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knoxcotn-digest Monday, September 11 2000 Volume 01 : Number 128
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 10 Sep 2000 03:54:36 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] 10 Sep 2000 Sunday Afternoon Rocking "Family History: Are there any 'bones' in it?" (from the Sunday Afternoon Rocking Series) Afternoon All... I heard an interesting story recently. It was told to make another point completely, but it is actually also a very good way to make sense of why many of us simply cannot stick to simply names, dates and facts in our genealogical searches, and search so for the stories that "flesh it all out". It seems a little boy was very afraid of storms, and each night that one occurred, his father would find the boy standing by his parents' bedside, wanting a little comfort, a little assurance...and to climb into bed with some warm bodies. One night a storm was particularly horrific, and the accompanying crashes of thunder resounded through the house. It came as no surprise when dad looked up to see a small pale face beside the bed, eyes anxious and wide with pleading. After some deliberation, dad finally got the boy to go back to bed, telling him all would be well, his folks were in the next room, and that if the boy held his teddy bear very tightly it would be morning before he knew it and the sun would be shining. Next morning at breakfast, dad leaned over to the small boy seated at the table beside him. "How did the teddy bear work?", he asked. "Well", replied the boy, his small face very serious, "It worked ok....but really....it would feel better if I could hold onto something with bones in it!" I think that holds true for a lot of things. A teddy bear is a fine thing, comforting and warm and nice to have in one's possession. A documented family tree is also a fine thing, secure and interesting and understandably the time it takes to research one a thing of which to feel justifiably proud. But names, dates, facts are simply that. If that is all our research is about, we really have "left the bones out of it". We have not had that moment of understanding how the events and personalities of another age have influenced our own, and what we have come to be. We have not grasped the significance of recognizing how patterns of both successes and failures within a family repeat themselves, and how understanding those, we can choose to proliferate them or end them. We have not understood how history can suddenly jump from the dry pages of a textbook and hit us with all of its rich significance until we have understood from a family's personal place in it why and how history actually evolved. Without "bones" our research is not much more than a dry list of itemized facts with little meaning for anyone save the person who has collected it, and that meaning devoid of anything richly layered and textured with all of the lessons and nuances of appreciation a family history can unfold. The "bones" of a family tree are not always found in legal documents, or indeed in any documents at all. They are not always found in indisputable sources. They are found more by reading what is not written than what is. They are found by looking at what no longer exists as much as by studying what does. They are found by listening and more than that...hearing what is not said as well as what is. They are found by looking at a curiosity in a family while stepping into the time period in which the curiosity happened. They are found by paying attention to times and places and legends passed among people. The "bones" of a family can't be disinterred until the reason for digging up bones is recognized. just a thought, jan
**** TN-All mailing list, discussion list of TNGenWeb/TNGenNet. Mailing List policy can be viewed at: http://www.tngenweb.org/adoptco/mail_list.htm To Unsubscribe from TN-All, email: TN-all-unsubscribe@onelist.com To Re-Subscribe to TN-All, email: TN-all-subscribe@onelist.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 11:47:44 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Way-cool perpetual calendar site I bumped into this today and just had to share it: http://www.execpc.com/~mikeber/calendar.html ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:26:31 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Tips for Staying Motivated in Genealogy I found this interesting: http://www.sierrahome.com/familytree/hqarticles/motivated/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 13:29:19 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Why are there no tall grandmas? This was a really interesting article, too: http://www.sierrahome.com/familytree/hqarticles/grandma/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 17:35:03 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Southern Courtesies <donning List Mistress hat> We have a wonderful, helpful group of people on this list. We get along great, which is no small miracle in the world of on-line genealogy. So many lists are fraught with flames and disgruntlement... But (other shoe time), we need to remember to thank those who help us with our research. We have a couple of people who provide a tremendous amount of information through personal e-mails, and I know from my conversations with them that they are not getting even a simple "thank you" from some of our list members. Please remember what your mama or your fourth-grade teacher taught you: Always be nice and thank people who help you. <taking off List Mistress hat> ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 21:38:20 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] After 26 years, it still makes me sweat... I was invited to give a presentation on "Getting Started in Genealogy" this evening to the Strawberry Plains, Tennessee, Home Extension Club. With ancestral roots nearby and having grown up in the area, I was pleased to be able to give something back to the community. I've lectured and taught for more than 20 years, and I won several essay/speaking awards in high school, so it's usually a breeze for me to do a short, introductory presentation on a topic I'm familiar with. Tonight, though, things were different...much different. I arrived on time (amazing, I know <g>), confirmed that I looked presentable in the rear-view mirror, and ascertained that I had all my material organized and ready to hand out. I was sure I would be on top of things and done in the allotted time. Feeling fairly confident, I stepped out of my car. Suddenly, though, I was overcome with a bad case of nerves. My high school senior English teacher -- the woman who critiqued all my essays and presentations before they were submitted to the county and regional contests -- was stepping out of the car parked beside me. She didn't recognize me -- she was really stunned when I was introduced -- but I found myself strangely concerned about my grade for the evening. As it turned out, everyone was pleased with the presentation. But, as Murphy's Law dictates, I discovered a glaring typo on the handout -- even though I'd read over it several times -- just seconds before my former teacher noticed it! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 22:17:47 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] FW: Weekly site search report Rose-Anne sent me this report from the search engine system that she's installed on the Knox County TNGenWeb site. I thought many of you would find it of interest...Seems the Luttrell searchers are outpacing y'all Browns and Johnsons this week! > Total for week: 377 > > Top 10 Keywords > (Not including common words such as "the") > > Count Keyword > ----- ------- > 20 luttrell > 12 boyd > 11 gibbs > 9 davis > 9 hankins > 8 white > 8 graves > 8 weaver > 7 william > 7 hill ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 11 Sep 2000 22:36:16 -0700 From: "Billie R. McNamara" <knox@tngenweb.org> Subject: [KnoxCoTN] Fwd: Check out Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years Thanks to Dick Hoffman for sending me this. I can't wait for Tennessee to be included in the microfilm! <A HREF="http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/fox.html">Click here: Income Tax Records of the Civil War Years</A> http://www.nara.gov/publications/prologue/fox.html ------------------------------ End of knoxcotn-digest V1 #128 ******************************
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