Wednesday, February 19, 2025

Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 13 to 19 February 2025

 Welcome to Genealogy Education Bytes, posted on Wednesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight some of the most important genealogy and family history education items that came across my desktop since the last issue.


1) Upcoming Conferences and  Institutes 

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for  and/or view conferences and institutes

*  RootsTech 2025 (Free/$$) - 6 to 8 March 2025 - Virtual (Free) and In-Person ($$) (Salt Lake City, Utah)

*  Australasian Conference 2025 - Connections: Past, Present, Future ($$) - 21 to 24 March 2025 - In-Person (Brisbane, Australia)

*  i4GG 2025 Conference ($$) - 28 to 30 March 2025 - In-Person (San Diego, calif.) and Online Streaming.

*   OGS 2025 Conference "Light Up Your Genealogy" ($$) - 30 April to 3 May 2025 - In-Person (Sandusky, Ohio)

*  NGS 2025 Family History Conference "Tales & Trails" ($$) - 23 to 25 May 2025 - In-Person (Louisville, Ky.)

2 ) Upcoming Seminars, Webinars and Online Classes (times are US Pacific):

* Conference Keeper Calendar - has many links to register for and/or view webinars and classes.

*  FamilySearch Library Classes and Webinars (Free)

*  GenWebinars ($$)

*  THE Family History Show ($$) - 8 February 2025 - Online


*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 21 February, 9 a.m.:  Research Your Roots in Alsace Lorraine by Gail Blankenau

*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 21 February, 11 a.m.:  Soldiers, Squatters and Settlers by Christine Woodcock

*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Tuesday, 25 February, 11 a.m.:  Enhance your family tree accuracy with MyHeritage’s Timeline and Consistency Checker by James Tanner.

*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Wednesday, 26 February, 11 a.m.:  Shootout at the Rhododendron Lodge: Reconstructing Life-Changing Events by Judy G. Russell

*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 28 February, 9 a.m.:  From Spit to Screen: The Journey of Your DNA Sample by Paul Woodbury.

*  Family Tree Webinars (free for a week) - Friday, 28 February, 11 a.m.:  Streamlining Genealogical Research Plans with AI: A Step-by-Step Guide by Diana Elder.

3) Recent Podcasts:


 
*  Genealogy Happy Hour:  Census and Sensibility



4) Recent YouTube Videos:

*  Aimee Cross - Genealogy Hints:  Hidden Records at Family Search



*  BYU Library Family History:  

*  Carole McCullough Geneablogger:  Tech Tip 9 Exploring Google docs with ChatGPT and Claude
*  Carole McCullough Geneablogger:  Tech Tip 10: Implementing special features of Perplexity



*  Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist:  13 or more Stories That Live In Us videos

*  DearMYRTLE's Archive:  Mondays with Myrt - 17 February 2025



*  Family History on the AI Fast Track:  10 AI Uses Every Genealogist Should Know


*  FamilySearch:  Who I Am | Official Music Video 
*  FamilySearch:   Fall in Love with RootsTech 2025



*  GeneaVlogger:  Building YOUR Family Tree!


*   Int'l Institute of Genealogical Studies:  The Secret to Building an Immigration Research Plan
*  Int'l Institute of Genealogical Studies:  Methodology Feb 2025

*  Legacy Carvers:  The Case of the Empty Homestead

*  Lisa Louise Cooke's Genealogy Gems:  AI & Genealogy: Revolutionizing Research or Risking Privacy?

*  Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective:  How to Download Your Images from MemoryWeb me
*  Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective:  Viewing Metadata with Vivid-Pix Restore
*  Maureen Taylor, The Photo Detective:  Reading Metadata with Flickr

*  MyHeritage:  Introducing Ancient Origins





5) Did you miss the last post in this series - Genealogy Education Bytes -  6 to 12 February 2025?   Read past Genealogy Education Bytes here.

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NOTE:  If  I missed something important in this time period, please let me know in a comment or an email. 

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share your comment on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at   randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

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MyHeritage Introduces Ancient Origins: Advanced DNA Analysis That Traces Origins Back 10,000 Years

 I received this information from Daniel Horowitz of MyHeritage today:

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I am super excited to share that MyHeritage has just launched a major and groundbreaking new DNA product: Ancient Origins, a feature that complements our DNA ethnicity reports and traces your origins up to 10,000 years into the past. Ancient Origins allows MyHeritage DNA customers to discover the ancient populations they descend from, such as Imperial Romans, Norse Vikings, Phoenicians, and Ancient Egyptians. MyHeritage is currently the only major genealogy service to offer such high-resolution ancient DNA ethnicity analysis.



Ancient Origins is the result of a new partnership between MyHeritage and Illustrative DNA, a startup company that is at the forefront of ancient ethnicity analysis. It compares an individual’s DNA to ancient DNA samples and populations from the Neolithic Period through the late Middle Ages, providing greater depth to the understanding of one’s ethnic makeup.

This is a rich feature that offers many different kinds of reports, including breakdowns from several different historical periods. See, for example, my Ancient Origins results from the Bronze Age:



We have also created a cool video:


I invite you to check out your own results and read more about Ancient Origins on our blog. 

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Disclosure: I receive a complimentary subscription to MyHeritage, and have received other material consideration in past years. I uploaded my autosomal DNA raw data to their DNA product. This does not affect my objective analysis of MyHeritage products. I am a paid subscriber to Family Tree Webinars and love it.

The URL for this post is: https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/02/myheritage-introduces-ancient-origins.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Abbey Ardelle "Della" Smith (1862-1944) in About 1885 -- (Not So) Wordless Wednesday #858

 This is one of the most interesting family photographs I have:

This is a tintype photograph in a paper folder of my great-grandmother, Abbey Ardelle "Della" (Smith) Carringer (1862-1944).  

I don't know the date of this photograph, but Della looks like she is in her early 20s.  I think the photograph was taken in Concordia, Kansas, which her family left in 1885.  So it may be a photograph from 1885 when she was 23 years old. 

ChatGPT4 dated the photograph as 1885 to 1890 based on the clothing and hairstyle.  Here is that analysis:

This is a tintype photograph of Della Smith (1862–1944). Based on the fashion details and photographic format, I estimate the photo was taken in the mid-to-late 1880s. Here’s why:

  1. Clothing Style:

    • The high-collared, dark dress with puffed sleeves suggests a fashion style from the mid-to-late 1880s. This was a period when structured, tailored bodices and elaborate hats were popular.
    • The fitted bodice and slight puff at the shoulders indicate the transition toward the exaggerated sleeve styles of the 1890s.

  2. Hairstyle and Hat:

    • The elaborate hat with decorative elements (possibly feathers or ribbon) matches styles worn in the 1880s.
    • Her hair is neatly pulled back, which was common for women of that era.

  3. Photographic Format:

    • Tintypes were widely used from the 1850s through the early 20th century, but they were most common in the 1860s–1880s.
    • The red mat framing the image suggests it was from the later period when decorative mounts became more stylish.

This photograph is a part of my family history.  

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Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.    I moderate all comments and they may not appear immediately - please write only one comment.

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Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 12 to 18 February 2025

  Welcome to Genealogy News Bytes, posted on Tuesday afternoon for the past week, where we try to highlight the most important genealogy and family history news  items that came across our desktop since the last issue.    


1)  Genealogy and Family History News Articles:









2)  DNA-Related News Articles



4)  Genealogy Software/App News


5)  New or Updated Genealogy Digital Record Collections:







6)  Did you miss the last post in this series?  See Genealogy News Bytes - 5 to 11 February 2025.

                          =========================================


Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Ask AI: "Describe Shoe and Boot Making In the mid-19th Century In America. "

The Artificial Intelligence tools (like ChatGPT4, Claude, Gemini, Grok, Meta, CoPilot, GenSpark, DeepSeek, and Perplexity) can provide much useful and nearly instant information about subjects in a concise format, especially when they have been pre-trained on a large volume of information about the subjects.

1)  I wondered about shoemaking in the 19th century, since my second great-grandfather was a boot and shoe maker from 1838 to 1892 or so.  How did he do it?  


(image courtesy of Grok 2)

2)  Here is my first prompt for this task:    Describe shoe and boot making in the mid-19th century in America.  What materials were used, what processes were used, and how were they sold?

The Grok 2 response was:

In the mid-19th century, the shoe and boot making industry in America underwent significant transformations due to technological advancements, the growth of factories, and shifts from artisanal to mass production methods. Here's an overview of the materials, processes, and sales methods:

Materials Used:

  • Leather: Primarily from cowhide, but also from calfskin, horsehide, pigskin, and goat for more specialized or luxury items. Leather was still the dominant material due to its durability and availability from local tanneries.
  • Sole Leather: Typically made from the hides of older cattle, which were thicker and more durable for the soles of shoes and boots.
  • Lining: Often made from lighter leathers or linen, though less common in work shoes.
  • Thread: Waxed linen or hemp for stitching.
  • Wood: For lasts (the forms around which shoes were made) and sometimes for heels.
  • Metal: For eyelets, buckles, and nails in heavier boots.

Manufacturing Processes:

  • Hand-Crafting: Early in the century, shoes were predominantly handmade by cordwainers. Each shoe was made to fit, involving cutting, stitching, lasting (shaping over a last), and finishing by hand. 
  • Introduction of Machinery: By the 1840s and 1850s, innovations like the rolling machine for leather preparation, the McKay stitch machine for sewing soles to uppers, and later the Goodyear Welt machine (introduced in 1862 but used earlier in some forms) began to change the industry. These machines reduced the time and skill required for shoe production.
  • Division of Labor: With the rise of factories, tasks were divided among workers, each specializing in one part of the shoe-making process, which increased efficiency but also led to a decline in the artisanal quality of handmade shoes.

Sales and Distribution:

  • Custom Shops: In smaller towns or rural areas, shoes might still be custom-made in small shops where the shoemaker knew their customers' feet.
  • General Stores: In towns and cities, shoes were increasingly sold in general stores. These stores would stock a variety of sizes and styles, often from local manufacturers or imported goods.
  • Shoe Stores: Larger urban centers had dedicated shoe stores where a broader range of footwear could be found, including more fashionable items.
  • Catalog Sales: The mid-19th century saw the beginning of mail-order catalogs, allowing people in remote areas to order shoes directly, although this would become more prevalent later in the century with companies like Sears.
  • Wholesale and Retail: Manufacturers sold wholesale to retailers, who then sold to the public. Some manufacturers also opened their own retail outlets.
  • Marketing: Advertising in newspapers was common, and brand names started to gain recognition. Shoes were marketed based on durability, style, and sometimes the novelty of being machine-made.
  • Price and Quality: There was a broad range in quality and price. Handmade shoes were often of higher quality but more expensive. Machine-made shoes were cheaper and more uniform but sometimes less durable or comfortable.

This period was pivotal as it marked the transition from a cottage industry to one dominated by industrial methods, fundamentally altering the landscape of shoe and boot production in America.

3)  My next prompt was:  Please provide more detail about the handcrafting process - what pieces were made, how were they made, how were the pieces fastened together, how long did it take to make a pair of shoes?

Here's a detailed breakdown of the handcrafting process for making shoes and boots in mid-19th century America:

Pieces Made:

  • Uppers: The part of the shoe that covers the foot. This was cut from a single piece of leather for simpler designs or multiple pieces for more complex styles, including quarters (back part), vamp (front part), and tongue if applicable.
  • Sole: Made from thicker, tougher leather for durability. This included the insole (which goes inside the shoe) and the outer sole.
  • Heel: Often a stack of leather pieces nailed or pegged together for work boots or shoes.
  • Lining: Sometimes added for comfort, cut from thinner leather or fabric.
  • Eyelets or Buttons: For lacing or fastening.

How Pieces Were Made:

  • Cutting: Leather was measured and cut with a sharp knife or shears. Patterns were used for consistency, but fitting was often done by eye based on the customer's foot or a wooden last shaped to their foot size.
  • Stitching: Uppers were stitched together using a saddle stitch, which involves two needles and a single thread, ensuring strength. This was done with waxed linen or hemp thread.
  • Lasting: The shaped upper was stretched over a last (a wooden form shaped like a foot). The leather was dampened to make it more pliable, allowing it to mold to the last's shape. It was then secured with temporary tacks or nails.

Attaching the Sole: 

  • Welt: For higher-quality shoes, a welt (a strip of leather) was attached around the edge of the upper, and the sole was then stitched to this welt.
  • Peg or Nail Construction: For less expensive or work shoes, the sole might be directly nailed or pegged to the shoe. Wooden pegs or iron nails were used, and later, the pegs or nails were set and the ends cut off or hammered flat.
  • Heel Building: For shoes with heels, these were built up layer by layer with pieces of leather, then shaped, trimmed, and secured with nails or pegs.
  • Finishing: This involved sanding, polishing, and sometimes dyeing or blackening the leather. Edges might be burnished, and the inside could be cleaned or lined.

How Pieces Were Fastened Together:

  • Hand Stitching: For attaching uppers and linings, or sometimes for attaching soles in high-quality shoes.
  • Pegs or Nails: For securing soles and heels in more utilitarian footwear.
  • Adhesives: Although not as common as today, some adhesives were used, but mainly for temporary holding while sewing or nailing.

Time to Make a Pair of Shoes:

Custom Pair: Making a pair of custom shoes by hand could take anywhere from several hours to a couple of days, depending on the complexity of the design, the fit required, and the skill of the shoemaker. 

  • Preparation and Cutting: 1-2 hours
  • Stitching the Upper: 1-2 hours
  • Lasting: 1-2 hours
  • Attaching Sole and Heel: 2-3 hours
  • Finishing: 1-2 hours

This could easily add up to 6-12 hours or more for a single pair, especially if the maker was working alone or if the shoe required special techniques or fittings.

This labor-intensive process meant that shoes were significant investments for most people, explaining why repair and resoling were common practices rather than buying new shoes frequently. The shift to machinery would significantly reduce this time, but at the cost of some of the personalized fit and quality that handcrafting offered.

4)  My third prompt was:  Explain leather preparation.

 Leather preparation in the mid-19th century was a multi-step process aimed at transforming raw animal hide into a durable, pliable material suitable for shoe-making. Here's a detailed explanation of the process:

1. Curing (Preservation)

Immediate Preservation: Upon slaughter, hides were often salted to prevent putrefaction. This initial step was crucial to preserve the hide until it could be processed further.

2. Soaking

Rehydration: The salted or dried hides were soaked in water for several days to rehydrate them, remove the salt, and begin loosening dirt, blood, and flesh residues.

3. Liming

Hair Removal: Hides were then placed in a lime pit or vat. Lime (calcium hydroxide) was used to loosen the hair and epidermis. This process could last from days to weeks, depending on the strength of the lime solution and how hair was to be removed (by scraping or washing off).

4. Fleshing

Removing Flesh: After liming, the hides were fleshed, meaning the remaining flesh, fat, and other unwanted tissues were scraped off. This was done manually with a fleshing knife or later with mechanical fleshing machines if available.

5. Deliming and Bating

Neutralizing: Deliming involved neutralizing the alkalinity from the liming process, often with ammonium salts or weak acids. 

Bating: Following deliming, bating was done using enzymes from animal organs (like pigeon or dog dung in earlier times or pancreatic enzymes in later methods) to soften the leather and remove any remaining hair roots or interlaced fibers.

6. Pickling

Acid Bath: Hides intended for tanning with vegetable or chrome methods were sometimes pickled in an acid solution (usually sulfuric acid) to further prepare them for tanning by lowering the pH.

7. Tanning

Vegetable Tanning: This was the predominant method in the 19th century. Hides were soaked in a solution or series of solutions containing tannins from bark (like oak, hemlock, or chestnut), which converted the hide into leather by cross-linking the collagen fibers, making it durable and resistant to decay.

Process: Could take weeks to months, with hides moved through progressively stronger tannin solutions.

Chrome Tanning: Though chrome tanning was developed in the late 19th century, some early forms or experiments might have been around. Chrome tanning uses chromium salts for a quicker process (days rather than weeks or months) and results in softer, more water-resistant leather.

8. Drying

Drying Out: After tanning, leather was dried. It could be hung, stretched on frames, or laid out. The method used would affect the leather's final texture and flexibility.

9. Finishing

Buffing and Coloring: The leather might then be buffed to smooth the surface, dyed for color, and sometimes treated with fats or oils to enhance suppleness.

Splitting: Thick hides were often split into layers; the top grain was used for higher-quality shoes, while the split could be used for soles or other purposes.

10. Final Conditioning

Oiling: Leather was often treated with oils or waxes to condition it, improving its feel, durability, and appearance.

This process was labor-intensive and time-consuming, often involving several distinct professions or stages within a tannery. The quality of the leather was highly dependent on the skillfulness of the tanner, the quality of the raw materials, and the meticulousness of each step in the process. By the mid-19th century, some mechanization had begun to enter tanneries, but much of the work remained artisanal.

5)  The Grok 2 response to the prompts was interesting and probably were accurate.  Shoemaking was not an easy process!  David Auble was probably a master at all but the leather working part of the process.

I asked the same questions of ChatGPT4 and Gemini and received essentially the same responses. 

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My blog posts, and those of other genealogists, using Artificial Intelligence tools are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/02/ask-ai-describe-shoe-and-boot-making-in.html

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.  Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Note that all comments are moderated, so they may not appear immediately.

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Seavers in the News -- 1982 Obituary of Elizabeth Seaver (1898-1982) of Orlando, Florida

 Here is this week's edition of "Seavers in the News" - a weekly feature from the historical newspapers about persons with the surname Seaver that are interesting, useful, mysterious, fun, macabre, or add information to my family tree database.

This week's entry is from The Orlando [Fla.] Sentinel newspaper dated Monday, 26 July 1982, Page 12, Column 3:


The transcription of the article is:

"Elizabeth Seaver, 84, 2817 E. Washington St., Orlando, died Sunday.  Born in Kissimmee, she moved to Orlando in 1920.  She was a homemaker and a member of the Delaney Street Baptist Church.  Survivors:  daughters, Mrs. Mildred Wagner, Mrs. Dorothy Mae Wagner, both of Orlando; sisters, Mrs. Mae Horton, Mrs. Ellen Langham, Mrs. Bessie Sweat, Mrs. Edith Wise, all of Orlando; one granddaughter; four great-grandchildren.  Hawthorne Funeral Home, Orlando, in charge of arrangements.

The source citation is:

"Elizabeth Seaver" The Orlando [Fla.] Sentinel newspaper, Monday, 26 July 1982, page 12, column 3, obituary of Elizabeth Seaver; imaged,  Newspapers.com  (https://www.newspapers.com : accessed 17 February 2025).

This obituary is provides her name, her age, her address, her death day, her occupation and church association, the names of her children and sisters, but not her husband's name, or her burial location.  

Elizabeth (Harrell) Seaver (1898-1982) was born 24 May 1898 in Kissimmee, Florida, the daughter of  Henry Clay and Georgia Ann (--?--) Harrell.  She died 25 July 1982 in Orlando, Florida.  She married Charles Henry Seaver (1889-1963) on 8 February 1914 in Florida.  They had two children:
  • Annie Mildred Seaver (1918-2006), married (1) 1935 Alton Craig Hancock (1915-1969); (2) Mr. Wagner.
  • Dorothy Mae Seaver (1923-2009), married (1) 1942 Charles Melvin Chamberlain (1923-1999); (2) Mr. Wagner.
I am not related to Elizabeth (Harrell) or Charles Henry Seaver.  Charles Henry Seaver was a descendant of  John and Ann (White) Seaver who settled in Georgia in the 1780s.

There are over 10,000 Seaver "stories" in my family tree - and this is one of them.   Life happens, accidentally and intentionally, and sometimes a person has a short but informative obituary.   I am glad that  I can honor Elizabeth (Harrell) Seaver (1898-1982) today.  

You never know when a descendant or relative will find this blog post and learn something about their ancestors or relatives, or will provide more information about them to me.

                                  =============================================

Disclosure:  I have a paid subscription to Newspapers.com and have used it extensively to find articles about my ancestral and one-name families.


Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post.    Share it on Twitter, Facebook,  or Pinterest using the icons below.  Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated, and may not appear immediately.

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Monday, February 17, 2025

Randy's Genealogy Pot-Pourri - Week Ending 16 February 2025

 Here are the highlights of my family history and genealogy related activities over the past week (ending Sunday, 16 February 2025).  

1)  Hosted and moderated the CVGS Research Group Meeting on Wednesday.  I reported on the upcoming RootsTech 2025 conference, Finding Your Roots, MyHertage  MyStories feature, Reclaim the Records, two new books, the MyHeritage OldNews indexes, and my own AI work and family stories work.  We discussed our best genealogy work over the last month.

2)  Transcribed the 1885 Mortgage Discharge of Alexander Sovereen to Calanda Landed Credit Company for Land in Norfolk County, Ontario for Amanuensis Monday.

3)  Wrote a genealogical sketch for my 2nd Great-GrandAunt Ann Richman (1818-????) of Hilperton, Wiltshire for the 52 Relatives theme.

4) Curated genealogy-related articles in Genealogy News Bytes - Week of 5 to 11 February 2025,   Genealogy Education Bytes - Week of 6 to 12 February 2025, and Best of the Genea-Blogs - 9 to 15 February 2025 to keep myself and my readers updated on the genealogy world.

5)  Updated my review of FamilySearch Full-Text Search in FamilySearch Full-Text Search Update -- 12 February 2025.  Used Full-Text Search to find records for several ancestors, downloaded them, and will use them in future blog posts.

6)  Requested free AI tools to tell me about these genealogy subjects:

7)  Requested free AI tools to create a poem and song lyrics commemorating the life of my 2nd great-grandfather, shoemaker David Auble (1817-1894), and had Suno.com create a song using the lyrics.  Posted the poem created by Grok and the song lyrics by Claude Sonnet 3.5, and the Suno song MP4, in "The Cobbler's Tale" --- A Family History Poem and Song Created by Artificial Intelligence.

8)  My AncestryDNA now has 48,209 DNA matches (up 121 from 9 February) with 2042 "close" matches today (up 6), with 1 new ThruLines.  Added Notes to 2 Matches, and added no new DNA match line to RootsMagic.   MyHeritageDNA now has 13,260 DNA matches (up 16 from 9 February) for me.  Reviewed the new DNA matches on AncestryDNA, MyHeritageDNA, FamilyTreeDNA and 23andMe.  

9)  Occasionally matched RootsMagic 10 profiles to FamilySearch Family Tree.  Matched 52,335 of my RootsMagic persons with FamilySearch Family Tree profiles (up 31).  

10)  Searched for more records of ancestral families on Ancestry, FamilySearch and MyHeritage, downloaded record images to my digital file folders, and added research notes, events and sources to RootsMagic profiles.  My RootsMagic family tree now has 74,105 profiles (up 31 from last week) and 147,375 source citations (up 18).  Added more short biographical sketches and source citations to ancestors, and edited historical place names for a number of families. 

11) Wrote 20 Genea-Musings blog posts last week (Sunday through Saturday), of which one was a press release. The most viewed post last week was "Abbey's Journey" --- A Family History Poem and Song Created by Artificial Intelligence with over 268 views.  Genea-Musings had about 332,000 page views last week and over 554,000 views over the past month.  [I don't know what was so popular - perhaps scraping occurred.]

12)  Real life events:  Visited Linda several days at her memory care facility and we played Uno.  Attended the Valentine's Day luncheon at her facility. Went to the grocery store on Monday and Friday.  Went to the financial advisor on Thursday and we are doing well.  Still reading Night of Thunder by Stephen Hunter.  My SDSU Aztecs were 2-0 in college basketball, so are now 17-6.  Watched the Genesis golf tournament in La Jolla off and on.

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The URL for this post is:  https://www.geneamusings.com/2025/02/randys-genealogy-pot-pourri-week-ending_0117683346.html

Copyright (c) 2025, Randall J. Seaver

Please comment on this post on the website by clicking the URL above and then the "Comments" link at the bottom of each post. Share it on X, Facebook, or Pinterest using the icons below. Or contact me by email at randy.seaver@gmail.com.  Please note that all comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. 

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