Friday, July 30, 2010

Stationery Supplies

I'm sure I have enough stationery supplies to stock a store :) In the past, I've stocked up on dividers, binders, page protectors, file folders, hanging folders and mechanical pencils. I was reminded of that today when I noticed the annual school supply displays in the grocery store.

If you need anything, try to stock up in August and September while the sales are on as these items are double or triple the price for the remainder of the year.

Sometimes I find really good deals at Staples in their clearance section. They used to have 50% off the clearance prices each Saturday, but I'm not sure if they still do as I have enough and have been avoiding that store :)

Now, I just need to start using my stash to get organized!

Road Trip!

Today, I'll be preparing for a trip tomorrow to West Hants Historical Society in Windsor and Kings Courthouse Museum in Kentville with my friend, Helen. I hope to visit some folks that I haven't seen in a while (with some genealogy questions!)and do a little research.

I want to leave my contact information in their family files for the surnames I am researching - Card, Carmichael, Deal, McCann, Sherman, Wile in Windsor and Benjamin, Carmichael, McCann, Sherman in Kings County. I'll work on those today at lunch time.

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Genealogy Novels

Recently, I've been discovering some great reads with a genealogy flavour and I've been borrowing them from the library. We're so fortunate to have a wonderful public library in Halifax.

The other day, I finished reading The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe. I really enjoyed the book and was sorry that it ended :(

I'll be looking for more of Howe's work.

I also discovered a series of genealogy/family history themed novels by Rett MacPherson. You can find a list of her books and reviews here.

I first read A Veiled Antiquity. It was a 200 page, interesting, easy to read mystery that left me anxious to read the 2nd one I had picked up at the library - A Comedy of Heirs. I'm only on page 16, but this one promises to be as good as the first. So much to read, so little time :)

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Success is Sweet!

I visited Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM) after work today. I am so lucky to have access to this wonderful resource for my genealogy research.

Well, I found an obit that I had unsuccessfully searched for previously! John Thomas Sherman, son of George William and Lucy Ann (Rafuse) Sherman, died in 1936 after falling off a round-roof barn that he was shingling. I had recorded his death date as July 22, 1936 but no source, so I have no idea where I got that date. Naturally, I didn't find his obit when I looked through newspapers around that date.

On my last trip to the Old Kings Courthouse Museum, I found a reference to two newspaper obits for John. But, the newspaper dates were August 13 and August 20, 1936. At first, I didn't find the obit in the August 13 issue, so I went on to August 20 and there it was! It gave his death date as August 11, 1936. No wonder I couldn't find it before. I went back to the August 13 issue thinking that it might have a "news report" of the accident. However, what I found was another obit and it was very different from the one that I had already found. What I find absolutely amazing about John is that he was born in 1867 and he has living children in 2010. Can you believe that?

I also found a short obit for my grandmother, Ada May Smith (whose picture you see to the left), who died the same day as her uncle John. How sad for Mary, Ada's mother and my great-grandmother, to have lost her brother and her daughter on the same day.

I am anxious to get back to the Kings County Archives to look for other obits in their extensive collection.

And, I spent a little over an hour working on the GANS Vital Stats from Newspapers project...it was a successful evening.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Best Laid Plans...

Well, you can see that my plans of August 2008 didn't pan out the way I thought they would! I have continued my research but the organization is in the same state as it was two years ago.

Sigh!

Lots has happened since my first (and last) post. I have moved (and packed a lot of genealogy paper), another grandchild was born and I now have a vehicle (the better to travel to Genealogy Societies in Nova Scotia).

And still I think about organizing. So, today I bought a clear, plastic container with a lid to hold the obits that I've gathered from the paper and copied at West Hants Historical Society, the Kings County Courthouse Museum, the public library, Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM) etc. I've been using one that was meant to hold cds/dvds but it's too narrow and some can't lie flat. This container is 15"LX11.5"WX6"D. Should do the trick.

Tomorrow, I'll visit NSARM after work. I have an obit to look up and then I'll continue working on a proofreading/transcribing project for the Genealogical Association of Nova Scotia