Congratulations to Helene aka Victoria32!!!!

A super huge woot woot goes to Heritage Scrap's own very talented, very creative Helene aka Victoria32 for receiving LOTD (Layout of the Day) at Digitals today!!

Helene used Hope, a beautiful kit by Forget Me Nots aka Theresa Lindamood, and the font is Twelfth Night.

Helene is a part of our Creative Challenge Team and is currently hostessing a huge project at Heritage Scrap called The Art of Cooking - Heritage Style.  She will be using her talents to help the rest of us finish a family cookbook, slowly, one step at a time, over the course of a year.  Many of us have attempted such projects in the past and have failed miserably!  At least I have!  But I am confident that Helene will keep us on track with her encouragement and the expert way she has broken down this arduous task into very achievable parts.

For the month of December, we are working on some of our traditional Christmas baking and holiday recipes.  We will also be scrapping our family traditions and stories from the kitchen using our salad, breads, desserts and many other sorts of recipes.  Many of us are also using our vintage recipes and layouts for other projects such as kitchen calendars, recipe cards and boxes, recipe card holders, and various other projects, both for ourselves or for personalized gifts.

My sister, Terri aka chaseweather, and I (Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom) are both doing Helene's challenge but are trying to make a layout each week instead of one each month.  Then we will also give each other our layouts to create an even larger cookbook album!  We are trying to make the 6x4 recipe cards to match our layouts so that by the end of the year-long project, we should each have a set of 100 or more recipe cards and a beautiful cookbook full of our family's favorite dishes!  Won't that be fun?!?!?

So, hop on over to Heritage Scrap and join in the fun!!!   With award winning talent like Helene's, you're sure to find inspiration galore and friends a-plenty!!

One giant pitfall!

Hi Heritage Hunters! I wanted to share the latest on my own Heritage Hunting and let you in on a big no-no!!

In my Grover line, we have a whole group of us working on it together on yahoo groups. It's wonderful to be able to share info and photos and what not, and not feel so alone when you hit that big brick wall! Our biggest and oldest brick wall has been around for about 10 years now, dating back to the original two researchers - my third cousin's wife, Alice, and me. We are looking for Elder Aaron C. Grover's parents and life before 1829.

Now, all this time we have believed that he was born in 1801 in Cayuga County, New York. Thinking back, I never remember having anything else but this bit of info on his birth, but I can't remember WHY we believe that!! We have no solid source. An elderly descendant told us that he thought all the old time Grovers came from Cayuga County. Not good enough by any means but we've held to it all these years.

By assuming this to be true, we have limited our search to that area or at least to New York. What a huge mistake! We still haven't found his birth info, in New York or anywhere, but we have just this past week realized the enormity of our mistake. A new cousin contacted us; he has just recently started his heritage hunting and has done quite nicely. He has followed a lot of the research that we have already done but he has branched out in ways we never considered. He is actually looking for Aaron's parents and birth info in other states!!! He has a few hot leads and even has a pretty convoluted theory that he threw out to the group. Many, many coincidental happenings and relationships to check out!

So, who knows what we will come up with - maybe nothing, but maybe the mother lode too! We will just have to keep digging but for now at least, we are digging in another state. We could be wrong or right but at least we have broken out of our tunnel vision and stepped out of the box!

Tons of New Gorgeous Products at the Heritage Scrap Shoppe!!

There is still time to spice up all your holiday projects at Heritage Scrap with our new and beautiful holiday kits!!  Many are on sale and one is free!!  How much better can it get?!?!?  So....... When the weather outside is frightful, stop in our shoppe, its so delightful!!  And since we've no place to go, Let us shop, let us shop, let us shop!!!     hehehehe  Oh darn, there I go with that singing again!!

Well, anyway, here are some previews to enjoy while you relish my wonderful singing!!  Stop in at the Heritage Scrap Shoppe for a hot, delicious spot of mulled cider or deliciously nutty eggnog while you shop our huge selection.  Enjoy the old fashioned Christmas carols playing in the background, feel the warmth from the yule log as huge, lacy snowflakes fall lazily outside of the big bay window ..........

Twelve Days of Christmas Progressive Layout Challenge - Christmas Palooza at Heritage Scrap

Oh you just have to hop on over to the Heritage Scrap gallery!!!  Things are looking pretty fun with the Twelve Days of Christmas Progressive Challenge!!  Everyone is adding and adding to their layouts and it's starting to get a little hairy!  Today we added 5 ball ornaments.  Ok, still fairly easy but what about tomorrow?  And the next day??  Yikes!

Its not too late to join in the fun either!  We've only done the first five days. 

Our gracious hostess, Helene aka Victoria32, has posted these instructions:

Please join me in "The 12 Days Of Christmas Progressive Challenge". We will build a layout over the next 12 days using items listed in this forum thread each day.  We have the Wonderful Christmas Collab kits in the store and would like you use these to create your layouts.  At the end you will have a beautiful Christmas LO for your album, and you will be entered into a draw to win a kit of your choice from The Believe Collab Collection of Kits.

(Oh yeah!! Oh yeah!!  Doing the happy dance over here!  I forgot about the PRIZE!!!  Ooohh-la-la!!)

Day 1
The first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A parteridge in a pear tree.
(Now "partridge")

So let us begin:  On the 1st day: create a LO in the size you are going to scrap and add 1 Christmas Tree.

• Q:  Are we allowed to resize elements and move them around as this challenge progresses?

• A:  I will allow you to move and resize as necessary so that you will end up with a pretty LO for your album.  No replacement of pieces will be allowed however, so once it's part of the LO, you may resize or move it, but not REMOVE it.

Progressive Scrap Day 1

by Mary Sue

(Looks a little nekkid!!  Yikes!)

Day 2
The second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
"Two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree"

So today I would like you to find and add 2 photos you would like to use. Crop them into any shape you wish and place them on the LO with the Christmas Tree. Post your day 2 LO in the gallery.

12 Days_Day 2

by Helene aka Victoria32

(Still looks a little weird Helene!!  Sorry!  Just sayin'.....)

Day 3:
"The third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French Hens
Two turtle doves
And a parteridge in a pear tree."

So today we are going to add 3 papers, 1 background paper, and 2 others, either as mats or paper shapes as you desire.  Please place these under your tree or photos as mats.  Please feel free to post your work in progress.  If you are only finding the challenge now, you are welcome to join and catch up.  I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

Progressive Challenge - Day 3
by Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom

(Ahhh..... Much better if I do say so myself!!  No more nekkid layouts!!  hehehe)

Day 4

The fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four Colly birds . . .
(Now "Calling birds", but originally "Colly birds" = black birds., "Colly" means "black as coal" in old English, as in "colliery".)

Your layouts are looking great so far.  So today we are going to add 4 star elements to your layout. These can be anywhere on the layout.  Please post your work in progress for us to see.

4th day of Christmas Challenge
by Linda aka lyndabook

 (WooHoo!!  Lookin' better and better!!)

Day 5
The fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five gold rings . . .
(Originally these were pictured as "golden ring"-necked pheasants, not jewelry. All the first five gifts were birds.)

Your layouts are looking really great so far. I hope you are enjoying the challenge. Ready for Day 5?  So the challenge for today is to add 5 ball ornaments.  Place these anywhere you like on your layout.

Progressive-Scrap
by Marnie

So what do you think??  Nothing too hard yet huh??  Well, come on Helene! (Ooohhhh, no, no, no, I will not start singing "Come on Eileen"!!  I won't, I won't, I won't)  Step it up a little!  This is a challenge, so CHALLENGE us!  I want to see some serious sweating here!!  hahaha  NOT!  I know we all want to create beautiful masterpieces to cherish for all times!  But its nice to have a little fun sometimes too.  So come over to Heritage Scrap and join in if you haven't already!  Remember, there is a PRIZE involved!!  hahaha

Take care until next time!!

Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom

Heritage Scrap Creative Challenge Team

Digital Scrapbooking Hybrid Projects - Candle Wraps

Hi everyone! I'm so excited about some of the projects that my sister, Terri, and I worked on over the long, relaxing Thanksgiving weekend!  Terri has a huge, well stocked craft room with about anything you'd ever want in it!  We didn't even have to go shopping!  Before Terri started digiscrapping, she did a lot of paper scrapping and regular crafting.  At one time, Terri and my mom made some beautiful candles that I wanted to try.  Terri took a wedding invitation, scanned it, printed on very thin paper (which was very frustrating she said!), pinned the printed invitation to the candle, then heated it with her embossing heater.  It barely melted the candle and put a thin coat of wax over the invitation making it look as though it was embedded in the candle.  She put a bit of lace and pearls on the bottom, put it on a glass plate, and presented the bride with a gorgeous gift that she just adored!  We didn't do anything quite that fancy but what we did do turned out pretty nice I thought!

I just have to share! We will soon have a hybrid project gallery at Heritage Scrap along with a forum to share instructions and so forth, but I just couldn't wait until it all got *formally* set up!! hehehe  So, it's my blog and I'll blog if I want to, blog if I want to, blog if I want to - you would blog too if it happened to you!!  dood, dood, dood, do, da, dooo!  Whoops!  Sorry, gotta knock off all that singing!  Usually I'm shy about singing in front of people but y'all just bring it out of me!!!  hahahaha

Anyway.....  Our first attempt was with all paper.  I had this idea in my head for some time so we started with that - I wanted to try our five generations of mothers and daughters that I've done other projects with.  We were just going to put their pictures on varying heights of candles but then went with some coordinating background papers.  We put it all on with brads to come up with this:

We added some bows and put them on a plate.  I want to add a small bud vase in the back by Grama Grover with a single red silk rose and some greenery.  I also want to get some of those clear smooth glass stones to put on the plate for a little something extra.  The backs look like this:

Now, I really like these with the pictures nice and large and close up.  I love the papers and think that it will be really nice when I finish up with the displaying portion.  But when we were done, Terri looked at me and said, "I thought we were going to digiscrap these!"  Oh yeah!  duh!!  We ARE digiscrappers now after all!!!  LOL

So we came up with these:

Aren't they soooo pretty!!  That's my husband and I on the largest candle with our son and his girlfriend on the left side and our daughter and her boyfriend on the right side.  I wanted to make a votive cup sized candle with little Jake on it but Terri only had a blue one handy and I wanted white or maroon.  So I can add that later.  Terri had a clear, glass decorative plate to sit them on but they just didn't fit exactly the way I wanted them to.  She put her set on a mirror tile and it was beautiful.  So that's what I'll probably end up getting for mine too when I add Jake's candle.

They are so incredibly easy to make!   First you measure around your candle remembering to add some overlap room.  If you print on cardstock or some other heavier paper, you'll need a little more overlap so that it lays nice and flat.  If you use thinner paper, your overlap area can be smaller.  Then you measure the height of your candle, leaving room at the top and bottom for the candle to show some - maybe about a half inch or so but really just whatever you want.

These are the measurements you use when creating your canvas in your digital scrapping program.  Because you will be printing these, you'll need 300 dpi or higher usually.  I used my favorite Heritage Scrap kits to create my layouts and backgrounds.  For the back, I used a background paper that would give me plenty of room for that overlap area without looking funny because it doesn't align properly.

After creating your wrap in your scrapping program, print it out, cut it out, and wrap your candle!!  Use straight pins with small heads to attach them in the back.  You can also use brads, buttons, or whatever you like to decorate the candle but the straight pins give you a good, solid hold.

The rest is up to you!  Add what ever other embellishments you'd like - ribbons, bows, buttons, lace, patches, and such to make your candle your very own creation!  Display your single candle or a group like mine on a decorative plate, tile, doily, or just by themselves on the shelf.  Any way you do it, I'm sure you'll come up with a masterpiece that you and your family will cherish for a long time to come!!

Heritage Hunting - Special Societies

Many times in genealogy, we all hit the “brick wall”!  It gets frustrating and we may also hit the end of our patience!  We will be exploring many ways to overcome this, including getting into the new book my sister gave me called the Desperate Genealogist’s Idea Book:  Creative Ways to Outsmart Your Elusive Ancestors.  Doesn’t that sound fascinating?!?  Well, I haven’t gotten to read it yet, so for this week we will stick with one of my ideas – Special Societies.

There are basically two types of societies to talk about tonight – the ones that our ancestors belonged to and the ones that can help us today.

I have seen hundreds of obituaries and one of the main things that they always mention are the churches and organizations that a person was associated with.  Of course, you would check out the church mentioned.  But you can also check the organization mentioned.  Some examples might include the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Freemasons, Grand Army of the Republic, local Granges, and so forth.  Many of these organizations were quite large and organized, complete with published member lists and short biographies.  Always Google or otherwise check this information regarding the person’s involvement.

Some links for this type research:

Cyndi’s List
Family Tree Connection - Fraternal Organizations
Freemasonry
Independent Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF)
Grand Army of the Republic


The other type of societies that will help us with our “brick walls” are the special societies of today.  I mentioned First Families in one of the first Heritage Hunting chats and several people were unaware of the organization.  There are First Families groups at almost every level including America’s First Families.  Most states and counties also have such groups.  There are also DAR and SAR groups throughout the country recognizing the sons and daughters of the American Revolution.  There are hundreds of specialized groups such as International Black Genealogy, German Genealogy, The Federation of East European Family History Societies, Rabbinic Genealogy Special Interest Group, and many more. 

Most times, the entry requirements for these groups are very strict and thoroughly checked and rechecked by the group’s members.  There can be no assumptions and no questionable sources.  Each and every connection and fact needs to have a verifiable source that leaves no room for doubts.  Many of the organizations then publish or otherwise make available the lineage and the research associated with it.

Some links to get further information on this type group:

Cyndi’s List
America’s First Families
Daughters of the American Revolution
National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution
German Genealogy


Besides the special interest groups, there are more generalized groups such as state and county genealogical societies, historical societies, local history groups, oral history projects, museums and libraries.  On the web, there are sites such as US Gen Web, Find a Grave, and other volunteer organizations.  You can usually contact these types organizations in the areas your ancestors lived or visited and obtain information for a small fee or donation.  Small groups sometimes have a lot of information and know how different families and clans intermarried and interacted within the community.  Oftentimes there are pictures, journals, family Bibles and artifacts that the local members of the family have donated to a museum or library collection. 

Links to generalized groups:

Allen County (Indiana) Public Library
Somerset County PAGenWeb
New Mexico Genealogical Society 
Allen County (Ohio) Museum


There are virtually an unlimited number of resources available with just a small amount of digging.  Many will turn up nothing at all; but one may just turn out to be the mother lode!!

Life Book and Heritage Hunting Update

Hello fellow Heritage Scrap scrappers!!

Join us tonight at at 9 pm eastern time, 6 pm pacific time for the Life Book II chat at Heritage Scrap in the Life Book chat room. We will be discussing our *maternity leave* options!! Our leader, Vicki from Victorian Rose Designs, will soon be delivering her little bundle of Arabella joy and we all get to celebrate with her! Vicki will be sharing little Bella with all of her cyber aunties and grannies via photos and stories of her cute little antics! So in the meantime, we will be suspending the Life Book II chats until January 4. There are still layouts and chapters available to work on while we are on leave if you so choose. Or you can sit back and wait for the next batch of Bella photos!! hehehe

But alas, the Other Vicki - Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom - is not so blessed! No more babies here!! So Heritage Hunting will continue as normal during our Life Book leave. We will be touching on some interesting topics this month - Special Societies, scraping the present for the future, and many more. So please continue joining me, Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom, and all the other Heritage Hunting ladies in the Heritage Scrap chat room each Tuesday evening at 9 pm eastern, 6 pm pacific time for a pleasant hour of chatting and sharing genealogy and family history information!

Happy Hunting!!
Vintage Vicki aka LisasMom
Creative Challenge Team at Heritage Scrap

Black Friday Holiday Sale - Save 40% at Heritage Scrap

Important Message From Kate, Owner of Heritage Scrap:

We are pleased to offer you a Black Friday MEGA sale - Save 40% through Friday at midnight ET.

The savings continue on Saturday and Sunday with 30% off storewide!!

Be sure to check out our newest products, join the fun challenges and pick up a gorgeous freebie!

We are also excited to introduce our December Designer Collabs, BELIEVE! Catch the magic today!

Enjoy!

12 Day Progressive Challenge

WoooooHoooooo!!! It's almost time for Christmas Palooza at Heritage Scrap!! I just can't stop thinking about all the fun, the challenges, the prizes, the food .... Wait, someone is bringing food?? I want some!!! Hey .... if you have chocolate, I have a sneak peek at something really special and fun .... come on, bring me some chocolate .... its in the mail??? ..... Oh, ok, then let me show you .... THIS!!!



From Helene, Creative Challenge Team Member (aka Victoria32):

We are planning some fun and festivities here are Heritage Scrap to celebrate the 12 Days of Christmas. I am hosting a "Progressive Challenge" where we will build a layout over the course of 12 days. We have chosen Dec 1 to 12th. Each day, I will post an item in the forum thread for you to add to your layout, along with instructions. The designers have put together a wonderful set of Christmas kits which will be perfect for creating your layout. You can post your work in progress in the gallery.

There will be a random drawing for a prize from among those who complete the challenge using Heritage Scrap products.

Helene

The 12 Days of Christmas

Hello!! I pray that all is well with my readers and their families as we approach a wonderful but oftentimes, hectic Thanksgiving and Christmas season!

My fellow Heritage Scrap Creative Team member and wonderful friend, Helene aka Victoria32, has found some fascinating history on the web and has agreed to share it with us here on the Vintage Vicki blog.

Helene is researching this topic because she will soon be hostessing a fun and oftentimes, rowdy (!!) challenge at Heritage Scrap called The 12 Days of Christmas Challenge. It is a progressive challenge and for those of you who have done these challenges in the past, you know that they are full of surprises and can get pretty funny at times! Its easy to *scrap yourself into a corner* and some ways scrappers use to get out of these situations can be quite hilarious! Now, Helene is a fairly serious and conservative scrapper so I'm pretty sure she will not allow any food fights in her challenge. But, you know me and my temper tantrums, if I get too frustrated with trying to add 10 buttons or 5 ribbons or whatever to my layout and just can't find a nice way to do it, I've been known to throw my nachos or ice cream or whatever I'm eating at my friendly neighborhood scrapper - on occasion only, not very often, but I have ... done it ... a few times - hey, nobody is perfect ya know, don't throw stones and all that stuff!!

Anyway! Look for Helene's challenge coming up soon in the Heritage Scrap forum!! You will have a blast with this one! And of course .... there are prizes!! Shhhhh!!! I didn't say that!!!

Now for Helene's fascinating history lesson....

Twelve Days of Christmas

The Twelve Days of Christmas, and the associated evenings of those twelve days (Twelve-tide), are the festive days beginning on Christmas Day (December 25) and ending on the evening of the Twelfth Day of Christmas (January 5). Thus, the first night of Christmas is December 25–26 and Twelfth Night is January 5-6. This period is also known as Christmastide. The day after Twelfth Night is Epiphany on January 6.

Over the centuries, differing churches and sects of Christianity have changed the actual traditions, time frame and their interpretations. Originally this was a secular love song. It sounds to be by a single woman, whose "True Love", a man, sent her gifts. It was probably originally sung in the French language.


The first day of Christmas my true love sent to me
A parteridge in a pear tree.
(Now "partridge")

The second day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

The third day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Three French Hens
Two turtle doves
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

The fourth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Four Colly birds . . .
(Now "Calling birds", but originally "Colly birds" = black birds., "Colly" means
"black as coal" in old English, as in "colliery")

The fifth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Five gold rings . . .
(Originally these were pictured as "golden ring"-necked pheasants, not jewelry.
All the first five gifts were birds.)

The sixth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying . . .

The seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Seven swans swimming . . .
(Now "a-swimming")

The eighth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking . . .

The ninth day of Christmas my true Love sent to me
Nine drummers drumming . . .

The tenth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Ten pipers piping . . .

The eleventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Eleven ladies dancing . . .

The twelfth day of Christmas my true love sent to me
Twelve lords a-leaping,
Eleven ladies dancing,
Ten pipers piping,
Nine drummers drumming,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five gold rings,
Four Colly birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a parteridge in a pear tree.

In modern versions, the "lords, ladies, pipers, drummers" are often switched around.

According to some Roman Catholics, this carol might also have been used as a memory aid for teaching the Christian faith, but this is contradicted at Snopes. In particular, from 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not allowed to practice their Faith openly. At that time (according to those Roman Catholics), this traditional English carol was adopted as a catechism song for young Catholics. For them, it had two levels of meaning: the original surface meaning as a love song, plus later hidden religious meanings.

The hidden meanings parallel the verses of the Anglican catechism song "A New Dial" about the numbers on a sun-dial, and, in modern times, the religious connotations in the popular song "Deck of Cards".

One partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.

Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophesy, serving, teaching, exortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy.

Eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

From here on, the order is different from the original song!

Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.

International Digital Scrapbooking Day at Heritage Scrap

Do you have exciting plans for November 6, 7 and 8? We sure do! I think it's going to be a lot of fun, just like a virtual scrapbooking retreat!

Join us at Heritage Scrap Saturday morning, November 7 at 11 AM Eastern Time for a Scrap and Chat with Helene (Victoria32). She will have us going all over to find the scavenger clues which we need to complete our layout for the challenge. Everyone who attends will receive a gift from Helene and there will be a posting gift as well!

Are you up for more challenges? We've got some fun ones! Jan has put a lot of work into her Christmas card challenge, providing gifts of templates and elements to use and the winner will receive a coupon good for a holiday kit of their choice. You can read more about it in the forum.

Linda has a Songs of Yesteryear musical challenge for us, to scrap lyrics and memories. Turn up the radio and scrap away because the winner of this challenge will receive Annie's Digital Things' gorgeous Parlor Music kit.

Theresa Lindamood (aka ForgetMeNots) has a passion for journaling. She wants to hear your stories in the Stories To Tell challenge. Create a layout that includes journaling to tell your family's or photo's story and you could win one of her kits, sold exclusively at Heritage Scrap.

The designer collaboration for November is called "Vintage Kitchen" and it is fantastic for making layouts of all your kitchen and cooking photos and recipes. We will host a challenge using the Vintage Kitchen kits and you just may win 2 of the collaboration kits for yourself.

Various Prizes and freebies are being awarded for all challenges. Hope to see you there!

Heritage Hunting for September 22, 2009

Hi all and welcome to Heritage Hunting! We will be holding our chat in the chat room at Heritage Scrap at 9:00 pm eastern time this evening. Remember that this time around, we will be working closely with Vicki of Victorian Rose Designs and her Life Book project. We will try to work about a week ahead of her so that when you get to her week, you will have a strong historical and genealogical background regarding her topic. You'll be all ready to scrap an interesting and complete page for your subject's book!

This week we will work on Childhood information. I've done lessons on Family Group Sheets and the United States Census for the genealogical side of researching your subject's childhood. So now I will give you some information on the researching the historical side.

If you ever have any specific questions about your subject or anyone in your family tree, please bring them to chat and we'll try to find some answers for you!

************************************

Genealogy: Researching and recording a person's childhood

Family Group Sheets

The United States Census

There are other sites and ways to do this part of your research. Please bring your ideas to chat!!


Historical: Researching earlier times

Whenever you want to research a particular topic but want to go back in time instead of current information, just add the year at the end of your search string. You can also add regions or states to your search string with varying degrees of success - sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - depends on what search engine you use. The example *farming life 1830 Black Swamp* gives lots of good links. That is the area of Ohio where I live and also where my ancestors, who were farmers, lived also. This works well for historical research but not for genealogical research of names, etc. Examples would be:

toys 1840 or toys 1840 France
sports 1910 or sports 1910 United States
farming life 1830 or farming life 1830 Black Swamp

You may also want to search for state, county, or city Historical Societies or Museums for links to local history in your ancestor's area. Oftentimes, these types of resources may even have valuable information on your family line if they were prominent in the area or if their descendants left documents or artifacts to the museum or society. They may have local photographs that you can scan and add to your layouts to *flesh* them out and show more than the usual name, date, place type information. Sometimes these organizations have web pages and sometimes they don't have internet data available. You may have to actually resort to *snail mail* when making your request!

With today's internet, there are virtually unlimited resources available to you regarding any sort of information you could possibly want! If you need help using a search engine or need tips with your particular topic, please pm me and I'll do my best to help you. If you have any tips or special resources that you use, please bring them to chat with you!!!

(Wordart is courtesy of Victorian Rose Designs)

Honey and Cinnamon: Health Remedies

Facts on Honey and Cinnamon: It is found that a mixture of honey and cinnamon cures most diseases. Honey is produced in most of the countries of the world. Scientists of today also accept honey as a 'Ram Ban' (very effective) medicine for all kinds of diseases.

Honey can be used without any side effects for any kind of diseases.

Today's science says that even though honey is sweet, if taken in the right dosage as a medicine, it does not harm diabetic patients. Weekly World News, a magazine in Canada, in its issue dated 17 January 1995, has given the following list of diseases that can be cured by honey and cinnamon as researched by western scientists:


HEART DISEASES:
Make a paste of honey and cinnamon powder, apply on bread, instead of jelly and jam, and eat it regularly for breakfast. It reduces the cholesterol in the arteries and saves the patient from heart attack. Also those who have already had an attack, if they do this process daily, they are kept miles away from the next attack. Regular use of the above process relieves loss of breath and strengthens the heartbeat. In America and Canada, various nursing homes have treated patients successfully and have found that, as you ag e, the arteries and veins lose their flexibility and get clogged; honey and cinnamon revitalize the arteries and veins.

IMMUNE SYSTEM:
Daily use of honey and cinnamon powder strengthens the immune system and Protects the body from bacteria and viral attacks... Scientists have found That honey has various vitamins and iron in large amounts. Constant use of honey strengthens the white blood corpuscles to fight bacteria and viral diseases.

ARTHRITIS:
Arthritis patients may take daily, morning, and night, one cup of hot water with two spoons of honey and one small teaspoon of cinnamon powder. If taken regularly even chronic arthritis can be cured. In a recent research conducted at the Copenhagen University, it was found that when the doctors treated their patients with a mixture of one tablespoon honey and half teaspoon cinnamon powder before breakfast, they found that within a week, out of the 200 people so treated, practically 73 patients were totally relieved of pain, and within a month, mostly all the patients who could not walk or move around because of arthritis started walking without pain.

BLADDER I NFECTIONS:
Take two tablespoons of cinnamon powder and one teaspoon of honey in a glass of lukewarm water and drink it. It destroys the germs in the bladder.

CHOLESTEROL:
Two tablespoons of honey and three teaspoons of cinnamon powder mixed in 16 ounces of tea water, given to a cholesterol patient, were found to reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood by 10 percent within two hours. As mentioned for arthritic patients, if taken three times a day, any chronic cholesterol is cured. According to information received in the said Journal, pure honey taken with food daily relieves complaints of cholesterol.

COLDS:
Those suffering from common or severe colds should take one tablespoon lukewarm honey with 1/4 spoon cinnamon powder daily for three days. This process will cure most chronic cough, cold, and clear the sinuses.

UPSET STOMACH:
Honey taken with cinnamon powder cures stomachache and also clears stomach ulcers from the root.

GAS:
According to the studies done in India and Japan, it is revealed that if honey is taken with cinnamon powder the stomach is relieved of gas.

INDIGESTION:
Cinnamon powder sprinkled on two tablespoons of honey taken before food relieves acidity and digests the heaviest of meals.

INFLUENZA:
A scientist in Spain has proved that honey contains a natural 'Ingredient' which kills the influenza germs and saves the patient from flu.

LONGEVITY:
Tea made with honey and cinnamon powder, when taken regularly, arrests the ravages of old age. Take four spoons of honey, one spoon of cinnamon powder and three cups of water, and boil to make like tea. Drink 1/4 cup, three to four time s a day. It keeps the skin fresh and soft and arrests old age.

PIMPLES:
Three tablespoons of honey and one teaspoon of cinnamon powder paste. Apply this paste on the pimples before sleeping and wash it next morning with warm water. If done daily for two weeks, it removes pimples from the root.

SKIN INFECTIONS:
Applying honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts on the affected parts cures eczema, ringworm and all types of skin infections.

WEIGHT LOSS:
Daily in the morning one half hour before breakfast on an empty stoma ch and at night before sleeping, drink honey and cinnamon powder boiled in one cup of water. If taken regularly, it reduces the weight of even the most obese person. Also, drinking this mixture regularly does not allow the fat to accumulate in the body even though the person may eat a high calorie diet.

CANCER:
Recent research in Japan and Australia revealed that advanced cancer of the stomach and bones have been cured successfully. Patients suffering from these kinds of cancer should daily take one tablespoon of honey with one teaspoon of cinnamon powder for one month three time s a day.

FATIGUE:
Recent studies have shown that the sugar content of honey is more helpful, rather than being detrimental, to the strength of the body. Senior citizens who take honey and cinnamon powder in equal parts are more alert and flexible. Dr. Milton, who has done research, says that a half tablespoon of honey taken in a glass of water and sprinkled with cinnamon powder, taken daily after brushing and in the afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when the vitality of the body starts to decrease, increases the vitality of the body within a week.

BAD BREATH:
People of South America, first thing in the morning, gargle with one teaspoon of honey and cinnamon powder mixed in hot water, so their breath stays fresh throughout the day.

HEARING LOSS:
Daily, morning and night, honey and cinnamon powder taken in equal parts restores hearing.


Remember when we were kids? We had toast with real butter and cinnamon sprinkled on it!

Heritage Hunting II Starts September 15!!

Hi Heritage Hunters!!

I so apologize for all of the *drama* from my health issues during Heritage Hunting thus far! But I am fine and ready to give it a go again!! That's why I'm calling it Heritage Hunting II - a fresh start but also because we will be closely following the other Vicki's (from Victorian Rose Designs) format from her Life Book II project and challenge. She has done such a superb job in guiding scrappers through a difficult project what I want to be her when I grow up ... er, I mean, I will follow her example!!

So, we will be starting with our first chat on Tuesday evening at 9:00 Eastern time as we have done in the past. Remember to adjust for a different time zone, I'm in Eastern so I'm using that as the reference point. Each Tuesday before the chat, I will make a posting about the topic we will be studying for the week which will coincidentally be the same sort of topic that we will be scrapping the following week in Vicki's Life Book challenge! See how cool that will work out - she will start her topic and we can all say that we are totally prepared to start our layouts with all kinds of background information!! We will be right on top of things!!

What I am going to be posting is mostly links to or excerpts from various websites. I will post for both genealogical type information and historical type information. Maybe you already know all the pertinent facts about your Life Book person so you can skip that part and go right into the historical portion to find little tidbits and interesting facts to add to your story. If you don't know the family facts about your subject, you will have links to sites that may help you find those facts. If you have totally hit a brick wall with the personal facts, maybe you can supplement your Life Book with some historical information regarding the subject for that week.

During the chat time, we will discuss any questions you have or even any particular details about your Life Book person that you may find puzzling. I also will try to have a weekly freebie for attendants to the chat and a prize for a random winner from those posting a layout or story about their findings for the week!

All and all, we should have a fun-filled two nights each week!! And your Life Book should be filled with interesting layouts documenting not only names, dates, and places, but also historical background to round out your subject's life and times making your Life Book a family heirloom to treasure for many generations to come!!!

Life Book II Starts at Heritage Scrap!!!

Important message from Vicki at Victorian Rose Designs!

Hello Life Bookers!

We had planned to begin Life Book II on August 31st, but due to the death of my brother in law on Aug. 28th, followed by my Dad having a serious stroke for which he was life flighted to Cleveland Clinic on Aug. 31st, we postponed the start. Last Monday was Labor Day, so now that Summer is "unofficially" over in the US, we are ready to settle into a Fall routine, and we hope you will make Life Book a part of your weekly routine!

So, let's get started...

The Life Book II schedule will be slightly altered this time around. I will be explaining this in more detail in the first chat on Monday, Sept. 14th at 9 pm EST. You can join the chat by going to the Heritage Scrap Chat Room.

When the site opens, you will be asked to log in. Please use your Heritage Scrap Username. The chat room requires Java, so please make sure your computer is Java enabled and you have the latest version of Java on your system.

Once you are logged in, the chat box will open. Please click on the "Rooms" tab in the right column, and choose Weekly Life Book Challenge by double clicking it. Now, you will be ready to start chatting with the other "Life Bookers" who attend the chat. You can see a list of those in the chat room under the "Users" tab.

To chat with the other Life Bookers in the chat room, simply place your cursor in the bottom window, type what you want to say, then click "Send". There are lots of fun sounds and smilies included in the chat room, as well as the ability to change the color of your text, etc. You might want to spend some time checking out all of the features the Chat Room has to offer!

WHAT'S NEW in LIFE BOOK II?

In this round, the format will be changed slightly. The new week will begin in the weekly chat on Monday Evenings. In that chat, we will discuss what the topic will be for the week, and some ideas for scrapping it. Immediately following the chat, I will post the topic information in the forum, and I will also include some sample layouts and kits that might fit well with the topic. (These are just suggestions, not requirements.)

You will have from Monday following the chat to Chat time the following Monday to get your layout finished and uploaded to the gallery. Just before the chat begins each week, I will choose a random winner from the new layouts in the gallery for the week. I will announce the winner at the beginning of the chat so we can all congratulate them! :D

As often as possible, I will try to have a Freebie for all of the chat attendants. As you can see, the chat is a big part of the Life Book Challenge. It's sort of like the weekly meetings at Weight Watchers - you could do it on your own, but it's so much easier hanging out with other people facing the same challenges each week! :D

The Chat Schedule will look something like this...

9:00 - 9:10 pm (EST): Meet and greet (welcome new members and chat until everyone gets there)
9:10 pm: Weekly Winner Announcement!
9:10 - 9:30 pm: Discussion of weekly topic along with suggestions and ideas for layouts
9:30 pm: FREEBIE!!
9:30 - 10:00 pm: Random chatting about whatever...

REQUIREMENTS for the WEEKLY DRAWING

Each week a winner will be chosen randomly from the submissions in the weekly gallery. I use random.org to choose a number and I will count from the top down to that number to find the winner. The more layouts you submit each week, the greater your chances of winning.

To be eligible for the drawing, you must:

1) Not be a member of the Heritage Scrap Creative Team or Design Team; and
2) Use Heritage Scrap Products for at least 50% of your layout; and
3) Include which Heritage Scrap Products were used in your description on your layout.

We look forward to seeing you all there, and hope you will make Life Book part of your routine! Please tell other digiscrappers and/or genealogists about this challenge! It is a great way to get an album done for an ancestor or loved one in your life!!

Please check the Life Book II forum for details of "What is a Life Book", and the "Life Book II Schedule" for more information!!

New Message from Theresa aka ForgetMeNots

Hello Everyone,

As you probably already know, Vicki of Victorian Rose Designs, does a wonderful job with the Life Books Challenges. If you don't, you'll need to check it out. By the time you have completed the challenge (about 6 months) you will have made some new friends, received some cool designer freebies AND completed a heritage album about one person's life!

We all had so much fun doing it the first time, we're going to do it again! The only problem is that there have been some bumps along the way. Vicki's family has experienced more loss and suffering this week and there is only so much that one pregnant Mama of 7 can do! Since, this Monday also is a U.S. National Holiday, we have decided to postpone the beginning for one more week. We hope you will understand under the circumstances.

The plan is to have chat on Monday, September 14, 2009, 6 P.M. Pacific Time in the Heritage Scrap Chat Room.

During the first chat, Vicki will be introducing the Life Book Challenge and discussing some of the changes and improvements she has made. It would be a good time to meet her and other participants and "try it on for size".

Life Books make great gifts, especially for milestone birthdays and anniversaries and can be a real blessing at memorial services. Don't put off what you've been thinking about doing for quite some time. Working together is more fun and gives us incentive to keep going. We would love to see you there!

Thanks for your time today. Remember to check out the new kits at the Heritage Scrap store too.

Theresa, aka ForgetMeNots

Another Meaning of *Heritage Hunting*

Hello Heritage Hunters!!

When we first started Heritage Hunting at Heritage Scrap, we talked about different meanings of *Heritage*. Of course there were at least as many different meanings as there were Hunters in the discussion! It means something different to each person. But as I was looking at photos posted by my Friends on Facebook, I found another meaning of *Heritage* as seen through the eyes of my good friend Bonna Kelley, aka Wuvie at DSP.

Wuvie has an incredible imagination! Some of her layouts at DSP have left me awe-stricken that anyone could even conceive of such wonderful and beautiful things. She has always been an inspiration to me. This layout that she posted on Facebook just grabbed me and said *Look here! This is what is happening in our society NOW! This is tomorrow's heritage!* What do you think??


When I read her journaling, I felt like I was reading about my own life! I love to read and I think it started with my mother reading to us each late afternoon while we were waiting for Dad to get home from work. Supper was usually simmering on the stove so the house was filled with scrumptious smells; we were all sitting close together on the couch by Mom being very quiet and listening to her beautiful voice inflections telling us some amazing story. It was heaven on earth to me as a young child. The Bobsey Twins, Black Beauty, The Night Before Christmas, and so many of my life-long favorites were shared back then.

Both of my parents have always been voracious readers also. I've read since then that reading as your own hobby in front of your children is one of the best ways to help them acquire their own love for reading. When I saw my parents reading every evening or saw books laying near their bed or their chairs, I always wondered what adventures I was missing! As I got older, I read ALL the time! I couldn't get enough of it! By the time I was an adult, I was reading for pleasure at least an hour or two each day. I had lists of books I wanted to read and kept it handy for when I went to the library. Later, when I had a ceramic shop with my folks and we would work all day, every day making products to keep the shop full, we would listen to books on tape instead of the radio while we worked. That continued for me after I was married and had an hour commute each way every day. Why waste time listening to commercials on the radio when you could listen to a good book!

Now it has all changed again! I read so much each day on the internet that I barely have time to hold a book in my hands and read for pleasure! If I'm not reading emails, blogs, or forums, I'm scanning over something it seems. When I finally get down to scrapping, I again turn to audio books or books on CDs. I am never very far from a good tale!

This next layout Wuvie has so generously agreed to share with us, is what I call *Future Heritage*. One day her son's children and grandchildren will be so thrilled to see this! My own kids just love to hear stories of when my husband and I were their age - the things we did, the things we learned in school, all about our aunts and uncles, and so forth. We should all keep heritage for future generations in mind while we plan our layouts. Isn't this layout so sweet?!?


Take a look at Wuvie's gallery at DSP - it is full of truly inspirational layouts. I'm sure you will love it! And thanks so much Bonna, for sharing your amazing talent with us!!

The United States Census

The United States Census

There are a lot of people in the United States, and it's not easy keeping track of them all. But one agency tries to do just that: the U.S. Census Bureau. Every 10 years, as required by the U.S. Constitution, the Census Bureau conducts a head count of all the people in the U.S. and asks them questions to help learn more about the country as a whole: who we are, where we live, what we earn, how many of us are married or single, and how many of us have children, among other topics. The data collected isn't trivial, either. It is used to apportion seats in Congress, distribute federal aid, define legislative districts and help federal, state and local governments plan for growth.

The United States Census is an extremely valuable tool in genealogy research. Several censuses give not only names, ages and birthplaces, but also state the relationship of people within a household. Depending on the questions asked in that particular census, you may also learn when your ancestors came to the U.S., if and when they were naturalized, how many children a woman gave birth to and other vital pieces of information.

Background Information

In the U.S., a census has been taken every 10 years from 1790 through 2000. All censuses taken after 1930 are still confidential and the information they contain is not open to the public. The census from 1790 through 1840 only named the head of the household and the numbers of people in categories — 3 males over 16, 2 males under 16, etc. The census from 1850 through 1930 lists each member of the household and usually gives the relationship to the head of the house. It also gives age (later years give birth month and year) and place of birth (usually just the state or foreign country). The 1890 census was almost totally destroyed by fire so there is a 20 year gap between 1880 and 1900.

Utilizing the Information

Before searching an index or searching for a particular census image, it may be a good idea to print blank census forms for each of the census years. These forms will allow you to review and see what information is actually available for each of the census years. There are also free spreadsheet type charts that allow you to track several census years for a particular person or family.

The census gives a lot of information and you should try to find your ancestors in as many censuses as possible. Take note of the names near your ancestor's. Sometimes people would adopt a nickname or middle name at an early age and use that exclusively throughout life. If you were not able to find a birth record for Hank Smith, you may find that as a 2 or 3 year old child he was listed as Charles Henry Smith. This indicates that the birth was probably registered as Charles and you won't ever find a record for Hank. Looking at as many returns as possible may also give you a pattern of migration. The oldest children might be born in Pennsylvania, the second 2 in Ohio and the younger ones in Indiana.

Dealing With Errors

Keep in mind how the census was taken and how the indexes were created. It was a very inexact science! The census enumerator took the information orally. He was probably in a hurry, many of the foreign immigrants had heavy accents and most families were large. He didn't always ask how to spell a name — and many people were illiterate.

The census taker usually interviewed at least one person in the household, but if no one was home and the farm was a long way from his home, the enumerator may have obtained the information from a neighbor. In any case, the person supplying the data may not have known the facts. The neighbor may not have known the children's ages or birthplaces or a husband may not have known his mother-in-law's place of birth. Many, many people are recorded as being born in the wrong state. Anyone may assume a person was born in the U.S. because he or she has no accent when actually the individual may have been born in a foreign country and come to the U.S. as an infant or young child. When an individual was asked when he came to the U.S., he probably searched his memory and said "oh, about 1883". He didn't consult records and the actual year may have been 1887. They probably recited their children's names rather quickly and son Georgie may have turned into daughter Georgia. Many people could be recorded as the wrong sex if they didn't have traditional names. A child who had gone to stay with a relative for a month, perhaps to help out with a new baby might be counted twice — or not at all. Because of all these potential human errors, it is important to check as many censuses as possible.

Unable to Find?

If you cannot find your person in an index and you feel reasonably confident that he should be there, or if you have no other leads, do not hesitate to check the whole county if it is a rural area. If you are looking in a large city, it is very difficult to check the entire city. You should use city directories and street indexes to try to narrow the area. If the people belonged to one ethnic group, a history of the city will tell you what areas which nationalities settled in.

Once you have checked all census returns back through 1850, the census becomes less valuable but still can provide evidence. Slaves were recorded by numbers, usually without names, and Native American (Indian) censuses are a separate set of records.

Other Censuses

Many states also had their own census, sometimes at more frequent intervals. There are census returns in other countries also. Canada and Great Britain have census for every 10 years since 1841. Because of their 100 year confidentiality rule, only 1841–1891 are open to the public. No matter what area you are researching, one of the first resources you should look for is a census.

Links

United States Census Bureau

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)

Census Record Abstracts (free for printing)

Census Tools - Free Genealogy Spreadsheets

Genealogy Guide to the US Census

Which Census Year Should I Check First?

What Do All of the Census Abbreviations Mean?

Clues in Census Records, 1850-1930

Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840

Nonpopulation Census Records

Native Americans in the Census

New Post from Vintage Vicki, Forget-Me-Nots, and Kate!!

Sorry for no updates in a while! I was without internet service for a week and then I went on vacation for a week. I'm still trying to catch up! LOL It's so easy to get behind but so hard to get ahead!

Anyway, I will be posting a lesson for Heritage Hunting later on Sunday or Monday. It will be about the census, so if you have any census success stories or questions or anything, get ready!! And we'll see you next Tuesday evening at the Heritage Hunting chat in the Heritage Scrap chat room!!

Now, here are a couple of messages from the Heritage Scrap ladies!


Hi Everyone, Founder's Day is here! One year ago on August 1, 2008, Kate opened Heritage Scrap for business. We will be celebrating all month. Stop in the store and check out the incredible designer's collaboration of Heritage Builders - tools to use to document your pedigree and family history. I will be starting a challenge this weekend using the new collaboration kits. Look for details in the forum and for layouts in the gallery. Keep watching for updated information, we'll have more happening. Below, I will paste what Kate posted at the store - don't forget to stop in for some great sales! And please drop in throughout the month to visit and participate in the events. We all look forward to getting to know you! Theresa aka ForgetMeNots


It's our one year anniversary this Saturday and to celebrate we are putting the ENTIRE store on sale for 50% off! Also, beginning next week on Monday, we will have special challenges, a weekly product raffle and great savings on both new and current product catalogs.

Our new Designer Collab, Heritage Builders, is one of our finest collections to date. With these mini kits you can put together a gorgeous family tree. There are charts, ala carte elements, borders and some of the most beautiful backgrounds I have ever seen. Each kit is $2.00 during the month of August! You can find them HERE!!

Beginning Sunday, August 2nd - Friday, August 7th - spend $25 or more in the store and be entered in a drawing to win one a $25 gift certificate, good for all products in the shop. Winner will be announced Saturday, August 8th at 12pmET.

Sales starts Friday, July 31st - with a special one day storewide 50% off sale on Saturday, August 1st. Each week we will have something new for you - could be product giveaways, challenges, chats or games - stay tuned for the details.

Above all, we want to thank you for your patronage and support over the past year. We have grown a lot, learned a lot and remain focused on providing you with some of this industry's highest quality products. We appreciate your business and look forward to many more years, providing you with inspirational, unique and upscale art for your family research & heritage scrapbooking projects.

Wonderful Genealogical Site Found on the Internet

Wow! I have just found a website that is new to me - maybe not to you - that is awesome! It is About.com's genealogy section! They have articles on everything! There are articles for newbies right through to very detailed articles for experts. And the structure of the site is very user friendly - headings and subheadings allow you to drill down quickly onto any topic.

And they have links to a few great blogs and newsletters with RSS feeds so that you can get new material sent right to your yahoo or google home page or other feed reader.

The only bad thing that I have found so far is that I have a ton of tabs open, keep finding more and more articles to read, and just cannot read everything fast enough! I have been on the site for hours and can't get enough of it! Each time I read one article, a few more related articles are shown, then a few more, and a few more until I am lost in reading!

Check it out for yourself! Warning: Allow yourself plenty of allotted time - beginning in the evening may lead to pulling an all-nighter!

Heritage Hunting Chat and Assignment for July 7, 2009

Hi to all of you Heritage Hunters!!

Tonight at our chat we will talking about Birth Records and Documents and how to use them in your research. Chat is at 9:00 pm Eastern Time or 6:00 pm Pacific Time in the Heritage Scrap chat room. Come join in the fun! Tonight we have a Special Surprise!!

Your assignment this week will be to find a birth record or document for at least one member of your Pedigree Chart. You may then scrap it (digitally or with paper) or otherwise decorate it, or you may photograph your document, and upload it to the Heritage Hunting gallery. Anyone using at least 50% of their materials from the Heritage Scrap Shoppe will be entered into the random drawing for a prize from our shoppe to be announced later in the week. You may upload as many entries as you wish to share with us. Each eligible layout will be entered into the random drawing.

Heritage Hunting - Birth Records and Sources

Hello again all of you happy Heritage Hunters!

Ok, so you have a good handle on your pedigree chart and you have some family group sheets going on some of your ancestors and their families. Good beginning, firm foundation! Now lets start getting more detailed information about each person - documented and verified details!

Let's start with a person's birth - easy, right? Not!!! Just look at their birth certificate, right? Not!!! Not?? Yep, not!! Most municipalities and even states did not record births or require their recordings until late in the 1800s and even then, the practice was not common or enforced until well into the early 1900s. If your ancestor of that *transition* time period did in fact record the births of their children, you may have a problem finding exactly where they recorded those facts. It may be at their church or parish, at the county courthouse, or at early governmental offices such as a health department. You may find documents or letters confirming a birth within a veteran's military discharges or pension files. All of these places would probably have an *official* record of the birth so would be considered primary documents. They were probably filed by a close relative and close in time to the actual event.

Sometimes, the recording was done later - even as late as when the birth child was an adult! These are called *delayed birth certificates* and are usually filed by a secondary source person at a time far from the actual event. Obviously, these type records may be much less reliable. How does an adult know for sure exactly where or when they were born?? It is all hearsay or oral history (or legend) by the time the certificate was made.

Therefore, you may have to resort to other means of obtaining detailed and accurate birth information. Family Bibles are fantastic for these types of undocumented events as are family correspondence and newspaper announcements. Baptism or christening records from a church are great sources and even considered primary sources in many cases. Lastly and least reliable of all are census records. When comparing census records over a long period of time, you will notice that the census interval of time passed is always 10 years, the age of the ancestor may be greater than or less than the same 10 years! The difference is usually only by a few years but also can be by many years! Ages on census records usually tend to be older for the younger folks and younger for the older respondents, with the female inaccuracies almost always greater than their male counterparts.

The farther back in time that you go with your ancestors, the less accurate the birth date and place will be usually. This is especially true for ancestors who are migrating, emigrating or are further into some sort of transition. Again, if church records are not available, the next best thing would be family correspondence. Lacking that, I don't know any more to tell you! Time to hit the big guys for more advice!

Birth certificates and other sources did not always contain a lot of helpful information. Most will mention date and place, and usually parents, but that may be all you get! Of course with birth certificates of long ago as with those of today, there may be *fudging*. Even though there may not have been as many *unknown* or wrongly reported fathers then as now, further searching and verifying may be needed.

Sometimes you may come across more than one date, place, parents, or other detail - even from some normally reliable source. Save them all!! It may come to a decision on your part as to which piece of information seems most logical that you use or publish based on your overall, general knowledge of the person.

Obtaining copies of birth certificates can range from a few cents for a copy up to $20 - $25 or more for each one! Rates seem to be raising as more and more people join our hobby and give states an opportunity to profit from our curiosity!

Websites relating to finding and documenting birth documents:

United States Vital Records
Cyndi's List
Ancestry.com Learning Center
Family History Lesson Series

Websites to look for specific birth certificates or church records would probably be easiest to find using a search engine and name a particular place. The Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS) has sent researchers all over the world scanning church records and other documents so you may be able to find scans of some birth certificates or documents by visiting their website, searching and then ordering microfilm through their regional family libraries.