Helen. Dear, Sweet Helen.

As I re-scan the photographs from the old family albums (the same ones that got me started in genealogy to begin with), I also have started re-visiting some of my old research and picked up where I've left on some of my lines. It never fails that whenever I delve back into this wonderful process of researching my family tree I make new cousin connections.  I'm very excited to announce that I may well have found another cousin, this time of a family line that I have been stumped on for quite some time.

I've been looking into the wife of my paternal great-grandfather, Edward HODICK. Her name was Justina, and we've been told her maiden name was "NAUCHODILE". No one ever knew the spelling; just that the /ch/ was pronounced from the back of the throat ala German style. So a month or two (three??) ago, I finally stumbled on a key clue when I found Justina's obituary which just happened to have mentioned a surviving sister named Mrs. Julia Wodesheck.  This past week or so I finally remembered this obituary and decided maybe it was time to start searching for this Julia Wodesheck in hopes that it would lead me back to Justina. During my searches for Julia I've gathered some pretty convincing evidence that Julia Nahodil had married a John Wodeshick and that Julia was indeed, my great-grandmother's sister.  I've noticed that Julia and John had a daughter named Helen. Which I thought was exciting, knowing that there was a photograph in these old albums that looked like this:

The writing is not mine; I think it was either grandma Hodick-McHugh's or her daughter, my aunt, Noreen. The page from which this photo came from in the albums also happened to imply that this Helen was "Grandma's Niece" (written by my dad's sister, which would make the referenced "Grandma" my great-grandmother).

Which I felt just happened to bear a resemblance to my paternal grandmother, Mary HODICK:

So I decided to search for Nahodil on the Family Trees section at Ancestry.com.  And found someone whose tree included Julia NAHODIL WODESHICK. 

And so I wrote to her. And she wrote back. And we're now trying to see if the connection she has to Julia is parallel to my connection to Justina. Stay tuned. This is looking very promising. I leave you with one more photo that I just came across for the first time tonight:

The woman in the dark dress is my grandmother, Mary (HODICK) McHugh. The children are: Marianne (standing against Mary), Norie (on ground with the dog) and Dennis, my father. I believe the woman holding my dad is his grandmother, Justina (NAHODIL) HODICK. I do not know who the other woman is.

Genealogy: In-Depth

I've been wanting to re-activate my genealogy blog for a while now, and what better day to do it than on Friday, 15 Jun 2012?

Why, what's so important about 15 Jun 2012, you might ask?

Simple: It marks the debut of my first article for my new column at the In-Depth Genealogist!  The column is called "Ancestral Profiling" and the first article is entitled "Journey to Me".

Not sure what Ancestral Profiling is all about?  Head on over to The In-Depth Genealogist and sign up for the monthly newsletter today!  Not only will you learn a lot, you will love the price: It's FREE.

Why Bother Researching My Family Tree?

 

My very first BLOG POST at The Oracle of OMcHodoy addressed the question of “Why Bother Blogging?”.  The end result of that post was the following answer:

“While Internet databases provide me with the means to find information, message boards, email groups, personal web pages and blogs provide me with the means to connect with people”.

It’s now almost six years removed from that post and today I want to switch things around and answer the question, “Why Bother Researching Your Family History?”.

When I started researching names on the Internet (via Rootsweb, Ancestry.com, Genealogy.com, Google, etc) I was amazed at the mass of information available. As with many people, I was drawn in to Ancestry.com, with its wealth of digital images, indices, names and dates. I started by plugging in the name “John J. Doyle” in an effort to determine the relationship of the subject of a photograph to me. Before I knew it I wandered off the name of “John J. Doyle” and found the names “Edward Hodick”, “James O’Rourke” and “Dennis McHugh”. With every find I felt a surge of excitement. But I also felt so much more.

Fast forward five years. My research in this time period waxed and waned, with periods of utter joy at finding a genealogical gold mine and periods of utter disappointment at not even having time to research. My father had moved in with me, adding the new role of “Caregiver” to my resume. I changed jobs. Later, I dealt with the death of my father, and a move that was to lead to a second move in a matter of months. And I bought my first home. It may sound strange, but it was this latter process that provided me with the answer to the question, “Why Bother Researching Your Family Tree”.

There were many obstacles in front of me when I began my home search. The branch manager at my lending company was shot down and killed. A friend using the same company went through hell trying to close on her own home because of the sluggishness of the money-handlers. I had a spreadsheet of 20 homes to wade through, worried that I’d ultimately choose the wrong one. But alas, fate intervened.

After looking at my top five choices, I told my realtor to set up a walk-through of the 18^th house on my list, which had three major strikes against it: It was a little further west than I wanted to go, it was only a two-bedroom (I wanted at least a three-bedroom), and it had polybutylene pipes, which are known to burst without warning. In spite of these things, something screamed inside me to look at house number eighteen. My realtor met me there at about 6:00 one evening and unlocked the front door. I took one step inside and said ‘It’s mine”. I felt an instant connection to this house. After about 45 days of negotiating a very significant repair (the seller did re-pipe the house), I moved in.

The move-in occurred on 31 Jul 2010. To this day I have nary a doubt that I made the right choice in bumping house number eighteen up to house number six. From day one I’ve felt the presence of my parents in this home that they’ve never seen – that was built in the same year I moved to Tucson. The  spiritual connection I feel to this house is what tells me that it was truly meant to be mine.

So how does that story provide me with the answer to the question “Why Bother Researching Your Family Tree”?  Because for six years running I’ve had that same exact feeling of spiritual connection with every ancestor found.

And while I know that documented evidence is the standard in the field of genealogy, it still cannot compare to the standard of connection. 

That Was Then, This Was ... Well, Then, Too

I often think I had a charmed life as a child. Everything was as it should have been: Nice home on a nice-sized lot in a nice-clean neighborhood where everyone knew everyone and watched out for everyone else's kids. Summer days were "da-bomb", and could be straight out of an Erma Bombeck book (Rest in Peace, Erma).  A typical late summer day might look like this:

8:00 a.m.: Up, eating breakfast and getting swim clothes together.
8:30 a.m.  Waiting in the Farthings' driveway, waiting for a ride to Niagara Wheatfield High School pool for swim lessons.
9:00 - 12:00: At  NW pool.
12:30:  Back home to scarf down some breakfast.
1:00 Walking to the park at the end of the street for softball practice or game.
3:30 Back home to watch tv, play with the other neighborhood kids, or just hang out.
500: Eating dinner with the family
6:00 - Whenever: outside playing "Tag", "Spud", "Hide and Seek", "Search" or "Ghost in the Graveyard" with the neighborhood kids.

Unless it was Friday during summer, which would mean eliminating everything past 1:00 and substituting "packing for and driving to the weekend camping trip to Bedford Beach, Arrowhead, or Rainbow Lake (or, God Forbid, Mockingbird campground). With, of course, the Barry's, Hughey's, Sayers', Curry's, and anyone else who cared to join our caravan.

 (Ray Barry firing up the Hibachi during one of our neighborhood camping trips. I think this was at Bedford Beach Campground in Western New York, a site we frequented for years). Photograph in the collection of Colleen McHugh.

Tonight as I was searching the Pennsylvania Digital Repository for my dad's uncle, John HODICK (1900-1978), I found the following article:

( Courtesy of Access Pennsylvania Digital Repository, http://www.accesspadr.org/cdm4/document.php?CISOROOT=/wbsunind&CISOPTR=28135&REC=5)

 

In case it's hard to read, it describes my great-uncle's "well-handled" baseball game and standings of teams in his area of Northeastern Pennsylvania. 

For some reason, I always find articles like this -- ones that describe life outside of the coal mines, railroads and other labor industries -- rather comforting. I've read so much about life in the coal mines and rail cars of NEPA and I've researched enough about how hard people had to work to earn a measly buck that I enjoy reading that my ancestors, too, had time for family, fun, games, and relaxation.

What Have I Been Up To?

Besides working and continuing to settle into my house, I have, actually, squeezed in some research, too.  A cousin of mine sent me a link to a databank of newspaper articles from all over Pennsylvania.

http://www.accesspadr.org/cdm4/search.php?CISOROOT=/wbsunind

This site has been a gold mine of information for me. I not only have learned names and dates of people on my tree (I even confirmed the family of my maternal great-grandmother from an obituary I'd found!), I have been given a few glimpses into the lives and personalities of some of my ancestors.Thanks, Pat for sharing this site with me!

After finding numerous articles, obituaries and advertisements containing many of my common surnames (Doyle, McHugh, O'Rourke, Kelly, Hodick, to name a few) I began wondering if I'd be able to find a comparable site for my Western New York research. Thanks to Charley Berry Grabowski, of "Apple's Tree", I was able to research the paper of my hometown, The Niagara Gazette. Articles from this newspaper were included in the databanks available at the site below:

http://www.fultonhistory.com/Fulton.html

 

 

 

 

 

In the months to come I'll share here some of the things I have learned through my ongoing searches of these newspapers. If anything rings a bell or strikes you as interesting, feel free to comment here!

Fire in the Hole?

Many of you may know that there are large areas of Arizona that are on fire right now. There is one about an hour south of me that has been going strong for a month with the first signs of containment now upon us (Horseshoe 2 fire). The Murphy Fire to our south has burned over 50,000 acres. as well.  The biggest fire right now is in Eastern Arizona in the White Mountains. This fire, known as the Wallow Fire, has burned over 230,000 acres in less than 2 weeks.

I was talking with my co-worker yesterday, knowing her family has a cabin in Greer, Az which is in the direct path of the Wallow Fire. I asked her if her family left any personal/sentimental items there such as photographs or collectibles. She stated that they do, but they weren't allowed to go up this past weekend to get anything so they're just  hoping and praying their home will be okay. My prayers are with all the affected families and the firefighters who are battling the blazes throughout our state.

What would I grab in case of fire or evacuation order? Obviously my dog Izzie. Then I would grab the typical items: Photographs and albums, the few collectibles my dad got in England in 1974. I'd grab my hard drive and the laptop; the monitor and printer/scanner if I had time.

And of course, I'd grab one of the most amusing Christmas gifts I'd ever received:

 Thanks, Cindy. But I have to admit, even after receiving this several years ago, I still sing the song every Christmas season!

These are the Faces of Genealogy

The John J. and Jane Doyle family, ca 1910. Pittston, Luzerne County, PA. Photo contributed by

Michael Doyle.

** This post is in response to a poorly thought-out photograph posted by the LA Weekly in conjunction with an article on the upcoming Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree. I want the publication to see the true faces of genealogy.

Who Do You Think You Are? Debut

NBC's second season of "Who Do You Think You Are?" made its debut tonight.  I have to say, I think it was the best episode they've done.  I guess it took a year to polish it up a bit.  The subject of tonight's episode was Vanessa Williams.

The big reason I enjoyed this episode so much is because Vanessa Williams was so articulate in her research goals: She wanted to learn about her ancestors to see if any of them were pioneers in any sense. For example, Vanessa was the first African American Miss America, paving the way for others. She wanted to see if any of her ancestors had any remarkable "firsts".  And sure enough, there were.  She then was able to learn a little bit about her ancestors that taught her a lot about herself!

That is a goal I strive for in my research: Learning about my ancestors as people as opposed to just names and dates on a chart.  There are so many ways we can learn about ancestors via research we are already doing: Census records, Military Draft Cards, Headstones. All of these genealogical treasures hold the key to learning about ourselves by learning about our ancestors.

I hope the rest of this season's shows match up to this season's debut!

Memories of an Expo-Goer

I cannot believe it's been a week since the Az Family History Expo! I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I learned yet another new trick or three from Bruce Buzbee of RootsMagic.  I surprised myself when I learned that I already have several of the 7 Habits of Highly Successful Genealogists that DearMyrtle presented.  I am getting ready to really delve into the book "Shattered Silence" by Melissa G. Moore with M. Bridget Cook, received at the Friday Night Banquet with Bridget as our guest of honor. And finally, one week later, I found my camera cord so without further ado, I present to you: Memories of An Expo-Goer!

Day 2 Az Family History Expo

Arizona Family History Expo Day 2 off to roaring start! I'm chatting with Amy Urman! I learn new tricks every time I attend a Bruce Buzbee class! Perhaps I can convince him to add a Genogram tool on RootsMagic this year? Raise your hand if you think this would be a great thing!

FH Expo in Az! Happening now!

I am in the Blog House now. The Blog House at the Mesa Az Family History Expo!  Lots of great people, recruting lots more!  If you are here, check us out at the rear of the Exhibit Hall!

M. Bridget Cook at the Az Family History Expo!

If you are going to the Arizona Family History Expo in Mesa this weekend (January 21-22, 2011) you are in for a treat. Teachers teaching you how to research. Researchers teaching you how to analyze your data. Professionals helping you tear down that brick wall. Products to help you gather data, store data, organize your data, and share your data.  It is going to be GREAT!

But if you are going to the Friday Night banquet with M. Bridget Cook, you are in for a bonus treat! Bridget will teach you all about Handling and Healing the Skeletons in Your Genealogical Closet.  We all have them. Some people run from them. Some people run towards them.  Others don't even know they exist!  But I believe we all have them.

I personally cannot wait for this event.  M. Bridget is not only an expert on the topic (she's been on Oprah, Dr. Phil, Good Morning American, and 20/20), she delivers her information in an easy-flowing, educational yet entertaining manner. I am sure that the event will pass much quicker than we wish it to. 

If you haven't signed up yet, there's still time! Simply CLICK HERE for your $33 ticket to the banquet. Your ticket includes a dinner, dessert , and a SIGNED copy of M. Bridget's book, Shattered Silence, the Untold Story of a Serial Killer’s Daughter!  What are you waiting for? Sign up today, or at least before the Thursday, January 20th 10:00 a.m. MST deadline!

Genealogy Goals for 2011

This time of year many of us Geneabloggers create our goals for the year in terms of our research. Mine are to first, dig back into my research and expand my Oracle of OMcHodoy blog to include instructional material for others wishing to do their research. I also aim to put some structure into my research process so I can get focused again.

I would be willing to bet that regardless of what your research goals are this year, you will find help in meeting those goals at the Arizona Family History Expo coming up in on January 21-22 at the Mesa Convention Center.

Do you plan on organizing your research?  Nancy E. Loe, MA, MLS, Bruce Buzbee of RootsMagic and Geoff Rasmussen are three of the presenters who will teach  you what you need to know.

Finally going to write that book and make it about your family history? Biff & Nancy Barnes are among those who can tell you how.

Want to focus in on your German Research? Baerbel Johnson is your source for this.

Want to turn the tables for a while and learn about the tax tables your ancestors used and how they may help you in? Leland Meitzler is your man!

Want to reflect on your genealogical growth? Dae Powell can help you there!

Perhaps you want to learn about your ancestors as people as well as their names, dates, and relationships. Well, then, I just may be able to help you there with three presentations on the role of culture in our research as well as using genograms in our research process.

I told you there was something for everyone at the Arizona Family History Expo!

New Year, New Goals

Some people are sticklers for making New Year's Resolutions, others resolve not to resolve anything. Genealogists are the same, though I dare say more of us MAKE resolutions than don't. At least we make New Year's Resolutions for our Genealogy research, based on the number of us blogging about it. You can check out some of the resolutions HERE.

Have you made any resolutions? Do any of them include attending at least one Genealogy Conference this year? If so, you have come to the right place because I have TWO FREE TICKETS to give away to the Family History Expo in Mesa, Az on January 21 and 22! 

How do you get a chance to win these tickets? I've made it even easier! Simply email omchodoy-at-yahoo.com a single statement identifying how attending the Mesa FH Expo will help you complete a genealogical New Year's Resolution!  Hurry! Time is Running Out! The first two responses will win. Good Luck!

The World LOVES a FREEBIE

The holidays are on their way out and a new year is on its way in!  What better way to start a new year than by getting something for free????? Or should I say, what better way to start a new year than by some things for free????

January 21-22, 2011 marks the Arizona Family History Expo in Mesa, Arizona.  I have several reasons to be happy about this: I get to share my experiences with researching my ancestors as people with others as a presenter! I will speak about the role of culture in our research and about the use of genograms in genealogical research. 

The Az Family History Expo offers my three classes free to those who pay for either a day pass or a full Expo pass. It also offers 97 other topics!  Yes, you heard me right, NINETY-SEVEN. That makes an even 100 workshops. There literally is something for everyone. And there's more: The exhibit hall presents the genealogy enthusiast, hobbyist, and professional with a plethora of tools, information and materials that make our task much more fun, and easier to boot!

Now another BIG reason for me to be excited about this year's Expo: I get to give away TICKETS to the Expo.  Here is your chance to win TWO FREE TICKETS to this year's Family History Expo:  Send me an email at omchodoy-at-yahoo-dot-com and answer one of the following questions:

1.  What is currently your biggest brick wall in your genealogy research?
2.  To date, what has been your biggest genealogical accomplishment? Describe how you did it!
3.  What is/are your genealogical goal(s) for 2011?

The winner of the TWO FREE TICKETS to the 2011 Az Family History Expo will be decided based on a random drawing of all entries received before Wednesday January 5th! 

Disclaimer: I am both a presenter and a Blogger of Honor at the 2011 Az Family History Expo. As such I receive compensation in the form of a paid entrance to both days of the conference. My promotion of the Expo is both expected and willingly provided; however what I post about it is entirely up to me and I do not receive any compensation for what I post. I promoted the Expo in 2010 without any expectation to do so, and anything I do post is a product of my own experience.

Advent Calendar: SHOPPING!

One thing I've always hated about Christmas shopping, was trying to figure out what to get people. My parents were easy enough; they liked (or pretended to like) anything we bought them.  My middle brother wasn't too difficult, either: I always managed to find a good sweater or shirt that suited his personality and color schemes. My oldest brother, however, well, that was a different story.  I never knew what to get him. If I asked him what he wanted he'd either say "Nothing" or worse, "A bowling ball" or "Golf clubs", which was worse than him saying "Nothing" because they were items way too expensive for my cashier's wages.

As I grew older I learned that getting gifts that mean something to the recipient was the ultimate Christmas Shopping experience. Christmas 2009,  I must admit, was the easiest year I've ever had in terms of deciding what to get. My dad had been living with me for three years, and he was getting to that point where reflection on the life he'd lived was a common topic of conversation. 

One day I was searching Facebook for childhood friends, and cam upon a FB page for "Colonial Village Elementary School" where I went as a child.  On that page was a link to the FB page for the Lewiston #2 Fire company, where my dad spent many years as a volunteer firefighter.  As I was browsing the photos on that page I saw a T-Shirt for the station members that I thought dad would just love. So I FB messaged a member of the Fire Hall listed on the page. I asked if I could purchase a T-shirt for my father and explained that he had been a volunteer firefighter there and that the Fire Hall played a big part in my family's life when we'd lived in Niagara Falls.  The response I received from the member and her husband was they'd try to see if any t-shirts were left and if so, they'd send one. They could promise a fire hall patch either way.

About a week and a half later a package came with a t-shirt and a patch. I wrote to the fire hall's contacts I'd written thanking them and asked how much to send them and where. I was told to offer it too my father as thanks for his service.  Knowing the Fire Hall and it's members still hold on to the values of the Village in which I was raised was a great Christmas Present in itself.

I wrapped up the T-shirt and patch for Christmas. I also searched the Fire Hall's webpage and created a little booklet about the Lewiston # 2 Fire Department's history.   I couldn't wait to give him his gifts! As another pleasant surprise, I was browsing Barnes and Noble that same week and stumbled, quite by accident, upon a coffee table book on Firefighters, published by the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. It is a fascinating book on the history of firefighting and some really great photographs. 

As it turned out, Christmas 2009 was to be my father's final Christmas on this earth, as he'd fallen ill about a month later.  He was so proud of his firefighter gifts! And, though I've always been excited to give gifts to others, no single Christmas drove home the Reason for the Season for me than Christmas 2009.

Thank you, Lewiston #2 for giving my father a gift he was truly proud of. (P.S.: I still have the t-shirt and wear it occasionally).

Advent Calendar: Charitable Work

Growing up, we didn't do much volunteer work at Christmas time. We put more efforts into volunteer work throughout the year than we did at Christmas, mostly through the fire hall.  I grew up on Garlow Road in Niagara Falls, NY. We lived in the Town of Lewiston and my father was a volunteer firefighter at Lewiston #2 Fire Department for many years.  The entire station was volunteer based, and still is.

We also tried to help people out as the need arrived. The winter of 1977, our last in Niagara Falls before moving west to Tempe, Az, was especially trying. There was a huge blizzard that year that not only closed down the schools for weeks, it closed down the entire city.  Advisories were released pretty much banning non-rescue persons from being on the streets. A family we'd known experienced a major pipe freeze and burst in their home, and we were able to take them in for a while.  I remember how stressed my mother was, what with her own three children plus the two children I think it was, that the family had.  But I also remember her saying that regardless of how stressful it was for us, it was more stressful for the displaced family.

The clinic where I work participates in the Toys for Tots (TFT) program every years as a distributor of gifts to families in need.  We are only able to distribute to the families who use our clinic but we refer to community agencies for those we hear about that need the help but are not our families.  It's such a worthy cause, and it's so simple in theory.

In recent times, however, the TFT program has really been hurting.  Last year our clinic had 850 families signed up for the program, but the program was only able to provide a few hundred toys.  Our clinic is fortunate to have a generous Board and a very generous philanthropic foundation, Square and Compass, to assist and we were able to provide for the needs of our families. My father purchased several toys last year and took them to the local fire station that serves as a collection site for Toys for Tots. I wish I had been there to see this; his telling of his "adventure" was precious and I know he was proud to be part of the program. And to drop them off at a fire station, well, that was just icing on the cake!

This year we have over 1,000 kids signed up, and our Board and foundations will once again assist in meeting the need. If you have similar programs near you, please sign up for either it or other similar programs to help elderly people have some surprises at Christmas.

Advent Calendar: Christmas Collections

Christmas brings so many memories, and for me, almost all of them are wonderful.  The season is full of things I love: Food, Cookies, Decorations, Trees, Christmas Cards. Music, Snow (well, it used to be anyway).  It is also a time for me to showcase my favorite collections.  The best collection in my possession is my collection of these:

2009

I have about 35 nutcrackers.  I started the collection several years ago when I found collectible "Nutcrackers Around the World" at the Robinson's May After-Christmas sales.  I started with two: Ireland and German, which are shown in the photo below, the third and fourth from the right: 

2010

What is/are your Christmas Collections? (I have another collection, which I'll save for a later Grab Bag from the Advent Calendar of Christmas Memories).

It's a coming, It's a coming....

 

This will be my third consecutive year attending the Arizona Family History Expo in Mesa.  Last year was my first year as a presenter, and this year I've been invited to present again.  I've also been given the opportunity to be a Blogger of Honor at this year's event.  I'm thrilled to associate with the Geneablogging community, and this is an exciting opportunity.

Last year I facilitated a presentation entitled "When Past Meets Present to Change the Future: Using Genograms in Genealogical Research".  This year, that same talk will be the third of my presentations. I chose to repeat it this year because it makes a very good "wrap-up" to my two new presentations, which is a two-parter entitled "Learn About YOU by Learning About Them: The Role of Culture in Genealogical Research".  As you can tell, I like long titles!

In my professional life, I am a social worker. I work with children, teens and young adults who have complex health care needs and/or disabilities.  I want to know more about people than their names, dates of birth and ages.  I want to know who they are, what makes them able to manuever through this life, and what lessons they can teach me. 

My genealogical goals are much the same: I want to know who my ancestors were as people: What did they look like? What were their interests? What traits might they have had that I share? These goals and my professional training lead me to the topics I wish to explore.

I hope to see many of you in Mesa next month. And to increase the chances of my seeing you there, I will have a few incentives to give a few people. Stay tuned!

Advent Calendar: Santa Claus

I remember believing in Santa Claus.  It was so magical! Unless I was going to sit on his lap, then it was terrifying. So terrifying that, in fact, I never sat on Santa's lap.Even when Santa turned out to be Grandpa, I wouldn't go.  But I sure believed in him and I sure as heck did my best to please him.

One year on Christmas Eve we were heading home from Grandma and Grandpa McHugh's house.  We were driving along the reservoir when all of a sudden I saw it: Santa's sleigh. We were close to home by the time I saw him, complete with Rudolph's glowing nose!  I remember yelling at dad, who was driving: "Hurry! He's over our house and if we're not in bed before he goes down the chimney he'll pass us by!!".

Well, okay, so I don't remember saying those exact words, but that was the jist of my incessant screaming.

We got home, we went to bed, and we woke up to presents.

I presume the children of the helicopter pilot that was flying over our house the night before got their presents, too.