Thankful Thursday, June 23, 2011

Here again I'd like to give thanks to all of those who have shared their information with me.  I hope that I don't leave anyone out.

I thank my McLaughlin and Maxwell cousin's for all they have shared.  I hope that you know who you are.  Since you are all living, somewhat distant, relatives, I will leave your names off this post for privacy reasons.  I could never have gotten so far without all of your help.

Thank you to my Flanagan's.  You found us and then we visited you in Ireland.  What an amazing collection of information including letters.  When people ask me if I know where my ancestors are from in Ireland, I say, "...for the most part".  Then I add that I know the precise, exact location of where my Flanagan's are from.....They are still there.  The family has been in the same location for generations going back to 1773.  Almost 240 years later, you can still walk where Richard Flanagan (1733-1808) created his farm, made a living, and raised his family.  That location continues to be a living part of my family history with my grandfather's second cousin, a dairy farm and all.  What a special place and family connection!

I thank my Hickey relative who shared with me Hickey and Minogue information.  Without her information, I would never have known that I am a Minogue, Hayes,  and a Browne.  That same relative has indicated that she does have some Coughlin information.  I can't wait to see it.  I thank her for all that she has shared and hope to continue with the research on this line and share more "discoveries" with her.

My Borchers and Vienop line is being researched and has been for quite a long time by my aunt and uncle.  I thank them both for all of the information that they have shared including photos, stories, and the family tree.

Do I have more people to thank?  I am sure that I do.  I know of at least one Fox and a Shaffrey distant relative of whom I owe thanks for sharing the information that they have.

Thank you to all who have contributed to my research.

Someone's Ancestor Sunday - Walter Elias Disney

A couple of weeks ago I watched a documentary about the life of Walt Disney.  He is one of my favorite people in history.  His creativity and lasting impact on children and adults alike is almost unmatched.  Being very familiar with Disney, his life, and creations, I decided to see what else is out there about his family tree.

Walt's parents were Elias Disney (Irish-Canadian) and Flora Call (German-American).  Arundel Elias Disney was born in 1801 in Gowran, County Kilkenny, Ireland.  Arundel was one of Walt's  great grandparents who emigrated to the U.S.  Arundel Disney was a descendant of Robert d'Isigny.  He was a Frenchman who had travelled with William the Conqueror in 1066 from England to Ireland.  The anglicised version of d'Isigny is Disney.  In England, d'Isigny had settled in a town known as Norton Disney, in the county of Lincolnshire.

It is always interesting to find a bit of someone's family tree online especially on Sunday....And he is Someone's Ancestor.

Borrowing, Taking, and Sharing: Ancestry.com Trees - Part 1

In my spare time (which is becoming close to nil lately), I write posts to my blog about my genealogy, maintain and gather photos of my family, research my family tree, and read a few other genealogy posts.  I wrote recently about the topic of borrowing from other's trees on Ancestry.com.  In reviewing a couple of other blogs, I found this topic covered in two other posts.   The two blog posts that I speak of are "I've Been Chain Linked" and "Musings On A Monday Lack of Courtesy or Lack of Common Sense?" .

Online courtesy is not very present in today's internet probably because people can remain somewhat anonymous.  Even if you can identify the sign-on of a person and pinpoint who they are, do you even know them or care who they are?

When it comes to my family tree, I must admit to caring and have a very strong desire to network with others who are in some way connected to my family tree.  You never know what or who you might find behind the person borrowing information from your tree on Ancestry.com.  I've been a borrower and a lender of information.  I have found volumes of information by contacting those on Ancestry.com.  Those "volumes" were not posted online.  I have also found relatives and people with whom I share a common ancestry and interest in blazing our family tree.

A couple of points have struck me recently about people's motives for borrowing (or just taking) without a courtesy message to the lender.  Actually, I have put together about ten points to discuss on this very topic.  It includes the ever so underrated virtue of sharing too.

The first point, which is very important and somewhat obvious, is that trees on Ancestry.com are public trees (except living people) unless you go to trouble of updating the privacy on your tree so that others cannot see it.  If you do update a tree to "private", no one else can see it and you'll be left pretty much alone to your own research and be missing out on networking.

The second point is about fully making your tree private on Ancestry.com.  Member Connect is a cool bit of technology on the site that enables you to match up people to other trees and truly connect (network) with those who have more of an exact match to your family tree information.  If you want to be "left alone" then be sure to update your account to not be displayed in Member Connect.  This is in addition to making your tree private.

I do consider the above two points as "flying under the radar".  Secret researchers on Ancestry.com can borrow all of the public information on other trees with minimal involvement, networking or contact with others.  In fact, you can be almost hidden from others online.  I do have to ask "What fun is that?".  I suppose it depends on your personality, research goals, and your desire to work on your family tree in a rather solitary manner.   You never know what information you might be missing out on though.

Putting yourself out there:  My third point is about posting a family tree online in the first place.  There is so much to find on the information highway known as the internet, yet tracking it down can be quite challenging.  Ancestry.com allows you to search and find people on your family tree but part of technology is about putting your tree out there.  It's tough going to hoard information online when you are seeking more for yourself.  Hoarding information is why it gets lost and becomes unavailable for the following generations.

If you are shy, try not to be online when researching your family tree.  My fourth point is just that.  I'm just not sure how far that you will get on your family tree by being shy.  Let's just say, I'm not.  If someone sends you a message over Ancestry.com, give it a quick reply even if you don't think you want to open up a full correspondence.

I share to find others.  Networking is key in my family tree research.  Let's call this my number five point - NETWORKING.  Because others have public family trees and have put themselves out on Ancestry.com, I have quickly found information about my Maxwell's, McLaughlin's, Gartland's, and a number of others.  Networking leads to collaboration which can lead to a group of people sharing information and pursuing more research on a family line.  Even if you do hit a brick wall, at least you are in good company.

To be continued.......................................