreboding, dread.  I have tried to find when and where he married his second wife, but have been unsuccessful.  I have found him as a sponsor to two of his brother's sons in Church records in Louisville, KY.  He is also in the same church records for his oldest child by this second marriage.  About three months after that he deserted the Union Army.  I think it had something to do with this infant son but am not sure.  I don't see this son anywhere else in Louisville or Cincinnati (where they lived for a time). Have you or anyone on this list ever experienced this same dark feeling with an ancestor? Cheryl  Proctor On Thursday, March 16, 2017 6:58 PM, "cmproctor1@frontier.com" <cmproctor1@frontier.com> wrote: I have a stubborn family, too.  They need to be added to that list.Cheryl Proctor On Thursday, March 16, 2017 2:53 PM, Elizabeth Shown Mills <eshown@comcast.net> wrote: Jo, I feel your pain! I have exactly one ancestor in the state I live in--one who moved here just a tad before his death. For everyone else, it's long-distance research. The good news for us is that, in today's world, long-distance research (as well as "reasonably exhaustive research" it requires to resolve the serious issues) has become so much easier--thanks to FamilySearch and Ancestry and state-archive websites and so many others who are now posting images of records. The bad news for us is all the time it takes! Elizabeth -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jo Arnspiger Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 1:38 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Elizabeth, I have one particularly elusive ancestor, Henry Stephen[s] Archer 1831-1909.  We talked about him on the wonderful Alaskan cruise a few years back.  Still have not found his parents and other family.  Will not give up but do get frustrated.  It is difficult to research in Mississippi when I live in Arizona. Hoping for a trip to that part of the country end of June. Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <eshown@comcast.net> To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:30:24 AM Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Marty, Harold, Elissa, and Cyndi: Will you please ask your ancestors to schedule an intervention with my ancestors and take them through a behavioral modification session?  Mine definitely do NOT want to be found. Elizabeth ------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG EvidenceExplained.com HistoricPathways.com -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Marty Hiatt Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:13 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death.  My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I have a stubborn family, too.  They need to be added to that list.Cheryl Proctor On Thursday, March 16, 2017 2:53 PM, Elizabeth Shown Mills <eshown@comcast.net> wrote: Jo, I feel your pain! I have exactly one ancestor in the state I live in--one who moved here just a tad before his death. For everyone else, it's long-distance research. The good news for us is that, in today's world, long-distance research (as well as "reasonably exhaustive research" it requires to resolve the serious issues) has become so much easier--thanks to FamilySearch and Ancestry and state-archive websites and so many others who are now posting images of records. The bad news for us is all the time it takes! Elizabeth -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jo Arnspiger Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 1:38 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Elizabeth, I have one particularly elusive ancestor, Henry Stephen[s] Archer 1831-1909.  We talked about him on the wonderful Alaskan cruise a few years back.  Still have not found his parents and other family.  Will not give up but do get frustrated.  It is difficult to research in Mississippi when I live in Arizona. Hoping for a trip to that part of the country end of June. Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <eshown@comcast.net> To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:30:24 AM Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Marty, Harold, Elissa, and Cyndi: Will you please ask your ancestors to schedule an intervention with my ancestors and take them through a behavioral modification session?  Mine definitely do NOT want to be found. Elizabeth ------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG EvidenceExplained.com HistoricPathways.com -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Marty Hiatt Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:13 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death.  My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I can relate - here's my story of serendipity: I met a woman through one of my genealogy postings who turned out tobe a third cousin. Our great grandmothers were sisters. My new cousin and hersisters had been searching for ancestors unsuccessfully for years but had beenlooking for the wrong surname. They did not know until one of their aunts madea deathbed confession, that their grandmother had changed her name after hermarriage had failed – seemingly in an attempt to hide the children from theirfather. So armed with the correct surname, the search for their grandfather andprevious generations was on. It was at this point that they found me. Turns out, her grandfather was married three times (1895, 1912 and 1929 and there werechildren from all three unions). Mynew-found cousin is descended from a daughter of the second marriage. Then the pieces finally started to fall together. An examination of hisCanadian WW1 military file indicated her grandfather had intended to buy propertynear Sutton, Quebec. We assumed he may have died there and a search of a Quebecrecords website verified it. With a death date I was able to find a newspaperobituary which provided information on the funeral, burial and names of surviving wife(#3) and children. Since we had never met face to face, we decided that a jointtrip to find the grave would be a fun adventure. We picked a time that we could both get off work, shedrove to Ottawa, stayed a few days with us and together weset out for Mansonville, Quebec and the tombstone hunt. We found a cemetery on both sides of the main street of the town - looked high and low forthe stone and came up empty. Since it was getting on for 12:30, we decided tostop for lunch, recharge and see if there were any other cemeteries in thearea. We stopped in a small cafe and began talking to the older woman who served us,told her what we were doing and asked her if she knew the surname we werelooking for. She said she wasn't 'from there' but her husband was and went toask him if he knew the name. He came out, sat down with us and announced thathe had gone to school with someone with the exact name as my third cousin’sgrandfather - this would be the son from marriage #3. He remembered hisschoolmate’s father as being old enough to be his grandfather (quite likely Iguess when you get to offspring from marriage #3 – he would have been 54 whenhe married for the third time). The gentleman assured us that we were lookingin the right cemetery, so we went back, with instructions to focus on theProtestant side where, after careful examination of all tombstones plus ground plates, we finallyfound a small bronze plaque in the ground (right name and rightdates), partially covered with grass. We congratulated ourselves, cleaned offthe plaque, took some pictures and began the 4 hour drive back to Ottawa. It was only the next night after my cousin had returned home and I was enteringthe info into my database that I happened to reread his obituary andimmediately got goosebumps. We found his grave on August 20th at 2:00 pm - theEXACT date and time of his funeral 53 years earlier! Patty McGregor Ottawa, Canada

You might be interested in "True Miracles with Genealogy, Help from Beyond the Veil" compiled by Anne Bradshaw. I believe she actually published two volumes. My serendipitous experience is in the first volume. There are fifty different experiences in vol. 1. Not sure about vol. 2. Jo Arnspiger ----- Original Message ----- From: "Deanna Korte" <deanna.korte@gmail.com> To: transitional-genealogists-forum-l@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 2:27:36 PM Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up and Serendipity I haven't read it yet, but Megan Smolenyak has a book on this (sitting atop my Amazon wish list!) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B013GYJQW4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=XIYBRTMQF346&coliid=I3GLDZ8PNWXGAH > On Mar 16, 2017, at 4:40 PM, ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> wrote: > > Has anyone compiled a small book of these wonderful stories of > serendipity? If so, a second volume might be in order. If not, I'm > guessing I'm not alone in saying that I would enjoy reading one. :) > > A blog would work, too, but the delight of holding a book seems to > match the spirit of this subject material ... > > Cyndy Richardson > Orange County, CA > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

More serendipity: As co-managing editor of Minnesota Genealogist, I assign portions of the journal to each of four proof readers. One emailed me immediately to say the article I assigned to her was about someone in her own family and she had information that the author apparently lacked.  Elizabeth Williams GomollSt Paul MN From: "transitional-genealogists-forum-request@rootsweb.com" <transitional-genealogists-forum-request@rootsweb.com> To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:01 PM Subject: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM Digest, Vol 11, Issue 49 Send TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM mailing list submissions to     transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit     http://lists2.rootsweb.ancestry.com/mailman/listinfo/transitional-genealogists-forum or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to     transitional-genealogists-forum-request@rootsweb.com You can reach the person managing the list at     transitional-genealogists-forum-owner@rootsweb.com When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM digest..." Today's Topics:   1. Re:  serendipity squared ;-) (Harold Henderson)   2. Re:  serendipity squared ;-) (ccr)   3. Re:  serendipity squared ;-) (Harold Henderson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2017 11:30:35 -0500 From: Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com> To: "Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL" <Elissa@powellgenealogy.com> Cc: Transitional Genealogists     <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [TGF] serendipity squared ;-) Message-ID:     <CABPpKTgy14YXpEu1-EGWFpG6XOb8qSYNGpMMzeGLN-PqSGY1Bw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I do recall your saying that more than a few times, Elissa! But then what am I to think about this fellow's sister-in-law. Does she still hate genealogists in the afterlife? Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ?  midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 11:20 AM, Elissa Scalise Powell, CG, CGL < Elissa@powellgenealogy.com> wrote: > I have always said, "They want to be found." > > Elissa > > Elissa Scalise Powell, CG , CGL > www.PowellGenealogy.com > www.GRIPitt.org 25-30 June 2017 and 16-21 July 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA > CG, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the > Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board > certificants after periodic evaluations. Certified Genealogist and the > board name are trademarks registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. > > -----Original Message----- > From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional- > genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Harold Henderson > Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:41 AM > To: Transitional Genealogists <transitional-genealogists- > forum@rootsweb.com> > Subject: [TGF] serendipity squared ;-) > > This morning I worked a while on an old Chicago family (Lowe), one line of > which ended up in East Chicago, Lake County, Indiana, one of whose members > died in Michigan City, La Porte County, Indiana. I discovered this about > half an hour before we had to run errands in La Porte, where I obtained a > copy of the obituary. If only every relative and quasi-relative worked that > well! > > (I decided not to post this on Facebook and put it here where at least > those who see it will appreciate the improbabilities.) > > Harold > > > Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ?  midwestroots.net Genealogical > writing and editing Current research: Boren 1750-1840 PA, Flint/Gedney > 1800-1950 IL/MO, Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > > ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2017 09:43:26 -0700 From: ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> To: Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com> Cc: Transitional Genealogists     <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [TGF] serendipity squared ;-) Message-ID:     <CALw=in5wPSO6hru0tgwHjetRoGDhiZ9dbgW_+RNqVBruTgskTQ@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" I love serendipity! And I hope that was one, long, information-rich obituary you found this morning. :) Years ago, I happened to be at the local FHC when someone stopped by to search for death information for a woman with an unknown married name. In the course of our conversation, I learned the woman had been buried in a particular section of Waldheim (Chicago) and I just happened to have a scanned list of burials for that section stored in the cloud--exactly what we needed to solve the mystery. What were the chances? And yet, it happened! "Serendipity squared!" Cyndy Richardson Orange County, California ------------------------------ Message: 3 Date: Thu, 16 Mar 2017 11:58:55 -0500 From: Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com> To: ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> Cc: Transitional Genealogists     <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [TGF] serendipity squared ;-) Message-ID:     <CABPpKTg8=HNefThVffUJ_XROyYSQaN8Ghpsr8Bsx7X0-DG-6vw@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Cyndy -- You're definitely adding fuel to Elissa's fire. That is remarkable! -- Harold Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ?  midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM, ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> wrote: > I love serendipity! And I hope that was one, long, information-rich > obituary you found this morning. :) > > Years ago, I happened to be at the local FHC when someone stopped by > to search for death information for a woman with an unknown married > name. > > In the course of our conversation, I learned the woman had been buried > in a particular section of Waldheim (Chicago) and I just happened to > have a scanned list of burials for that section stored in the > cloud--exactly what we needed to solve the mystery. > > What were the chances? And yet, it happened! "Serendipity squared!" > > Cyndy Richardson > Orange County, California > ------------------------------ Subject: Digest Footer ------------------------------ End of TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM Digest, Vol 11, Issue 49 ***************************************************************

I haven't read it yet, but Megan Smolenyak has a book on this (sitting atop my Amazon wish list!) https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B013GYJQW4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=XIYBRTMQF346&coliid=I3GLDZ8PNWXGAH > On Mar 16, 2017, at 4:40 PM, ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> wrote: > > Has anyone compiled a small book of these wonderful stories of > serendipity? If so, a second volume might be in order. If not, I'm > guessing I'm not alone in saying that I would enjoy reading one. :) > > A blog would work, too, but the delight of holding a book seems to > match the spirit of this subject material ... > > Cyndy Richardson > Orange County, CA > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Hank Jones (the other FASG Jones) did two volumes called "Psychic Roots" back in the 1990s. One of my stories is in volume 2. They are fascinating to read. Along with "They want to be found" (except for Elizabeth's ancestors who don't want to take her fun away from her!), I also say "Serendipity is when a well-prepared mind meets an opportunity." Not everyone would recognize an opportunity without the prep work it took to get there! Elissa Elissa Scalise Powell, CG , CGL www.PowellGenealogy.com www.GRIPitt.org 25-30 June 2017 and 16-21 July 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA CG, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations. Certified Genealogist and the board name are trademarks registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of ccr Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 4:40 PM To: Transitional Genealogists <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up and Serendipity Has anyone compiled a small book of these wonderful stories of serendipity? If so, a second volume might be in order. If not, I'm guessing I'm not alone in saying that I would enjoy reading one. :) A blog would work, too, but the delight of holding a book seems to match the spirit of this subject material ... Cyndy Richardson Orange County, CA ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I could tell several serendipitous stories. My favorite, however, occurred when my husband and I were in Scotland. His grandmother came to the U.S. from Scotland when she was 17, and we were seeking the birthplace of her mother (my husband’s great grandmother) which was given on the birth certificate as “Ardler.” We found Ardler on an old map and were driving all around the area, unable to locate it. We drove into the small town of Washington, in the general area. While stopped at a stop sign in Washington, a man crossed in front of us, and my husband rolled down his window to ask if he knew of a town nearby called “Ardler.” The man said, “This is Ardler. The name was later changed to Washington. I am the town historian. If you’ll meet me at my house a couple of blocks away I’ll take a look in my materials.” We did. An hour later we were standing in front of the house where my husband’s great grandmother was born. This is a true story. We had impartial and completely non-genealogically-oriented friends with us who will attest to it. : ) Janis Walker Gilmore Pawleys Island, SC, & Seattle, WA

Looking through the Chicago Tribune for Dasing, a family name with few in the family, I ran across an obit never before seen of rose Schmidt. A person unknown to me. And a last name unknown to me. Obit said she was the sister of Margaret Dasing, my greatgtam. Margaret's maiden name was Graber. Knowing her sister allowed me to verify that I had the right family in the german familienbuchen for their VERY small town in Germany. Serendipity Also timing...as this was two days b4 research trip to slc Oh my!! Liz ross Sent from my iPhone On Mar 16, 2017, at 11:58, Harold Henderson <librarytraveler@gmail.com> wrote: Cyndy -- You're definitely adding fuel to Elissa's fire. That is remarkable! -- Harold Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ® midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL > On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM, ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> wrote: > > I love serendipity! And I hope that was one, long, information-rich > obituary you found this morning. :) > > Years ago, I happened to be at the local FHC when someone stopped by > to search for death information for a woman with an unknown married > name. > > In the course of our conversation, I learned the woman had been buried > in a particular section of Waldheim (Chicago) and I just happened to > have a scanned list of burials for that section stored in the > cloud--exactly what we needed to solve the mystery. > > What were the chances? And yet, it happened! "Serendipity squared!" > > Cyndy Richardson > Orange County, California ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Elizabeth, I have one particularly elusive ancestor, Henry Stephen[s] Archer 1831-1909. We talked about him on the wonderful Alaskan cruise a few years back. Still have not found his parents and other family. Will not give up but do get frustrated. It is difficult to research in Mississippi when I live in Arizona. Hoping for a trip to that part of the country end of June. Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <eshown@comcast.net> To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:30:24 AM Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Marty, Harold, Elissa, and Cyndi: Will you please ask your ancestors to schedule an intervention with my ancestors and take them through a behavioral modification session? Mine definitely do NOT want to be found. Elizabeth ------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG EvidenceExplained.com HistoricPathways.com -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Marty Hiatt Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:13 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death. My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Now that's just plain scary! Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ® midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 2:02 PM, PATRICIA MCGREGOR <pmcgr@rogers.com> wrote: > I can relate - here's my story of serendipity: > > I met a woman through one of my genealogy postings who turned out tobe a > third cousin. Our great grandmothers were sisters. My new cousin and > hersisters had been searching for ancestors unsuccessfully for years but > had beenlooking for the wrong surname. They did not know until one of their > aunts madea deathbed confession, that their grandmother had changed her > name after hermarriage had failed – seemingly in an attempt to hide the > children from theirfather. So armed with the correct surname, the search > for their grandfather andprevious generations was on. It was at this point > that they found me. Turns out, her grandfather was married three times > (1895, 1912 and 1929 and there werechildren from all three unions). > Mynew-found cousin is descended from a daughter of the second marriage. > > Then the pieces finally started to fall together. An examination of > hisCanadian WW1 military file indicated her grandfather had intended to buy > propertynear Sutton, Quebec. We assumed he may have died there and a search > of a Quebecrecords website verified it. With a death date I was able to > find a newspaperobituary which provided information on the funeral, burial > and names of surviving wife(#3) and children. Since we had never met face > to face, we decided that a jointtrip to find the grave would be a fun > adventure. We picked a time that we could both get off work, shedrove to > Ottawa, stayed a few days with us and together weset out for Mansonville, > Quebec and the tombstone hunt. > > We found a cemetery on both sides of the main street of the town - looked > high and low forthe stone and came up empty. Since it was getting on for > 12:30, we decided tostop for lunch, recharge and see if there were any > other cemeteries in thearea. > > We stopped in a small cafe and began talking to the older woman who served > us,told her what we were doing and asked her if she knew the surname we > werelooking for. She said she wasn't 'from there' but her husband was and > went toask him if he knew the name. He came out, sat down with us and > announced thathe had gone to school with someone with the exact name as my > third cousin’sgrandfather - this would be the son from marriage #3. He > remembered hisschoolmate’s father as being old enough to be his grandfather > (quite likely Iguess when you get to offspring from marriage #3 – he would > have been 54 whenhe married for the third time). The gentleman assured us > that we were lookingin the right cemetery, so we went back, with > instructions to focus on theProtestant side where, after careful > examination of all tombstones plus ground plates, we finallyfound a small > bronze plaque in the ground (right name and rightdates), partially covered > with grass. We congratulated ourselves, cleaned offthe plaque, took some > pictures and began the 4 hour drive back to Ottawa. > > It was only the next night after my cousin had returned home and I was > enteringthe info into my database that I happened to reread his obituary > andimmediately got goosebumps. We found his grave on August 20th at 2:00 pm > - theEXACT date and time of his funeral 53 years earlier! > Patty McGregor > Ottawa, Canada > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word > 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Jo, I feel your pain! I have exactly one ancestor in the state I live in--one who moved here just a tad before his death. For everyone else, it's long-distance research. The good news for us is that, in today's world, long-distance research (as well as "reasonably exhaustive research" it requires to resolve the serious issues) has become so much easier--thanks to FamilySearch and Ancestry and state-archive websites and so many others who are now posting images of records. The bad news for us is all the time it takes! Elizabeth -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Jo Arnspiger Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 1:38 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Elizabeth, I have one particularly elusive ancestor, Henry Stephen[s] Archer 1831-1909. We talked about him on the wonderful Alaskan cruise a few years back. Still have not found his parents and other family. Will not give up but do get frustrated. It is difficult to research in Mississippi when I live in Arizona. Hoping for a trip to that part of the country end of June. Jo ----- Original Message ----- From: "Elizabeth Shown Mills" <eshown@comcast.net> To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:30:24 AM Subject: Re: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere Marty, Harold, Elissa, and Cyndi: Will you please ask your ancestors to schedule an intervention with my ancestors and take them through a behavioral modification session? Mine definitely do NOT want to be found. Elizabeth ------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG EvidenceExplained.com HistoricPathways.com -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Marty Hiatt Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:13 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death. My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Has anyone compiled a small book of these wonderful stories of serendipity? If so, a second volume might be in order. If not, I'm guessing I'm not alone in saying that I would enjoy reading one. :) A blog would work, too, but the delight of holding a book seems to match the spirit of this subject material ... Cyndy Richardson Orange County, CA

Marty, Harold, Elissa, and Cyndi: Will you please ask your ancestors to schedule an intervention with my ancestors and take them through a behavioral modification session? Mine definitely do NOT want to be found. Elizabeth ------------------------------------------------- Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG EvidenceExplained.com HistoricPathways.com -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Marty Hiatt Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 12:13 PM To: transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com Subject: [TGF] Never give up, and always search everywhere I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death. My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

I'm sure many of you won't believe this, but honestly, it's true. Harold's story of cooperative ancestors, and today's timing, meant I have to share: I am doing data-entry for my own family. I need to verify the death of an aunt, for whom all I knew what that she was born in 1918 and died after 1983 (last time I saw her). Houston was her home town, and where her husband is interred. The mausoleum staff needs a long time to find someone without a date of death. My aunt's daughter had moved to California, but I was told she returned to Texas to care for her mother during mother's final days. Doesn't this say the death certificate should be filed in Texas? So yesterday I searched the two online Texas death indexes that are available from Ancestry. Nothing. Next I searched the California death indexes, with no success there, either. This morning, I realized I had not recorded the dates for the Calif. index, so I went back to Ancestry.com and found "California Death Index 1940-1997." Once I was there, I thought, why not try again? So I put in the unusual first name of my aunt, her married name of Hiatt, and that was it; until I clicked search. Up popped her name, birth, death & locations. Her birth info matched what I already had, so I knew it was the correct person. Her date of death, 11 Oct 2002, and place of Houston, Harris Co., Texas, put her right where I thought she should be. Bu,t remember what index I was using? California, not Texas; 1940-1997, and found a 2002 death. I tried to print, but that wasn't an option, neither was cut or copy. So I quickly penciled the data I needed. If only I had remembered "print screen." The shock was too great. When I did another search, nothing was found. When I went to "history," the page was not there. Were these our genealogy gods at work, or gremlins in my computer? Whatever, today I'm a happy camper. Wishing you all the same, unusual, success. Marty Hiatt

I have always said, "They want to be found." Elissa Elissa Scalise Powell, CG , CGL www.PowellGenealogy.com www.GRIPitt.org 25-30 June 2017 and 16-21 July 2017 in Pittsburgh, PA CG, CGL, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluations. Certified Genealogist and the board name are trademarks registered in the US Patent and Trademark Office. -----Original Message----- From: TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM [mailto:transitional-genealogists-forum-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Harold Henderson Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2017 11:41 AM To: Transitional Genealogists <transitional-genealogists-forum@rootsweb.com> Subject: [TGF] serendipity squared ;-) This morning I worked a while on an old Chicago family (Lowe), one line of which ended up in East Chicago, Lake County, Indiana, one of whose members died in Michigan City, La Porte County, Indiana. I discovered this about half an hour before we had to run errands in La Porte, where I obtained a copy of the obituary. If only every relative and quasi-relative worked that well! (I decided not to post this on Facebook and put it here where at least those who see it will appreciate the improbabilities.) Harold Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ® midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research: Boren 1750-1840 PA, Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO, Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TRANSITIONAL-GENEALOGISTS-FORUM-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Cyndy -- You're definitely adding fuel to Elissa's fire. That is remarkable! -- Harold Harold Henderson, Certified Genealogist ® midwestroots.net Genealogical writing and editing Current research and writing: Mozley 1800-1950 England/PA/WI Lowe 1770-1950 England/NYC/IL Flint/Gedney 1800-1950 IL/MO Thrall 1792-1934 VT/OH/IL On Thu, Mar 16, 2017 at 11:43 AM, ccr <ggfdcdf@gmail.com> wrote: > I love serendipity! And I hope that was one, long, information-rich > obituary you found this morning. :) > > Years ago, I happened to be at the local FHC when someone stopped by > to search for death information for a woman with an unknown married > name. > > In the course of our conversation, I learned the woman had been buried > in a particular section of Waldheim (Chicago) and I just happened to > have a scanned list of burials for that section stored in the > cloud--exactly what we needed to solve the mystery. > > What were the chances? And yet, it happened! "Serendipity squared!" > > Cyndy Richardson > Orange County, California >