Happy Blogoversary to Me!!

I totally missed my one-year Blogoversary which happened on Saturday (March 28th).

There's no way I would have thought I'd still be creating posts! Somehow, someway, I'm going to figure out a way to do what I love (genealogy stuff and research) for a living! (and make enough money to pay my bills and allow me to happily shop on eBay for old and antique genealogy and history books). Yes, this I vow, here in the turnip field with Scarlett. Oh, and by the way, turnips are gross. And radishes. bleah.

Thank you to everyone who actually takes the time to read my dopey thoughts and ramblings!!!


and yes, it's a carved turnip.

Time to Spring-Clean the Car

So I decided to finally pursue a membership in DAR. I had put it off for many years because it would require that annoying thing called "actual proof". "Actual proof" takes all the fun out of genealogy research and sometimes makes it feel the tiniest bit like work. But not really that much, and it's mostly work that I enjoy.

Except for instance, like now, when I'm entering like 500 Redcay obituaries I found on genealogybank.com. Geez louise those Redcay's were/are prolific!!! But don't think for a moment I won't enter all that information in my database. It's called OCD my friends, and it's a blessing and a curse. Funnily enough though, the OCD only rears it's head in certain parts of my life. For instance, there's junk in my car's trunk right now from I don't even know how long ago. I drive around with all that stuff back there, let my co-workers make fun of me when they put their laptop bags back there, but do I do anything about it? Nope. Just. Don't. Care.

Don't think for a minute I'm exaggerating either. There's containers of kitty litter, cardboard boxes to be recycled, books to be sold to the Book Barn in west chester, a salad dish, dry cleaning, and an external dvd drive. And that's just what's on top.

But leave one obituary out of my Redcay family tree? NO WAY!!!! The information would be incomplete!!! Are you CRAZY!?!?!?!?!?

Yes, it's a sickness. I've learned to live with it.

But anyway, back to the DAR information. I contacted them back in February letting them know I think I have something, and they have this disclaimer that it could be several many lots of weeks before you are contacted back. Nothing so far....I'm trying to be patient! Anyway, so here's what I think my lineage is:

1. Me!

2. My Mom (no need to get too personal on a public blog)

3. My Grandma (ditto)

4. William Homer Mix, b. 1876, Caroline, Tompkins County, NY (m. Cornelia Akins)

5. John Francis Mix, b. 1830, Tioga County, NY (m. Mary Ellen Cook)

6. Jonathan Collins Mix, b. 1803-1804, NY (m. Sally Stevens)

7. Collins Mix, b. 1777, Wallingford, CT (m. Leafe Ide)

8. Thomas Mix, b. 1745, Wallingford, CT (m. Lois Collins)

Isn't "Leafe Ide" a great name??? I love that name. Did they pronounce it like leaf from a tree, or some other way? Are there still people in Vermont with that name? That's where she was from, it was a hot name in her neighborhood. So was "Squire" for a boy. Her father's name was "Squire Ide", and he was not the only one.

So anyway, it's Generation 8, Thomas Mix, who was in the Revolutionary War, in the 4th Connecticut Regiment (and spent the winter at Valley Forge, maybe that's him in the picture!). I like Thomas and Lois, they've given me lots of interesting things to look at over the years. Lois Collins, his wife, is my link back to nobility and royalty in Scotland and England (through her grandmother, Lois Burnet). I distinctly remember the day during the winter of 2002 that I figured that out. But that's all a story for another day!!

Hopefully I'll hear from DAR soon and start the process of my application with all that annoying proof. Wish me luck!

Belfast Zoo Looking for "Elephant Angel" from World War II

I saw this article today.....the Belfast Zoo (as in Ireland) is looking for a lady who volunteered to watch a baby elephant in her backyard during World War II. The zoo was protecting against bombings, they even had to euthanize some animals because it would be too dangerous if they escaped after a bombing.

Do you know this lady or have any clues? Let the Belfast Zoo know....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/5036295/Mystery-woman-looked-after-elephant-in-back-yard.html

Tombstone Tuesday - 24-Mar-2009

No hints this time! Can anyone tell me where these are from?

Wordless Wednesday - 18-Mar-2009

Tombstone Tuesday - 17 March 2009

I had already picked out this picture when I realized it matches St. Patrick's day!

This is from a small cemetery next to Balquhidder Church in Scotland. It's the same cemetery that Rob Roy is buried in. My father actually took the picture, I've now totally stolen it from him. But hey, it was on my computer, therefore it's now mine.

It's true that sometimes it can be a tad damp in Scotland....but I'll let the picture speak for itself.

I could be crafty too....

My mom and my sister and my Aunt and my grandmother all know how to create things. They can sew or knit or crochet or cook or landscape; all in their spare time. And they aren't limited to any one, they do all those things, sometimes all at once.

I am pretty much only good at uncorking wine, if, and only if, I use my super-duper un-corker that has levers and handles and multiple parts. Oh, I can usually un-cork champagne pretty well too, unless it one of those corks that's really jammed in there and you need pliers. I'm not kidding, I've had a couple of those, usually it's Gloria Ferrero(?) Ferrara(?). It's still worth it to drink once it's open though. She makes a nice round fruity but not sweet and clingy champagne. Yum!! I might need some today...

But anyway, I may be inspired to take up cross-stitching though, after stumbling across this site: http://www.subversivecrossstitch.com/

Something about it just speaks to me...and then I could say I do crafts too!!

Wordless Wednesday - 11-Mar-2009

Brother and Sister - Smile for the Camera 11

The 11th edition of Smile for the Camera is themed "Brothers & Sisters."

"Were they battling brothers, shy little sisters, or was it brother & sister against the world? Our ancestors often had only their siblings for company. Were they best friends or not? Show us that picture that you found with your family photographs or in your collection that shows your rendition of brothers & sisters. Bring them to the carnival and share. Admission is free with every photograph!"

My picture is my mom and her brother. It was taken in July of 1950 in New York, probably somewhere around the Ithaca region. My grandparents were living in a little trailer at that point, with their 2 young children, moving around a lot. My mom and uncle were only 13 months apart; in this picture he was just over 3 years old, and she was just over 2 years old.

The story goes that my mom was crying (and when I say crying, I mean the toddler type WAAAAHHHHHHH crying) because she wanted to be picked up by her Daddy, but he was busy taking pictures. There is even a picture of her just prior to this shot, standing there facing the camera, feet firmly planted on the ground, little fists by her sides, just wailing because the world was a horrible place, and who are these people that are not doing what she wants??? :-D It's actually quite similar to the way I act in the meetings my co-workers insist on scheduling after 4pm when they know, they KNOW, I come in early, unlike all of them. But I digress! :-)

What I've posted today is the next picture, where her big brother has come to comfort her.


But wait!!! Take a closer look at the photo, yes, he is a sweet big brother, so caring, so loving. Take a look towards the bottom of the picture, towards.............their feet.

He's standing on her foot while he comforts her.

I'm pretty sure it's some sort of deep metaphor on brotherly and sisterly love, but today I'll just take it for what it is - sweet and funny.

(I love you and miss you Uncle Steve!!!!!!!!!!)

Museums you need an ID for

Yesterday I went to the Philadelphia Flower show with my mom and my sister. It was a beautiful day, up in the 70s. The theme of the show this year was "Bella Italia" so there were lots of exhibits with themes of Tuscany, Rome, the lake district, etc. I put a few of my favorite pictures at the bottom of the post.

We don't take enough advantage of living close to Philadelphia, and on the drive home were talking about some places we want to take my niece and nephew. Places like the zoo, the art museum, the Franklin institute and the Please Touch museum. For those of you who aren't local, the Please Touch museum is specifically for kids, a museum where they can go and actually be allowed to touch and interact with things.

Now that you know what the Please Touch museum is, here's how the conversation actually went:

Heather: ".....yeah the zoo would be good, we'd have to go really early in the morning to avoid the traffic."
Leah: "Oh and don't forget the Franklin Institute!"
Mom: "And the Please Touch Me museum!!"
Heather and Leah: long silent pause
Heather: "BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!!!"
Leah: "Actually Mom, that's a totally different museum."

My mom was a good sport about it, and I have to excuse her, she had trees and statuary and vine arches roiling around in her head from the flower show, so she was distracted. My mom is the kind of gardener who knows the latin terms for things so she enjoyed the flower show on a totally different level than I did. I merely tripped around the convention center saying Ooo, that's pretty, ooo that smells good, ooo look at the flower, la la la.

I'm thinking though, her idea for the new adults-only museum might be a real-money maker for the city. I'll have to suggest it to someone....

Meanwhile, here's some flowers! :-)

Wordless Wednesday - 04-Mar-2009

Tombstone Tuesday - 03-Mar-2009

My mom's side of the family (on her dad's side) has the family name of Domelle (pronounced DOM-lee). Domelle has always been a tough name to research. It looks french, but the census records and immigration records indicate they immigrated from the Austro-Hungarian empire and spoke German. The area of the Austro-Hungarian empire they came from is in modern Romania, but it seems that they emigrated down there from the Alsace-Lorraine region, so maybe they were originally french?

After that, I've got nothing. I have very few photographs, and sadly, it's one of those families where people didn't really keep up with each other. I know I still have family out in Indiana (which is where the Domelle's settled, after a stint of living in Chicago for some of them) and California. There is a branch of Domelle's up in Canada, that I know are related in some way, I believe the original Domelle's who went to the US and the one's who went to Canada were cousins.

It's kind of the bummer part of genealogy - where you hit that wall and then there's just nothing. I think it will have to be one of my resolutions this year that I delve back into the Domelle family and find who else is out there and see who will talk to me!

Meanwhile, several years ago my family took a trip out to Indiana to see all the old places where my grandfather grew up. The farm, the little town, his schools. They were all still there!

My strongest recollection of Indiana (at least the part where we were) is that it's FLAT. FLAT FLAT FLAT. I've never seen such flatness. But then, I've never been to Kansas either, and I hear it's flat there too. And the roads were so straight!!!! My little area of the world here where I've spent most of my life is not flat, there's lots of little hills. No mountains, just hills. And lots of curvy little roads.

We found a cemetery in Indiana where there were some Domelle stones (notice one branch of the family spells it "Domele").

Anthony Domele is my 2nd cousin twice removed, son of John Domele and Mary Tunner. They were born in what was then Hungary (now Romania). Mae was from good ole Indiana though. I wonder if she thought Anthony and his family were exotic?


Anthony (known as "Tony") is my grand-uncle, brother to my grandfather. He was born in Chicago, son of William and Elizabeth Domelle.


Nick is my great-granduncle. He and his wife Barbara were born in what was Hungary (now Romania). Nick is my grandfather's uncle, brother to the William I listed just above.


John and Mary Domele were the parents of the first Anthony (up above). Both emigrated from what was Hungary (now Romania).


So yeah, now I'm going to have to put some more effort into the Domelle's, I've been inspired!