The Historian's Family

On This Day in 2014

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Wed, 24 Apr 2024 03:21:00 +0000

On April 23, 2014, I made a notation that I had stayed up way too late looking for Shorters and Robinsons. How do I know this? The app in which I made the notation has an OTD feature which I happened to look at this morning.

I must have been looking for Eliza Jane Shorter and her husband Richard Robinson of Hawkins County, TN, who my mamaw believed were the parents of her mamaw, Louisa.

What progress have I made in the past ten years? I don’t recall doing any sustained research on anyone in my father’s family until 2020. I spent my weekends catching up on genealogy chores (typing up notes, attaching and labeling photos, creating citations, etc.) and extending my research. Then in 2021, I turned my attention more fully to mamaw’s family who all lived in Hawkins and Grainger Counties for many decades in the 19th century. My mamaw and her sister did much of their research in the 1970s. I thought it would be fun to see what I could turn up with the tools and records that researchers have available in the age of online records and genetic genealogy.

What have I turned up? I’m not sure. After three years of research and 200 pages of notes and thoughts, I feel that nothing that my mamaw believed about her family was true and that nobody was who they said they were. There are many DNA matches but they don’t make much sense and cousin marriage makes using many of the several DNA tools out there difficult to use.

Recently, I’ve decided what I need to do is just start over. Not necessarily to all the research over from scratch, but to organize my research and conclusions chronologically beginning with the deaths of my great-grandparents in December 1944.

If nothing else, it will give me something to do while I wait for the release of Ancestry’s new DNA ProTools. You can learn more about these upcoming tools from this RootsTech presentation (please note, you may need to be logged in to RootsTech to view the video)

Happy Birthday Grandma!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sat, 05 Sep 2015 18:37:00 +0000

Today, 5 September 2015, my grandmother, Karin Synnove Grace Nordstrom, would have been 100 years old. She always told me that Karin was her Swedish name, Synnove her Norwegian name, and Grace her American name. She never did like Grace, but I apparently didn't let that bother me because when I was little I named on of my favorite dolls Grace.

This picture was taken of her and her mother Linka, by her father, Carl Nordstrom, on 12 September 1915. Happy Birthday Grandma!

What's In a Surname?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 21 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

"History of Surnames" from Gens Video

If you are looking for a quick and easy way to learn about surnames, this 35 minute video is a good place to start. It appears to be well-researched, doesn't say anything "weird," and has decent imagery.

The video is divided into sections by surname type, e.g. patronymic, topographic, occupation. Most of the examples come from English, French, Italian, Spanish and German; but occasionally mentions names from Arabia, Russia, and Portugal, among other places.

Using Federal Documents at the National Archives: A Seminar in Cleveland

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 14 Sep 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Making a Federal Case: Federal Land Records and Government Documents
Seminar Sponsored by the Genealogical Committee at the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH

Saturday, September 27, 2014
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Presented by Claire Bettag, CG, FUGA

Professional genealogist, Claire Bettag, offers four lectures focusing on lesser-used, but invaluable resources - specifically federal land records and "gov docs."

Lectures being presented are:
1. NARA at your Fingertips
2. Federal Land Records
3. Bounty-Land Records
4. Government documents and The U.S. Serial Set (published by the U.S. Government Printing Office)

For further information or to register online, e-mail Chris at chris@staatsofohio.com.

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Whether you are a genealogist, historian, or student, this series of talk will help you enhance your research skills, learn about new documents and how they can help your search, and may even help provide you with ideas and topics for everything from a family history to a PhD dissertation.

rootstech 2014: Spencer Wells, DNA, and More

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 07 Sep 2014 19:36:00 +0000

Brief Interview with Dr. Spencer Wells at rootstech 2014

I first learned of the work of Spencer Wells when his PBS series, The Journey of Man, was shown in the UK. I was fascinated by the way DNA could be used to tell the story of human migration. So, I was excited to see that his keynote address delivered at rootstech 2014 was available for viewing online. What I didn't realized that the video also included an opening sequence and a keynote talk by Judy Russell, the Legal Genealogist. You can watch it all here.

The animation sequence was well done and added a nice, profession touch. It is difficult to tell whether it represents several branches of one family or simply many families - it spans centuries, but the same red book is written in and held by all the immigrants portrayed. A discerning eye will notice that the first family is an English one who adopted the Protestant faith and left Europe to flee religious persecution. The next sequence is of a family travelling across a very stormy Atlantic. There is farming family and what seems to be a pioneer woman with a baby. There is a 20th century wedding. The final segment is of a worried looking couple with a young child on a train, possibly fleeing from their home. The sequence closed with the tag, "Every family has a story. What's Yours?" I don't doubt that every family has a story; but the stories shown here, with the possible exception of the family on the train, are representative of only a few Northern European immigrant groups. In light of genealogy's early association with "whiteness" as discussed by Gregory Rodriguez, such a depiction of the American immigration story is disheartening.

I have met Judy Russell and enjoy listening to her speak. This talk, however, I did not really care for. It's a wide ranging keynote but the primary topics were the Genealogical Proof Standard and Oral History. She talks about "deliberately and accurately" handing down oral histories so that they can be preserved for future generations. Oh and then verified by using the Genealogical Proof Standard. But people only pass down what is important to them, what defines them as a people or a family. Where your grandfather learned to swim may not be important to anyone, so nobody talks about and it gets forgotten. However, other things may be remembered. She provides two examples of family histories that were deliberately passed down in her family. However, one of them probably wasn't. It had the sound of something that at worst had been created so that the family sounded authentically American or at best was badly researched.

Spence Wells, Explorer-in-Residence at National Geographic, gives an excellent introduction to population genetics, DNA research, and Deep Ancestry. If you don't know anything about them, this will get you up to speed in about 30 minutes. He speaks about the Genographic Project and the rates of public participation, which mirror the increasing interest in consumer DNA testing. He also discusses the grants given to indigenous people who are such an important part of the project. Since these groups have occupied the same territory, sometimes for centuries, they provide the geographic anchor to the Genographic Project.

The two speakers provide an interesting contrast. Judy Russell is concerned about losing snippets of family history, like what was your grandmothers favorite toy, in three generations. Spencer Wells is concerned with entire indigenous cultures and languages that face extinction within one or two generations.

You can view other talks from rootstech 2014 here. The only other one I've seen is the talk on iPads by Lisa Louis Cooke; it made me want an iPad even more than before.

Genes and Genealogy from Naked Genetics

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 31 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

In this edition of Naked Genetics from University of Cambridge listen to Professor Mark Jobling discuss how academic DNA sequencing intersects with genealogy research. While he understands that people want to know where their ancestors come from, the reality is that our ancestors didn't come from one specific location - they came from everywhere. The only ancestors we can trace with any confidence are those that passed down their Y chromosome and their mtDNA which represent only two individuals. This segment opens the program.

Then unless you are super keen on genetics, skip ahead to 18:07 to hear Dr. Turi King discuss her research on the Y-chromosome. She uses this chromosome in connection with surnames to trace Norse Viking migrations.

image credit: Zephyris

Extra! Extra! Research all about it

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 12:30:00 +0000

Newspapers are a great source for information. I have not made wide use of them in my own research, but I know they are out there. They are becoming easier to use as an increasing number are being digitized and indexed. You will find that some papers like the historic Cleveland Plain Dealer archive are available via a subscription held by your local library and others like the New York Commercial Advertiser are available through a subscription service available anywhere.

Here is a sampling of sources for newspapers. I have not used many of them and can offer no endorsements. Many of the fee sites offer short trial periods, which might be worth taking advantage of. If you intend to use the site for a research project for work or school, it is probably worth getting a subscription especially if they offer terms of less than a year. Also check to see what is available vie a your local library or university.

Subscription Sites:
Newspapers.com
GenealogyBank.com
Ancestry.com
NewspaperArchive.com **Read this article published in June 2104 before subscribing to NewspaperArchive. There have been complaints about billing, but not about content.**

Check to see what papers these sites have. NewspaperArchive and GenealogyBank have maps on their homepage and a list of states; click on state to see city; then click on city to see newspapers and dates of publication included on the site. Newspaper.com has a similar process, just click on “see papers by location” first.

These aggregate sites exist primarily to serve the family historian, but there is no reason why students and historians cannot use them. Don’t be put off by the phrase “enter ancestor’s name.” Simply enter in the name of the individual you are interested in, like “John Witherspoon.” Or leave the name section blank and enter a term in the keyword section, like “slavery” or “immigrants.” The search can even be limited to state, city, or even a particular newspaper.

Free Sites
Google’s United States Online Historical Newspapers here or here. Visit this page from About.com for tips for using newspapers on Google.

ChroniclingAmerica from the Library of Congress

Lists of Digital Newspapers
Historical Newspapers Online from the University of Pennsylvania This is an enormous list . It is organized by state; the first column begins with Alabama, the second column begins with Missouri.

Wikipedia: List of online newspaper archives This is a world wide list organized by country. You can skip to the USA (organized by state) by going here.

Your Local Library
Check you local library to see what sources the offer. Here is what is available from the Cleveland Public Library. Most of their newspaper databases require a Cleveland Public Library card to access from home.

Articles on using newspapers in genealogical research:
Using Newspapers for Genealogical Research
Family History in the News: How to Find & Use Newspapers for Genealogical Research

Genealogy is as popular as what?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 17 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Time

Earlier this summer Time Magazine republished an article by Gregory Rodridgez entitled "How Genealogy Became as Popular as Porn." This breezy piece recounts the history of genealogy from would-be DAR applicants, to Roots, to modern DNA testing, to his own family history.

What I like about this piece is that it engages with some of the unsavory origins of genealogy in America - using it to confirm one's "whiteness." I haven't seen this addressed in any introduction to genealogy books I've read.

The article also points out that during and after the Civil Rights Movement all minority groups felt encouraged "to embrace their previously marginalized identities." This led them to begin researching their own family histories. At the same time historians began to investigate the historic experience of the marginalized in America and around the world. Now side by side with studies of Popes, Presidents, and Pilgrims you will find works like The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880-1950, The Cheese and the Worms: The Cosmos of a Sixteenth-Century Miller and Pioneer Women: The Lives of Women on the Frontier. (none of which I've read yet...)

Thanks to the social changes of the past half-century historians have chosen to document the lives of non-elites and those same non-elites have been empowered to learn about their own histories. However, until recently genealogical research has meant travelling to distant archives and courthouses, combing through indexes and transcribed records. Now, thanks to the increasing number of digitized sources and entities like FamilySearch and Ancestry that index these records, genealogy research is now much more accessible. It's still not cheap, but it is accessible.

New Article: Cleveland's European Ethnic Heritage Online

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Cleveland was greatly impacted by the “new immigration” of late 19th and early 20th centuries. As many of these immigrants came from regions of Europe that have been greatly impacted by war and boundary changes, they can be difficult to trace. I share sources for researching your European ancestors who settled in Cleveland in the August/September issue of Internet Genealogy.

Get your issue today at Books-A-Million, Barnes & Nobles, Chapters, through the app on iTunes, or a PDF version from the publisher.

Immigration Restriction and Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

China Pavilion, Epcot

For the past several years I have pitched a talk to genealogy conferences on "unwanted ancestors" which would provide an introduction to anti-immigration feeling in the United States and how that might have impacted an ancestor's life. As an immigration historian, I know that as a country we have not always been so welcoming to immigrants and the present difficulties are really more of the same. I've always thought such a talk would provide family historians with a greater understanding of the world in which our ancestors lived. This talk has been routinely rejected, although perhaps I'll see a change this year since I have given the talk a new title and a spruced-up outline.

In the meantime, I am heartened (or disheartened depending upon your viewpoint) by this story from NPR's Code Switch which demonstrates that American anti-immigration laws have had a direct impact on the ability of Chinese-American families to accurately document their family histories.

Near the Bookshelf: Ancestors and Relatives

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 03 Aug 2014 12:00:00 +0000

In 2013, Eviatar Zerubavel's book Ancestors and Relatives: Genealogy, Identity, and Community was released in paperback. This interview is from Rutgers University, where Zerubavel is a professor of sociology.

I remember the book caused a bit a stir on genealogy lists when it was first published in 2011. I quickly added the book to my "to read" list. I was intrigued by his premise that "[r]ather than simply find out who our ancestors were and identify our relatives, we actually construct the genealogical narratives that make them our ancestors and relatives." As an immigration historian I am all about constructing identity. I was equally fascinated by the complaints that genealogists had about it. One that sticks in my mind was that he hadn't spoken to any actual genealogists. This seemed odd to me because, in my experience, sociologists are all about talking to people. Sociology and history, particularly in migration studies, have many similarities and reach many of the same conclusions with one big exception. Sociologists study the living and historians study the dead.

I still haven't managed to read Ancestors and Relatives, but after reading this interview, it has moved up the list considerably.

Family Trees on the Internet

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Do they belong in your family tree?

This NPR story, broadcast in February 2014, highlights a significant problem with using the internet to do genealogy: family trees that are all wrong. Granted badly researched trees and falsified family trees have always existed. The convenience of the web now makes it much easier to find them and connect to them on FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com and similar sites.

So beware of family trees you find online and use them as clues to guide your research. Always ask yourself if the appearance of a particular person in an online tree makes sense geographically, chronologically, and historically.

With thanks to Genealogists.com who posted a link to this story on their Facebook page.

Crafting Your Heritage: Knitting in Shetland

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 20 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Knitting: A Work in Progress

While it is quite satisfying to locate a set of 6x great-grandparents and fill in two more boxes on a pedigree chart, it can be equally satisfying to do something that our ancestors did everyday. For some people this is gardening, attending the same church, or cooking family recipes. For me one of these activities is knitting.

Both of my grandmothers knit, but my maternal grandmother, Karin Nordstrom Hood, is the one who taught me. She was taught the continental method by her mother, Linka Larsen Nordstrom, and that is the method I learned. This small connection to my Norwegian heritage pleases me more than it probably should.

This story from NPR profiles the tradition of knitting in Shetland. Even if you had no idea there was an island named Shetland let alone that they knit there, you would probably recognize a Fair Isle pattern.

I'm not sure I would be a good descendant from Shetlanders. I don't like color knitting and lace frustrates me. I much prefer the texture of cables.

Stories of 21st Century Immigrants

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000

The July 4th episode of NPR's Alt.Latino features a discussion with Achy Obejas, co-editor of Immigrant Voices. 21st Century Stories and readings from several of the stories. I like that Obejas points out that the immigrant experience actually begins in the home county, something we tend to forget about in America. She makes a further point that immigranting in the 21st century is much different than in previous times: much more is known about America now, it is easier to keep in touch with the home country, and it is easier to return.

The stories evoke the experiences of immigrants from a range of countries including Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Iran. Maybe listening to these modern stories will inspire you to learn about one of your immigrant ancestors, how their immigration story began, and how they adjusted (or not) to America.

D-Day Reports from the BBC

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Sun, 06 Jul 2014 12:00:00 +0000

BBC Radio 4

Last month,.in honor of the 70th anniversary of D-Day, BBC Radio 4 rebroadcast the news bulletins from 6, 7, and 8 June 1944. These bulletins which chronicle the progress of the Normandy Invasion feature Benedict Cumberbatch, Sir Patrick Stewart, and Toby Jones. Each segment is accompanied by image of the original transcripts.

Happy Anniversary!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Tue, 20 May 2014 21:54:00 +0000

Today would have been my grandparents 70th Wedding Anniversary. William Hood and Karin Nordstrom were married in East Cleveland on 20 May 1944. Isn't her dress fabulous!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Today, 26 March 2014, my grandfather, William Keir Hood, would have been 100 years old. According to his elder sister, my Aunt Annie, his birth occurred on a was a dark and stormy Thursday night. His family left Cowie and came to America nine years later, under the regulations set by the 1921 Emergency Quota Act.

This picture was taken in 1939. Being a piper and being a Scot were important parts of his identity. And he was finally able to return to the land of his birth in 1969. Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Cultural Education before Birth?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 20 Mar 2014 12:00:00 +0000

Annie Murphy Paul - What We Learn Before We Are Born - TedGlobal 2011

When people are asked about why they "do genealogy" a frequent response is to get a sense of who they are and where they came from. They are seeking an identity. Identity comes from many places and aspects of our lives, one of which is culture. Here in the United States I would say I am "Californian" which has cultural similarities with the rest of the country (despite what you might think). However, when in Europe, I always said I was an "American." I often thought that these identities came from living in these places and experiencing, more or less, the same things as my friends and family.

This TedTalk by Annie Murphy Paul suggests we learn much about the world before we are even born. If you've read The Handmaid's Tale, the concept of learning in the womb, and how it could impact the lives of women, is kind of scary. On the other hand, it's fascinating in the context of cultural transmission because Paul argues that while in the womb we learn our mother's accent, her favorite foods, and her favorite music. In essence, we start learning our culture before we are even born.

Perhaps, I didn't learn all about being an American by living here. Maybe being a cultural American started before I was born because of they way my parents spoke and because my mom ate basic American foods, like meat and potatoes.

If you want to learn more read Annie Paul's book Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape the Rest of Our Lives. I've not read it, but it is on my wish list.

Thoughts on Nicholas Kristof and Professors

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Fri, 21 Feb 2014 01:48:00 +0000

@NickKristof

On my long list of life goals is to "bridge the gap between the armchair and academic historians." I haven't pursued this goal as ardently as perhaps I might, but I hope that my two blogs and public speaking engagements go a small way across the bridge. So, it was with great interest that I read Nicholas Kristof's recent op-ed "Professors, We Need You!" published in the New York Times on 15 February 2014.

In this piece, Kristof calls for greater public engagement on the part of academics, particularly those in political science. He decries the lack of activity of academics in social media and laments the "turgid prose" of their journal articles. The reason for this inactivity, he argues, is the publish or perish system. Being popular and understandable is death to promotion.

One of the fields which is an exception, according to Kristof, is history. Since this is my field, I agree. There are excellent writers among the followers of Clio (of course, there are others that just aren't). In my experience, however, those that are most successful address issues that the public is already interested in, namely topics like Civil Rights, Presidents, the American Revolution and World War II. Additionally, their research topics have or lend themselves to a strong narrative say a famous individual or significant battle. Historians that write elegant and engaging accounts of lesser known topics, Tang Dynasty China for example, may find that their books languish on the shelves unread.

Visit Nick Kristoff's Twitter and Facebook pages to find rejoinders, ripostes, and replies to his column. To find historians on Twitter search for #twitterstorians or visit Historians Who Tweet from History News Network or Historians on Twitter from Active History. Also visit the National History Center whose aim is to make history an essential component of public discussions of current events.

In the meantime, remember that "historians are great." Nick Kristof said so and he's a smart man.

Family History and Murder, A Match Made In Heaven: The Jefferson Tayte Mysteries

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 13:33:00 +0000

Jefferson Tayte, the creation of author Steve Robinson, is a mild-mannered professional genealogist. As his clients can afford to to pay him to fly to the United Kingdom to conduct research in person, he must be very good and his clients must be very rich. Unfortunately, Jefferson Tayte also has bad luck. Every time he travels to England for a client, people end up dead. Lots of people. Jefferson's life is threatened and in order to solve the murders he must also solve a genealogical puzzle.

Genealogists always warned about skeleton's in the closets and unhappy family secrets. But apparently the skeletons in the closets of Jefferson Tayte's clients comes with unhappy descendants who hire assassins. It makes for a gripping yarn, but luckily real-world genealogy usually comes without assassins. Personally, I think the plots in all the books a little "gothic" and far-fetched in their conception and way too many people die. But they are imaginative and it's fun to see genealogists save the day.

In the Blood was the first book in the series (first edition, new edition). Jefferson Tayte "competes" against a younger genealogist to find information required by a client. For those of you familiar with movers in shakers in the American genealogical world, I couldn't help but picture Jefferson Tayte as J. Mark Lowe and the younger genealogist as Josh Taylor. The family skeleton in question in this book springs from an early 19th century murder.

The second book, To The Grave, (first edition, new edition) features a skeleton which has it's origins in the Second World War. I thought the ending of this one particularly sad.

The skeleton in The Last Queen of England (first edition, new edition) has it's roots in the Jacobite movement during the reign of Queen Anne. A group of history doctoral students tell Jefferson that they prefer to investigate the past on their own and form their own opinions, as if that's not what historians actually do in the first place. One of them even says "history books can't be challenged." Well, of course they can. Needless to say, I found this entire exchange irritating, but since the students help solve the mystery, I tried not to fret too much.

The books, first issued in the UK several years ago, have been quite successful and will be reissued on 18 March 2014 in new Kindle Editions, in addition to paperback and audio versions. The first editions are still available for purchase and are currently available to borrow in the Kindle Owner's Library. I do not know what will happen to them after 18 March.

Monuments Men: Opening Day Roundup

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Fri, 07 Feb 2014 16:14:00 +0000

Two years ago I learned about the Monuments Men when it was announced that George Clooney had optioned Robert Edsel's book. In the ensuing months, I read all I could about the Monuments Men and art looting by the Nazis and blogged about it here, here, here, here, here, and here.

In November of last year, I heard Robert Edsel speak about the Monuments Men at the Cleveland Museum of Art where I purchased an autographed copy of his newest book, Saving Italy. Edsel will be speaking at the National Archives on 19 February, details here. If you can't make it to DC, you can watch him discuss his book on BookTV. He will appear live on BookTV on 22 February at 11 am ET. There is a profile of him in the Washington Post here and an interview with the Holocaust Memorial Museum here.

With the opening of the movie today, there is news about the Monuments Men (and women) everywhere.

Reviews: Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Los Angeles Times, Forbes, and Variety. The general consensus of the reviews is probably not what Mr. Clooney hoped for.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Getty, and the Huntington Library have posted articles about their connections to the Monuments Men.

There have been countless articles related to the history and mission of the Monuments Men: NBC Nightly News, the National Archives Prologue, the BBC, the Smithsonian, National Archives The Text Message, New York Times, the Huffington Post, the U.S. Army, Artlog, the Des Moines Register, and the National WWII Museum.

Behind-the-Scenes/Making of articles are here, here, and here.

Read about the larger message of the film, the problem of looted art and heritage, in the Jewish Daily Forward.

Robert Edsel and George Clooney were both scheduled to appear on the Charles Rose show this week.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly for a genealogy blog, Ancestry.com reports that Clooney is distantly related to George Stout, the leader of the Monuments Men.

Need Pound Cake? Family Recipe Copied 18 Years Ago to the Rescue!

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 06 Feb 2014 13:00:00 +0000

Old Fashioned Pound Cake

My mother called from the store and said, "I think your father wants pound cake. Would you make your father some pound cake?" Or if those weren't the words, that was the meaning. I said "yes' and then immediately thought to myself, "why don't you make the pound cake?"

I procrastinated all afternoon, until finally, at about 5 pm, I looked at the recipe my mother wanted me to use. First, it didn't call for butter. My mother had gotten butter at the store - all pound cake calls for butter, right? Not this recipe, it called for Crisco. Luckily, I had purchased some a couple of months ago. Then I read the rest of the recipe and the notes my mother had included with it.

My mother had gotten the recipe in 1996 when she and her oldest granddaughter visited Charlene Epperson Morris, a distant relative of my father's. Mrs. Morris, who died shortly after the visit, said it was a family recipe and favorite of her Papa's. The cake was so good that said granddaughter, a notorious picky eater, ate an entire slice.

Upon returning home, my mother dutifully entered the recipe in document full of family and favorite recipes (not always the same thing) she had created when my sister married in 1991. Here the recipe languished until January 2014, when I, under great duress, made the cake for my father. As the recipe had an excellent story attached for it and because the cake was easy to make and quite tasty, I quickly became un-irritated with my mother.

Here, just in case your father needs pound cake and you have no butter, is Charlene Epperson Morris' recipe:

1 cup Crisco
1 3/4 cup sugar
5 whole eggs - at room temperature

Beat all together until creamy.

ADD:
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons vanilla

Beat 2 minutes. Bake in greased & floured tube pan(s) 1 hour @ 325° (degrees)

Happy Baking!

New Article: Do You Have a Question?

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 13:00:00 +0000

The best way to find the right answer is to ask the right question. I explore the technique of developing focused research questions in the January/February issue of Family Chronicle.

Get your issue today at Books-A-Million, Barnes & Nobles, Chapters, through the app on iTunes, or a PDF version from the publisher.

A Square Peg in a Family Tree Shaped Hole

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 13:00:00 +0000

On 11 January 2014 my mother virtually attended the APG-PMC conference. She had a quiet day listening to a variety of speakers and then a less quiet evening sharing some of her favorite bits and pieces with me. I listened with half an ear until she mentioned mission statements. Jean Wilcox Hibben, the final speaker of the day, said that mission statement for her genealogy business was to help people connect generations. Connecting people, families, and generations is a common reason heard for why people do genealogy, either as a hobby or professionally.

As my mother was speaking a sudden realization hit me like a ton of bricks. While I'm as keen to find the parents of my mysterious 2nd great-grandfather as anyone in my family, my interest in genealogy isn't about connecting family members across generations. I think genealogy is a fantastic way to get people interested in their past and in history.

The past can be defined by nostalgia and is almost always used to reinforce ideas already held about ourselves and the present. If someone connects themselves to a particular community in George, Oregon, or Italy, they might be more willing to support an endeavor to preserve a building in the town or visit a house museum on their way to somewhere else.

History on the other hand while firmly rooted in the present, does not look to the past to justify what we think, but examines the past to explain why things are the way they are. Thus it is argumentative and can challenge our understanding of world in which we live. For example, if a student in an American Immigration class learns the name and story of their own immigrant ancestors it will make not only the course more personal and relevant, but the entire immigrant experience. If they can do that, they may find it easier to connect or understand immigrants of other backgrounds and even be willing to support a nuanced view of the current immigration debate.

Likewise, if someone discovers an impoverished ancestor in New York City or the rural south, I want that person to read about and understand what it was like to be poor in times gone by. This study of the ancestor's life would then, ideally, lead to a greater sympathy of the poor in the modern world. The same holds true for wealthy ancestors. Reading about elites from the past would reveal what their lives were actually like. Materially comfortable yes, but there were arranged marriages, mysterious deaths, extensive social and community obligations, and difficult encounters with the law.

Jean Wilcox Hibben, according to my mother, also said that a professional genealogist must find what makes them unique. I believe I have found my uniqueness: I want you to discover your ancestors, but even more I want you to learn about the people of history because by doing that you will gain a greater appreciation of the human condition and knowledge of the experiences and beliefs of all peoples past and present. Acceptance of the differences of people in the past can lead to acceptance of difference of people in the modern world.

On the Move in Sweden

noreply@blogger.com (Amanda E. Epperson) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 16:42:00 +0000

twitter.com/HistoricalPics

I remember my grandmother, Karin Nordstrom Hood, telling me a story about Sweden. They used to drive on the left like the British but felt they should join the majority of the world that drove on the right, so they decided to change. My grandma said that the change took three days: on the first day nobody drove, on the second only government vehicles and then on the third day everybody drove. While, I never thought my grandma made this story up (she had been to Sweden after all), it always seemed like such a fantastic story to me, totally unbelievable.

Then today, I saw the tweet pictured above. My grandmother's story, confirmed, totally out of the blue. Although, perhaps the switch did not happen as seamlessly as her story led me to believe.

My mother remembered that this change was reported in the papers, so it must have been a big deal. Since my grandmother had close connections with Sweden, she would have remembered this more than other "big deal" stories of 1967. I just love Twitter, don't you?