Friday morning was a super storm of chaos at my house - the phones were ringing from the juggling of auto repair garages and arrangements for my dead car, the dog was barking, the new cat was infected by the electric current of stress and he was knocking over lamps and books and anything in his wild way. In the midst of all this clamour, Bonnie Beth Elwell, president of the Genealogical Society of Salem County, was working on my laptop cleaning up my ancestry.com files and helping me with standardizing my listings such as dates: 12 Nov. 1945 as opposed to 11/13/45.
Bonnie works as a genealogist and she had done some research on her own after our last meeting, and more research at my house on a mystery branch of my family tree, the Goldy family, but more on that another time.
Family history is an endlessly fascinating subject and the further you go into it, the more engrossing and mysterious and satisfying it gets.
If you don't know where to start, get a simple form off the internet, begin with yourself, then your parents, and their parents, birth and death dates and where they were born. Also, you can hire someone like Bonnie to help you get started or get you out of a stuck spot or, as I did recently, help you get a frame-able attractive family filled out.
This year for Christmas, I am giving each of my 4 siblings, a photo collage made of pictures that go back to the 1880's and stretch to the 2000's, plus a copy of that family tree I mentioned. I had the photo collage scanned and printed at Bellia's Copy Center in Woodbury, and the family tree copied there as well. Then I bought frames at the Columbus Flea Market and at yard sales and framed them all. The last one will be completed today when I get back from the dog park.
Along with the framed photo collages and the framed family trees, I'm writing a chapter book on the journey of finding all this information. It will run 12 chapters and I will have it photocopied and spiral bound at Bellia's Copy Center in Woodbury - very good quality copy center and good prices, helpful staff.
Anyhow, the reason for thi blog today is that I just got the Fenwick Colony Gazette and here are some dates you might find helpful if you decide to begin a family history search:
All events are at at the John Fenwick Auditorium at Friends' Village, Woodstown, NJ at 7:00 pm and they are free, though you may wish to join the society for additional events, information and because they are a great group of people. The lectures are invaluable.
September 9 _ How to make the best use of FAMILY SEARCH with Cam Casper
September 30 Workshop on how to ue the Society's new website and help for beginners and networking. (great place to start your journey!)
the website is:
www.gsscnj.org
Also, Bonny Beth Elsweel is a genealogist, historian and author. To contact her for for her rates to help you on your family history search, e-mail - bonnybonnybeth@gmail.com
Happy Trails! Jo Ann
ps. My family names are: Cheesman, Garwood, Goldy, Lyons, Wright
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