This is for the 10th edition of Smile for the Camera - “Costume”:

Whenever I think of a “distinctive style of dress” concerning my family’s genealogy, I always think of my g-g-grandmother, Irene Mary (Beckman) Seibert.

Here she is as a child, in one of her more distinctive outfits:

(Photo taken at Elrod Bros. studio at 313 W. Jefferson St., Louisville, KY)

The latest Carnival of Genealogy prompt is The Happy Dance - The Joy of Genealogy:

“Almost everyone has experienced it. Tell us about the first time, or the last time, or the best time. What event, what document, what special find has caused you to stand up and cheer, to go crazy with joy?”

I’ve had a couple instances where I’ve jumped for joy when researching ancestors, but the absolute best, in my opinion, was when I found information regarding my father’s side of the family.  My mom and dad divorced when I was young, so I never had much contact with my dad.  Then once I got interested in genealogy, my dad didn’t have much to tell me.  His mom and dad were both dead so they had nothing to offer, and he didn’t know the names of his grandparents because he only knew them by their last names, for example “Grandma Bone.”  I thought for the longest time that I might never find information about his side of the family past his parents.

But I did it.  And with each new finding it seemed like I kept hitting the jackpot:

I started with census records, knowing that my grandfather’s name was Bruce Stiver and was born in 1900 in Pennsylvania, and that Bruce had a brother named Russell.  I finally found them in the 1920 census in Jefferson County, Pennsylvania, living  with their parents Silas and Rosella Stiver.  Finding the names of my great-grandparents in itself was something I’m sure I did a little dance over, but this wasn’t it.

After finding out their names, I did a little poking around on the internet and found someone’s family tree that had a TON of info on Silas and his ancestors for quite a few generations on both his mother’s and father’s side.  It even had info on the Stiver clan back to when the name was previously spelled Staiber.  I had always thought that the spelling ‘Stiver’ seemed wrong, and that it was likely spelled another way back in Germany, but I didn’t know what it would be. Now I know what it was (or at least have a better idea) and now I have an alternate spelling to do searches under.

After finding this data, I discovered a cousin through a mailing list who had been researching the Stiver name for over 25 years.  She was able to confirm all the info I had found on the internet and to top it off she had info regarding Silas’s wife Rosella, whose maiden name, she was able to tell me, was Wells.  She also had a photo of Silas, Rosella, and two children, likely their first son Harry, and Bruce when he was an infant:

I’ve gone on to document much of my grandfather Bruce Stiver’s genealogy from all of this info, including finding out that Rosella was the “Grandma Bone” that my father had remembered.  She had remarried a John Bone after Silas had died.

Now I just have to find more info on Bruce’s wife’s side of the family.  That will be a bit more tricky, as I have precious little to go on and her maiden name was Smith.  I can’t wait until I can do the happy dance regarding that side of the family as well.

I haven’t posted an update about my NaNoWriMo novel since I started writing it in November, aside from a small mention in my Plans for the New Year post, so here it is:

I “won” NaNoWriMo because I was able to write 50,000 words before November 30, but I wasn’t able to finish my novel.  I realized around the middle of November that my story was much bigger than 50K words.

Despite wanting to finish the novel, I stopped working on it in December, just because I needed a bit of a break from so much writing.

For about two weeks, I’ve been writing on it again for about an hour each day.  That seems to be a good amount of writing for me.  During NaNo, I was writing about 2.5 hours each day.  That was fun while it lasted, but that’s much more than I want to devote to it now.  I’m not pounding out the words as a result, but at least I’m writing again.

My goal now is to be done writing the first draft before April 1.  Not only do I have a offer to get a free paperback book printed by CreateSpace that expires in April, but I’m also pregnant with our second child, who is due in April.  Once this new baby comes along I just know I’m not going to have any time to write.  Any free time I have will likely be trying to get some sleep. 

My goal should be attainable.  I just took a recent look at my outline of major scenes and decided to estimate how many words each scene is going to take to finish.  It looks like I still need to write around another 25K words.  That’s not counting the minor scenes that go between each of the major ones, but even if I double my estimate to 50K, I should be able to finish even if I only write 720 words every day between now and March 31.  That word count is something I can definitely do, since I’m averaging over 1000 words a day as it is.

As far as the actual story, it’s obviously going to need a bunch of editing when I’m done, but overall I really like where the novel is going.  It’s basically the same story I started out with, but I’ve added a few unexpected subplots that help flesh out the supporting characters and help to mirror the theme of the main plot.  To be more specific than I was in my first post, it’s about a struggling artist, Ashley (Walsh) Haal, who is stuck in a bad marriage to her lawyer husband, Scott.  She has poor self-esteem that hurts her in both her marriage and her career as a painter.  Because of her best friend, Katee Hess, she ends up meeting an acclaimed photographer, Jacob Kanemura, and Ashley and Jacob become quick friends.  Jacob allows Ashley to see herself, and her paintings, in a new light and he begins to repair the damage to her ego that Scott has created over the years.  She also gets up the courage to have a gallery showing of her art.  Ashley and Jacob fall in love and they begin to have an affair, Jacob not knowing that she is married.  Meanwhile, because of Ashley’s new found self-esteem and courage, Scott has come to see that he has been a jerk, and tries to mend his marriage with Ashley.  Now Ashley is torn between Scott and Jacob.  She doesn’t know what to do.  Go back to Scott who is trying to be a better husband or stay with Jacob?  But after the affair comes to light, will she have a choice?  I also plan on throwing a pregnancy in the mix to further mess with Ashley’s head.  I think I want to make it Jacob’s baby, but I may have it be a toss up as to who’s child it is.  I’m also pretty sure that I want to have a bittersweet ending, with her going back to Scott at the end, but who knows at this point.  I still have a lot to write before I make that decision.

I don’t know what I plan to do with it once it’s done.  I want to get it bound, and I figure I’ll edit it when I find the time, but as far as who I’ll let read it, I’m not yet sure.  It may just be something I have sit on the shelf for the rest of my life. Who knows at this point.  At the very least I will have written a novel by the time I’m done.  That’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was about 10 years old.

I got this photograph from a relative who has no idea who any of the people are in the photo.  I identified the young girl in the man’s arms as my great-grandmother, Thelma (Seibert) Furry.  That means the photo was taken around 1911 or 1912, probably in Louisville, Kentucky since that is where my great-grandmother lived until she was about 6 years old.

I’d like to know who all of the other people are in the photo, but I’m most curious about the older man standing on the right, holding a chicken.  I think he is the same man pictured in this photo I posted a few months ago.

If anyone recognizes these people.  PLEASE let me know.

_______________________

This is for the 9th Edition of Smile For The Camera: Who Are You - I Really Want To Know?

I first found the original 99 things meme via Randy Seaver over at Genea-Musings this morning.  Then this afternoon, I found a genealogical list via Donna Pointkouski at What’s Past Is Prolouge, that was originally posted by, and since expanded and compiled by Becky at Kinexxions.  (My genealogical list of things may have slight variations from these other lists as I started it early and didn’t update it as it was later changed by Becky.):

Things you’ve already done: bold

Things you want to do: italicize

Things you haven’t done and don’t want to - leave in plain font

Original version:

1. Started your own blog. (Um… duh!)
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band. (If elementary school orchestra/band count)
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain. (A small one in West Virginia)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child. (I’ve thought about it, at least.  We’re not sure that we want any more than 2 children.)
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight. (Even one, as a child, where I actually feared for my life… two against one is NOT fun.)
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.  (Might be nice.)
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language. (Japanese - I have some Pimsleur audio courses all ready to go, just haven’t done it.)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied. (I’m pretty satisfied.  I don’t think having much more money than I do now would really change that feeling.)
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing.
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke. (Never again.)
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted. (Sort of, if oil pastel counts.)
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone. (Several, unfortunately.)
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper. (Three that I can remember: Akron Beacon Journal, the Kenmore community newspaper, and the Kent State University paper.  Maybe the Cleveland Plain Dealer too, but I think that might have just been an article I wrote, minus a photo.)
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (If killing a mouse, freezing it for storage, and thawing it later for a snake counts.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous. (For some reason I want to say I already have, but considering I can’t remember who it would have been, I doubt it.)
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby. (One daughter, one on the way.)
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.  (Been stung by at least 3 wasps though.)

Genealogical version:

1. Belong to a genealogical society.
2. Researched records onsite at a court house.
3. Transcribed records.
4. Uploaded tombstone pictures to Find-A-Grave.
5. Documented ancestors for four generations (self, parents, grandparents, great-grandparents)
6. Joined Facebook.
7. Cleaned up a run-down cemetery.
8. Joined the Genea-Bloggers Group.
9. Attended a genealogy conference.
10. Lectured at a genealogy conference.
11. Spoke on a genealogy topic at a local genealogy society.
12. Been the editor of a genealogy society newsletter.
13. Contributed to a genealogy society publication.
14. Served on the board or as an officer of a genealogy society.
15. Got lost on the way to a cemetery.
16. Talked to dead ancestors. (When they were living, that is.  And one of my fantasies is to go back in time and interview ancestors.)
17. Researched outside the state in which I live.
18. Knocked on the door of an ancestral home and visited with the current occupants.
19. Cold called a distant relative.
20. Posted messages on a surname message board.
21. Uploaded a gedcom file to the internet.
22. Googled my name.
23. Performed a random act of genealogical kindness.
24. Researched a non-related family, just for the fun of it.
25. Have been paid to do genealogical research.
26. Earn a living (majority of income) from genealogical research.
27. Wrote a letter (or email) to a previously unknown relative.
28. Contributed to one of the genealogy carnivals.
29. Responded to messages on a message board.
30. Was injured while on a genealogy excursion.
31. Know a cousin of the 4th degree or higher.
32. Disproved a family myth through research. (Well, I haven’t totally ruled out the possibility, but I really don’t see how it could be true at this point.)
33. Got a family member to let you copy photos.
34. Used a digital camera to “copy” photos or records.
35. Translated a record from a foreign language.
36. Found an immigrant ancestor’s passenger arrival record.
37. Looked at census records on microfilm, not on the computer. (When I first started out and had no clue that Ancestry.com was available… This wasn’t that long ago either.)
38. Used microfiche.
39. Visited the Family History Library in Salt Lake City.
40. Visited more than one LDS Family History Center.
41. Visited a church or place of worship of one of your ancestors.
42. Taught a class in genealogy.
43. Traced ancestors back to the 18th Century.
44. Traced ancestors back to the 17th Century. (Only if I can rely on posted internet family trees.  Haven’t proven the data myself.)
45. Traced ancestors back to the 16th Century. (Only if I can rely on posted internet family trees.  Haven’t proven the data myself.)
46. Can name all of your great-great-grandparents. (I can name all of them except on my father’s mother’s side.)
47. Found an ancestor’s Social Security application.
48. Know how to determine a soundex code without the help of a computer.
49. Used Steve Morse’s One-Step searches.
50. Own a copy of Evidence Explained by Elizabeth Shown Mills.
51. Helped someone find an ancestor using records you had never used for your own research.
52. Visited the main National Archives building in Washington, DC.
53. Visited the Library of Congress.
54. Have an ancestor who came over on the Mayflower.
55. Have an ancestor who fought in the Civil War. (A couple, on both sides.)
56. Taken a photograph of an ancestor’s tombstone.
57. Became a member of the Association of Graveyard Rabbits.
58. Can read a church record in Latin.
59. Have an ancestor who changed their name.
60. Joined a Rootsweb mailing list.
61. Participated in a genealogy meme
62. Created family history gift items (calendars, cookbooks, etc.)
63. Performed a lookup
64. Took a genealogy seminar cruise
65. Convinced a relative must have arrived here from outer space
66. Found a disturbing family secret (I would love to find something about an ancestor.)
67. Told others about that disturbing family secret
68. Combined genealogy with crafts (family picture quilt, scrapbooking)
69. Think genealogy is a passion not a hobby (Can’t it be both?)
70. Assisted finding next of kin for a deceased person (Unclaimed Persons)
71. Taught someone else how to find their roots
72. Lost valuable genealogy data due to a computer crash or hard drive failure  (I almost did and I was SICK about it.  But my computer savvy husband recovered the “lost” data.)
73. Been overwhelmed by available genealogy technology (The more ways to get and store info, the better, I think)
74. Created a family website. (I took it down though.  I should put one back up.)
75. Have more than one “genealogy” blog.
76. Was overwhelmed by the amount of family information received from someone. (Yes, but I was pleasantly overwhelmed though.)
77. Have broken through at least one brick wall. (I still have plenty more though.)
78. Visited the DAR Library in Washington D.C.
79. Borrowed microfilm from the Family History Library through a local Family History Center.
80. Have done indexing for Family Search Indexing or another genealogy project.
81. Visited the Allen County Public Library Genealogy Center in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
82. Had an amazing serendipitous find of the “Psychic Roots” variety.
83. Have an ancestor who was a Patriot in the American Revolutionary War. (Okay, well, no… but my husband does and I almost think of his family as mine too, so, I say yes.)
84. Have an ancestor who was a Loyalist in the American Revolutionary War.
85. Have both Patriot & Loyalist ancestors.
86. Have used Border Crossing records to locate an ancestor.
87. Use maps in my genealogy research.
88. Have a convict ancestor who was transported from the UK.
89. Found a bigamist amongst the ancestors. (Unfortunately didn’t have to look for them.)
90. Visited the National Archives in Kew.
91. Visited St. Catherine’s House in London to find family records.
92. Found a cousin in Australia (or other foreign country).
93. Consistently cite my sources. (I do now, but I’m guilty of not having done it earlier.  I have WONDERFUL notes on certain aspects of my family that I now have no clue where I got the info.  Sucks.)
94. Visited a foreign country (i.e. one I don’t live in) in search of ancestors.
95. Can locate any document in my research files within a few minutes. (I wish I was that organized.)
96. Have an ancestor who was married four times (or more). (Well, not an ancestor, but a great-aunt.  She was married nine times.  Relatives think she might have been a “black widow.”)
97. Made a rubbing of an ancestors gravestone.
98. Organized a family reunion.
99. Published a family history book (on one of my families). (Not yet, but I am very close to doing so. Hoping for late Spring 2009.)
100. Learned of the death of a fairly close relative through research.
101. Have done the genealogy happy dance.
102. Sustained an injury doing the genealogy happy dance.
103. Offended a family member with my research. (I would elaborate, but I don’t want to offend again.)
104. Reunited someone with precious family photos or artifacts.

____

Updated to add items 97 - 104 to the genealogical list.

As Donna Pointkouski said so well, over at What’s Past is Prologue:

This time of year you can’t read the paper, watch television, listen to the radio, or peruse the internet without tripping over a “Top Ten” or “Best of” list. It’s fun to hear other people’s views on the best and the worst and argue with friends on your personal lists. I always enjoy New Year’s Eve as a time to not only look forward to the new year, but also look back on the one that has just past before the door slams shut forever.

In that same vein, while listening to some music last night, I decided to write a post today about my favorite songs of 2008. Now… take this with a grain of salt though, because while a lot of these songs came out in 2008, some of them did not. I just discovered them in 2008.

In no particular order:

Songs by 30 Seconds To Mars. This band was, by far, my favorite band of the year. I was borderline obsessed with them at one point. My husband would say it was more than borderline. I love all the songs on their “A Beautiful Lie” CD, but my top five favorite songs by them would be “The Kill” (acoustic version), “The Story,” “R-Evolve,” “Hunter,” and an instrumental song “Time to Wake Up” that I found on the internet.

Two other bands I discovered in 2008 were Boys Like Girls and My Chemical Romance. I found them because they were listed under artists similar to 30 Seconds To Mars, although I really don’t think they are very similar. My favorite songs by Boys Like Girls are “Hero/Heroine,” “Thunder,” and “Up Against The Wall.”  I have to say that I don’t particularly care for many of the songs done by My Chemical Romance, but I love their song “I Don’t Love You”. That song was what initially inspired my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel idea. I remember having it playing on repeat for about an hour straight while I outlined my novel.

“Viva La Vida” by Coldplay. Every time I hear a song by Coldplay for the first time, I think of U2, which is one of my all time favorite bands. I don’t know exactly what it is about the lead singer’s voice, but I think of Bono every time.  I think it’s more than their accents, but regardless, they get an immediate plus from me. This song, by the way, is also my daughter’s current favorite song.  She’s only two and a half, but she knows many of the words to it.

OneRepublic’s “Apologize.” I heard Timbaland’s mix of “Apologize” on the radio and absolutely loved it. I could barely wait until OneRepublic released their own album and I got it as soon as I could. I really like their sound.

“Shattered (Turn the Car Around)” by O.A.R. I liked this song when I first heard it, but didn’t quite appreciate it like it deserved until I really listened to it. Now it’s definitely a favorite of mine, likely because it was also an inspiration for my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel.

“Love Remains The Same” by Gavin Rossdale. The first time I heard this I recognized Gavin’s voice immediately, which I love. The song is completely different from his older (Bush) stuff, but I love it. If I had to pick one song to describe my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel this would be it, despite all the other inspiration I got from other songs, this one tops them all.  It might just be the favorite of my favorites.

Other favorites are these, however, they don’t rank as high on my list as those I’ve already mentioned.  Many of them were also key inspiration to my NaNo novel, which, again, is probably why they have stayed favorites:

“Forever” and “With You” by Chris Brown

“No Air” by Jordin Sparks w/ Chris Brown

“Leavin’” by Jesse McCartney

“Bleeding Love” and “Better in Time” by Leona Lewis

“Say” by John Mayer

“Stop and Stare” and “Say (All I Need)” by OneRepublic

And there you have it…  my favorite songs of 2008.

I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, mainly because whenever I do make them, I never keep them because I never, or rarely, remember them after December 31st (It’s not because of drinking, I promise).  So I figure, what’s the point?  But having said that… the topic of the 63rd Carnival of Genealogy is New Year’s Resolutions, and asks “What plans do you have for your genealogy research next year? How about for your blogging?”  I think I can at least answer those questions even if I don’t consider them resolutions, per se.

What plans do you have for your genealogy research next year?

First and foremost, I want to finish writing the genealogy book on my Seibert family that has been in the works since mid 2007.  I’m almost done with it, and besides, I promised my family I would have it ready by this year’s family reunion.

I’d also love to stop procrastinating about talking to my grandfather, Floyd Cummings, about his life and relatives.  I want to videotape him in an interview talking about his life, mainly before and during WWII.  I also would like to know more about his family.  I’d like to know the specifics about his relatives, like births and deaths and such, but I’ve heard some crazy stories in passing about his family that I’d really like to know more about; how some thought his Aunt was a black widow what with having 9 husbands and them all dying, how his grandfather was able to survive the 1889 Johnstown flood, and how his father pulled a prank on a neighbor, putting the neighbor’s carriage on the top of his barn, among many others.  I’d like to know the specifics, at least as much as he can remember, before he is no longer around to tell them.  I want my next big genealogy project, after I’m done with the Seibert book, to be a book about my grandfather’s side of the family, so this will be the perfect starting point.

How about for your blogging?

No new plans for my blog.  I will continue to post when I have something to say, and otherwise not.  That’s the way I blog right now and I like that.  I don’t see any reason to change.  The only thing that may happen is that I might not get as much time to blog because I am currently pregnant and will have another child to take care of next year.

As far as non-genealogy, non-blog related plans…

I can’t really think of anything other than I’d like to finish my 2008 NaNoWriMo novel, sometime in 2009, preferably before April.  I’ve written about 60K words on it so far, but I’ve basically set it aside for the past few weeks.  I’ve only written a day or two out of each week since November 30 and I feel the need to pick it back up again and work on it more akin to what I did during the month of November.  Maybe not 1667 words per day, but at least set aside an hour each day to work on it.  I needed a bit of time off from writing, but I think it would be fun to write again.  Besides I was just getting to the good stuff.

I was recently thinking about my family’s traditions and realized that most of those traditions have fallen by the way side.

The one tradition that has stuck, is that our family celebrates Christmas on Christmas Eve.  I’m really not sure why this started though.  If I had to guess it probably had to do with each individual family unit wanting to spend time with each other on Christmas day, so the entire family met up on Christmas Eve instead.

Now that my husband and I have started our own family, I want to start our own traditions.  We all think of presents and gift getting and receiving, but my husband and I recently talked about how neither of us really remember receiving any gift for Christmas that really stood out.  Nothing that really made a difference.  What we remember is the time spent with our family.  I want to make more memories like that for our daughter, rather than just buying her tons of toys that will eventually be forgotten.

This Christmas, we started that tradition with putting up the Christmas tree.  Our daughter helped decorate the tree with ornaments, some of which she made herself.  We all strung garlands of popcorn and ate a bunch of popcorn too.  We also made a bunch of desserts including a gingerbread train and cookies.  Our daughter helped decorate the gingerbread train and helped measure out the flour and sugar, etc. and “squish” the cookies.  It’s adorable to see her look at the Christmas tree and hear her say, “I made that” or when she eats a cookie say, “Kelly helped make them.”

That is what Christmas is about.  Not what new gadget is wrapped for you under the tree.

My husband and I were also just saying that we shouldn’t have Christmas lists in the first place.  If there is something we want then we should just buy it.  If it’s not something we want to spend our money on, then why do we tell other people to use their hard earned money to buy something that we really don’t want or need?  It’s a good question.

We’re going with “tradition” this year and buying everyone in the extended family at least one gift, but my husband and I aren’t going to exchange gifts and we aren’t going to buy our daughter anything either (she got way too much from everyone else last Christmas and I assume it will be the same this year).  But next year we may switch that up somehow, regarding extended family I mean.  Maybe we’ll make crafts/cookies for everyone instead of buying a bunch of “crap.”  It can be a new tradition of ours that we celebrate Christmas by making things for people that came from the heart instead of just buying something that we think they might like attached to a gift receipt.

The 62nd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy asks genealogy bloggers to write a letter to Genea-Santa, making a list of 3 gifts they would like to receive this holiday season from 3 of their ancestors.  Here are my wishes:

1.  I would love to have the broach that my great-grandmother, Thelma Seibert-Furry, had in her possession when her house was broken into.  I’m not really sure what it looked like, since I never saw it, but I’m told that it was silver with a blue stone.  It had been handed down for generations from mother to eldest daughter at least since the early 1800s and, from my research, possibly originated in Wagshurst, Baden, Germany.  Had it not been stolen from her house, I would be next in line to inherit it.

2.  I don’t know if such a family bible ever existed, but since the family was highly religious, it’s likely it did, so I will say that I would love to have the bible of my great-grandmother Araminta Terresa “Mintie” “Tessie” Adamson-Smith.  I know little to nothing about her husband except for his name, Harry Smith, and a possible birth date of July 1874.  Hopefully this bible would have some family info in it and shed some light on him and subsequently his family, making it a bit easier to wade through all of the Smiths out there.  I also only know of the names of five of their eight known children.  I’m assuming the bible would list births and deaths of the children as well.  And maybe a few extras, like the maiden name of Araminta’s mother.

3.  According to a story told to me by my grandfather, my g-g-grandfather, George G. Fyock, was part Native American and wanted to open a bar but his application for a liquor licenese was denied on those grounds.  From everything I’ve researched (and from what other’s have researched, as well) he was NOT Native American.  I would love to have the letter he received that stated why his application for a license was denied.  If it mentioned Native American status, I would have something to work with, otherwise, I think he had another reason for hiding his past and never answering questions about his parents.  It must have been a real doozy of a story to prefer lying and saying he was part Native American (realize that this was during the early 1900s) than to tell the truth about his family.

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Update:  I just realized that I didn’t write a letter, but merely listed my wishes.  Oh well.  I hope Genea-Santa is forgiving.  I guess I just made it that much easier for him (or her) to find my wishes, rather than wading through all the brown-nosing that typically comes before and after begging for presents. 

I found this meme over at the genealogy blog Creative Gene and felt like playing along:

Wrapping paper or gift bags? Always wrapping paper.  Although you can reuse bags, which is nice, I think bags are a poor way to wrap gifts.  The receiver doesn’t have any fun unwrapping the gift if it’s in a bag.

Real tree or Artificial? Artificial.  Artificial trees are worse for the environment (a lot of waste in making them and in deposing of them), but I have one that is a hand-me-down so I feel like I’m saving it from a landfill.  If I didn’t have my current tree already, I’d probably want to try a real one.

When do you put up the tree? The weekend after Thanksgiving.

When do you take the tree down? Sometime in January, close to New Year’s.

Do you like eggnog? It’s okay, but I’d rather have something else if I had the choice.

Favorite gift received as a child? I really don’t remember.  I loved getting books as presents, but I don’t remember one specific one that stood out.  Actually, I take that back.  One year I got Gone with the Wind.  I remember not paying one bit of attention to the rest of the festivities as I was engrossed in the book for the rest of the day, and the next month.

Hardest person to buy for? My grampa.  He always says he doesn’t need or want anything.  Because of this, he typically gets a few pounds each of summer sausage and Hershey’s milk chocolate because everyone remembers he used to like both of these things.  He doesn’t complain until a few months later that he’s gained a bunch of weight and it’s all our fault.

Easiest person to buy for? My daughter.  My husband is a close second.

Do you have a nativity scene? Nope.  We’re not religious, spiritual maybe, but that explanation deserves a whole separate blog post.  Christmas is a purely secular holiday for us.

Mail or email Christmas cards? Email would just be tacky, but I’m not too big on mail cards either.  I think cards for any occasion are just a waste of money and paper, IMO.  Photo cards are the exception.  I think those are nice and they get saved in a photo album.  Before our daughter was born we didn’t send out any cards.  Since then, however, we’ve had a photo Christmas card made with her photo.  I don’t know if we’ll keep this up or not.

Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Scotch tape.  My grandmother used to give everyone Scotch tape every year in their stockings.  But I guess it’s nice not to ever have to buy it again, since I swear I have a lifetime’s supply of it now.

Favorite Christmas Movie? It took me a while to remember, but it’s got to be White Christmas.  My husband’s is Die Hard.  Weird, I know.

When do you start shopping for Christmas? Late.  Generally sometime in the middle of December. Haven’t even started thinking about it yet.

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes.  But I didn’t feel guilty about it.  Well, very much at least.  It was a Christmas present that I didn’t really need that I re-gifted as a wedding gift for someone who did need it.

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Breakfast casserole: a mixture of bread, eggs, sausage, and cheese.  I used to make it every Christmas Eve morning, but unfortunately, I probably won’t be getting any from now on since our daughter has an egg sensitivity.  Bummer.

Lights on the tree? Yes, multicolored.  Although, if the hand-me-down tree hadn’t already come with lights, I probably would have opted for white.

Favorite Christmas song? Winter wonderland.  Mainly because it’s one of the only songs I know that isn’t Jingle Bells.  Although Jingle Bells isn’t bad.

Travel at Christmas or stay home? The whole family will go over to my mom’s house to give and receive presents.  But I don’t exactly consider it “travel” when it’ll take less than 15 minutes to get there.

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Yes.  Before this year I probably wouldn’t have remembered them, however, after reading T’was the Night Before Christmas to my daughter more than a few times, I now remember them again.

Angel on the tree top or a star? Neither.  When we got the hand-me-down tree, we didn’t get the Angel that used to go on top of it, and we haven’t gotten a replacement.  I don’t think we will either.

Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas Eve.

Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The insane amount of people out shopping.  I hate shopping anyway, so it’s just that much more of a hassle with the stores so crowded.

Favorite ornament theme or color? The theme of our tree is animals.  We have more animal ornaments than any other kind combined.

Favorite for Christmas dinner? Cheese and potato casserole, generally Au Gratin, but not necessarily, and ham to go along with it.

What do you want for Christmas this year? Nothing much.  I guess the Dark Knight DVD would be at the top of a very short list.

What is your favorite thing about the holidays? Doing Christmasy stuff with my husband and daughter.  Tonight we made a gingerbread train.