Our Voices Unite

According to a recent article on CemetarySpot, a case of identity theft was brought to court and the source of the alleged criminal’s information was the social security death index public records files on rootsweb.  Apparently this person gathered social security numbers of recently deceased and using that and other vital info, was able to convince several credit card companies to issue credit in the name of the deceased and in some cases to add the person on as an authorized user.

While I personally don’t think it is right to use the SSDI to canvas for  family members of those recently past for the purpose of selling space online for memorial pages or other services, this is also a trend that has been emerging lately.

Having recently lost my mother, I find this appalling and as a genealogist, I fear that we will soon be prevented from doing legitimate research using the SSDI.  If you  discover such abuses the only thing you can do for now is to post a comment on your blog, or if you don’t have a blog, I will invite you to share what you discover as a comment to this posting.

We need to preserve the technological databases that have been so vital to our genealogy research in recent years and we should also advocate the free access to public records through the web without fear of a loved one’s information being stolen and used for illicit purposes.

“Now you can trace your heritage using newly acquired books and online genealogy databases at Nova Southeastern University.

The electronic databases are free to the public in Broward County via computers at the Alvin Sherman Library, Research and Information Technology Center. The library also features a new collection of 4,000 books, manuscripts and other material on ancestry from the Genealogical Society of Broward County.” (2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.)

According to this article which you can read at TMCnet.com, Broward County residents will be able to type in ancestor names and search through databases that draw from U.S. Census information dating to 1790, manifests of ships from the 19th and 20th centuries, and draft lists going back to the Civil War. Also available are marriage, birth and death certificates from the 1600s.

If you live in Broward county, or have relations there, it would be worthwhile to visit the Alvin Sherman Library and see what a search can turn up.  I wonder if you can access the databases from outside the library.  That would be great for those of us who aren’t close to this location.  I think I will look into this and if I find a way to access the database from a local library or other means, I will post the information here.

My sister recently sent this to me as an email that was forwarded to her. I thought it was good enough to share so here we go. Hope you all enjoy.

Although things are not perfect
Because of trial or pain
Continue in thanksgiving
Do not begin to blame
Even when the times are hard
Fierce winds are bound to blow
God is forever able
Hold on to what you know
Imagine life without His love
Joy would cease to be
Keep thanking Him for all the things
Love imparts to thee
M ove out of ” Camp Complaining ”
No weapon that is known
On earth can yield the power
Praise can do alone
Quit looking at the future
Redeem the time at hand
Start every day with worship
To “thank” is a command
Until we see Him coming
Victorious in the sky
We’ll run the race with gratitude
X alting God most high
Y es, there’ll be good times and yes some will be bad, but…
Z ion waits in glory…where none are ever sad!

“I AM Too blessed to be stressed!” The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor.
The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything. Love and peace be with you forever,

My grandfather, Wayne Miller (1896-1946) was a prolific writer and among his papers we have discovered many stories, and poems.  This is one of the poems he wrote to his wife, my grandmother, Irene Rogers Miller. You will quickly realize the change in the use of the verb “ejaculations” that has become less acceptable in daily language today. Most people today would not associate the use of this word with this poem.  (Ok, I should not have to spell this out for you - you get my drift, I’m sure).

Here is the short poem:

 Ye Gods;

Behold the array -

Generals , Colonels , Captains , non-coms and privates -

The hosts of vanity in parade formation.

 Or , perhaps , only a bit of landscape gardening on the dresser top.

(Methinks she admires the outfit as much as she uses it!)

The tall bottles and vials are noble trees -

Those squatty , fat jars are clumps of shrub.

Colors , too , in pleasing variety.

She was ever color-hungry.

 But no - she does use them!

Some are half - empty!

 Ah, well -

Time was when her beauty was freshly born with each new dawn.

No dependence then upon concoctions and astringents.

Even yet she uses these condiments with indifferent zeal!

Next year - and the next - will she rely more and more upon them!

And why ! Why all the struggle for beauty?

But should I decry it?

Beauty is the one essential to love.

If natural charm will not tarry beyond forty

By all means let it come from bottles,

Flasks , jars, masks, boxes, curlers, patches,

Whatnot.

Beauty there must be!

 Could I, I wonder , use such arts

To keep warm her love for me?

We are lucky that the Churches of Germany kept records, but you will need to know the location of the church.

When searching for German Ancestors it is important to remember the history of the German contry and people. 

We are lucky that the Churches of Germany kept records. Keep in mind that it was common practice in the 1700’s to use only the second baptismal name in official records later in life. The first name was that of a parent or grandparent and was given as a compliment, but never used officially so Johannes Georg Weber would appear only as Georg Weber. Before delving into a particular church’s records, it is important to understand the organization and archival policies of the various churches. The Evangelical Church (Evengelische Kirche in Deutschland) This is a union of independent territorial Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches and the various secitons are not officially unified, but are in close cooperation. There are eight United Evangelical Churches: five more are members of the World Federation of Lutheran Churches: others belong to the Evangelical Lutheran Church; and others to the Federation of Reformed Churches, the two branches of the Moravian Church, and other independent sects. To get addresses (they change all the time) check the Evangelical Lutheran Church web site at www.velkd.de. German Lutheran Churches in Memel. Although the registers for the area churches disappeared after 1945, it is probable that the records are now in the State Parish Register Archives of Lithuania. The parishes concerned are: Coadjuthen, Dawillan, Crottingen, Heydekrug, Kairinn, Karkelbeck, Kinten, Laugszargen, Mattkischken, Nidden, Paleiten, Pasziesen,Piktopen, Plaschken, Plicken, Prokuls, ramutten, Rucken, Russ, Saugen, Schwarzort, Szugen, Wannagen, Wieszen and Wischwil. Evangelical Churches in East Prussia (Ostpreussen) Prior to the invasion of the Red Army the parish registers were moved to West Berlin. This move included the Kirchenbuecher (church books) from about 500 parishes.The are located in the Central Archivves of the Evangelical Church. Due to the war it is not surprising that there are some missing records and gaps in others but if you had ancestors that were Evangelical and from east Prussia, you may want to contact the Central Archives. There are over 6,800 books involves, so be as specific as possible with your request. You may also want to ask about the possibility of Kirchenbuechduplikate, duplicates of records sent each year to the nearest headquarters of a particular church. The Catholic Church Organized under each archbishop in ecclesiastical provinces and local parishes the Catholic Church in germany has twenty-seven (27) archives. These have parish registers, confirmation and communion records. In many cases there are also family books which were first admitted in about 1614 and include full details of each family in the parish with names of servants and occupation of the head of the house. These were in Latin and German and are more complete in some areas than others. The division of Germany after WWII, and the reunification in 1990 did not affect the boundaries of the various dioceses. Look to the nearest large city near your relative for the records of that area. Use any good map to figure this out after you cross reference to discover any name changes. It is impossible to address all options here, but I hope this will help some of you resume your search for your German ancestors. Please remember that you will need to include a return/postage paid envelope with any request and that due to the large number of remaining records, PLEASE be as detailed and specific as possible.

What information is hiding in those old letters your grandmother saved?

Does that box of unlabeled photos haunt you? Most genealogists learn very quickly to label their photos with names, dates and places, but what about your parents, or grandparents photos? Often, old letters and circulating family stories may help you to identify old photos from the descriptions they contain. Of course, there is nothing that can beat the memories of older relatives. If possible, make a little trip to grandma and take those photos with you. Remember, storage in acid free media (pages or boxes) and labeling with acid free ink will help preserve those priceless images. You may also want to scan your photos and save a couple of copies on disks. Here is a portion of a letter My grandmother (Irene Rogers 1900 - 1978)wrote to my father (Franklin Miller 1929 - 1973)when he began asking about her relations many years ago. as noted by Mabel Irene Rogers Benjamine Rogers was born in Caernarvonshire, North Wales and married Marguerite Jones also of Caenarvonshire. They appear to have migrated to Prince Edward Island Canada and settled on :Lot 16″, county unknown. The Rogers men were described as: Huge with big, red or black curly beards and brillint blue eyes. They looked like Pirates. All were musical and sword melodiously in rumbly bass voices–Irene Rogers Miller Benjamine Rogers had black hair and beard, son Joseph had red, and son Thomas had blond (light) hair and beard. I have hundreds of others with tidbits that keep adding to the overall tree of my family. Old family letters can be one of your best resources, and they will also allow you to ‘get to know’ those long gone relations.

Do you have a bunch of old (35mm) photo negatives that you have discovered in the course of your research? The cost to have those old negatives printed can mount up very quickly, as I’m sure anyone who has begun to have some printed, will attest. So, what is the alternative?

I discovered that with a relatively inexpensive scanner and photo editing program, you can make digital “prints” that you can save and share. While these are not of the quality of a professionally produced print, they allow you to decide which negatives are viable or desirable for reproduction.

Here is the process:
1.Place the negative on the scanner bed and cover with a clean sheet of white paper. I like to use a glossy cardstock as it seems to give a better ‘read’ of the images on the film.
2.Scan the film to your computer and open in your photo editor. A really good one for under $100 is Paint Shop Pro. It is easy to use and has all the features of most of the more expensive software.
3. Now you have the image you want to do a reverse. Basically you do a negative image of the negative, which gives you a dark positive. (This process depends on your software but is usually a one or two click operation)
You should save the negative before commiting the changes, just in case.
4. Lighten the photo by adjusting contrast and brightness until you have an image that you can easily recognize. Save it as a copy of the original file. I use a -b appended to the original filename.You can now print or post the image.

This process, while not a replacement for standard print, allows you to send a copy to others for identification, or share copies for fun and info. My aunt was thrilled to get some copies of her family that she had thought wer long lost, and offered to have real prints made, in addition to offering invaluable identificaiton of people in the photo.

I hope this gives some of you a chance to “see what you’ve got” without the added expense. After all, these days it is imperative that we put our money to our research, especially when on tight budgets.

Not a one of us can fail to recall special friends,relatives, or acquaintances from the past. Whether it
is a ‘best friend’ with whom you spent hours, or a special person that invokes memories of a particular
event,there are those that leave a lasting impression on the heart and mind.

Botie Chitty, Hershel Hires,and Ann French are just afew of the people that left their mark on the Millers.

Perhaps those of my generation will remember ‘Aunt Dina’, the elderly lady that lived in back of the Wesley
home in Lakeland. I can still taste her freshly baked goodies and see the twinkle in her eye as one or several
of us pounded on her door.

Many of us count a long past parent as that special person. Perhaps memories of a mother reading a story in
a special time of togetherness, or a father playing catch, even though he had work to do elsewhere.

Some of us have been able to keep in touch with some of those special people, others of us have lost touch and
sometimes wish we could revisit those who are lost to us. It makes little difference as the memories can revive
feelings of joy, sorrow,and love. We only have to reach into the recesses of our memories to relive those days
of innocence and freedom.

As I prepare for my College Graduation, I am once again reminded of those who I have lost. While I believe they are still with me, their physical absence is still painful. As I go forward with my goals to become a teacher, I take with me the memories of all the stories my father and mother told me throughout my life. I carry their love and their wisdom, their faith in God and their belief in my success. I honor who they were by stretching my wings and flying off to become the best person I can be. They gave me the wings with which to fly, I only wish they could have been here to see me soar.

To all of you who have lost a loved one, especially a parent, know that they are always with you. You are never alone as long as you carry memories of them and the time you had together, in your heart, and keep their words in your mind.

As my father once told me, “As long as someone remembers me, I will never really die”.

While I have absorbed the costs of all my genealogical work and creation and support of the websites I have developed, I find that many of you have asked if they could help.  While I am lothe to ask for payment for any of the information I can supply, I am not above accepting donations.

The new site, www.barbaracagle.org has a donation button which will allow you to make donations of your own choice (no minimum or requirements) through paypal.

To those of you who make , have made, or will make donations, I sincerely thank you.  the costs associated with this work may, through your generosity, be able to be diverted to my classrooms.  In an age where politicians are intent on eliminating the school budget, every little bit I can donate to materials will help children to learn in an environment with plenty of supplies.  Thank you. Your donations are truly appreciated and reach the children who will be our futures.

Barbara