Friday, June 22, 2012

The Flip-Pal mobile scanner Summer Solstice Coupons



If you are thinking of purchasing a Flip-Pal, we've got two promotional offers for you!

All promotion codes are active 12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. MDT (-6 GMT) on the dates listed. 

Summer Solstice
Monday, June 18 – Saturday, June 30
Use Promotion Code: SSFP6A
Save $15 when you purchase a Flip-Pal mobile scanner! (Please place items in your shopping cart first before using the promotion code.)

Suite Summer Solstice
Monday, June 18 – Saturday, June 30
Use Promotion Code: SSS6A
Save $25 when you purchase a Flip-Pal mobile scanner with Creative Suite Craft Edition DVD! (Please place items in your shopping cart first before using the promotion code.)

Thursday, June 21, 2012

The Rest of the Story or Passmore Handpainted Plates - Treasure Chest Thursday

This is one of those "rest of the story" stories and then some.

First, the "rest of the story."

A while back in a post about a birth certificate for Bessie Maud Passmore, I made a passing comment about some hand painted plates Mom had. One of them was signed on the back by C. Passmore (upon closer examination, both plates had been signed by C. Passmore but most of the signature on one had faded or rubbed off).

A comment was also made, in that post, about "...the two hand painted plates (painted by an Aunt, or Great Aunt of ours)..." mentioned in a letter to Mom from one of Bessie's sons. The plates were to go to Mom. I finally unpacked the box they spent the last several decades in and brought them home to Arizona. Here they are!



The Cora Passmore who painted these plates lived from 1862-1946 and was Bessie's Aunt. Cora never married and lived with her sister Mary Passmore, who also never married. They lived together until their deaths in the 1940s in Rockford, Winnebago County Illinois.

So there we have a nice little "rest of the story." Now for the "and then some."

Earlier this year, I was contacted by a woman who found a couple of hand painted floral plates at a Goodwill store in Tennessee. One of them was signed M. Passmore. She had read my blog post and was wondering if the plates had been painted by a relative of mine. Hmmmm....

She sent me pictures of the plates and I mulled things over for quite sometime. How many M. Passmores are running around who paint plates??? I may never know for sure but....I'm thinking those two little old ladies had a hobby they shared. So, I offered to purchase the plates from this woman for a small sum and here they are!



Who says family history research isn't fun and full of surprises?

In case you are wondering, Husband thinks I am completely off my rocker. No surprise there!
© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

Metadata - Weeks 25 & 26 21COFH

It's time to put an organizational framework with our digital photos and documents. Particularly those saved as images. The metadata (data about data) that are stored with our digital files can help make it easier to locate, use, and understand those files in the future.

This week and next, I challenge you to learn about metadata; the programs that can create, save, and manage metadata; and how you want to manage your metadata. I'm no expert on this subject but am reading and learning all the time.

Here are a few programs that can be of assistance:
  • Google Picassa
  • Adobe Photoshop Elements
  • Adobe Lightroom
Can you recommend others?

Webinars I have found helpful:
  • Organizing and Sharing Digital Images, presented 29 February 2012 at Legacy Family Tree (fee).
  • Going Digital, presented by Josh Taylor is available free to members of the Illinois State Genealogical Society at their website.
  • Dear Myrtle presented Labeling Digital Photos Workshop Webinar with DearMYRTLE, on 13 April 2011. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to locate a link for it. So I'm not sure if it's still available.
Finally, Legacy Family Tree has Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: scanning, digitizing, editing, and preserving your photos coming up on Wednesday, 27 June. It's free if you attend live and will be on the website at no charge for several days following.

Once you are more comfortable, begin applying metadata to your photos and documents. It will make them easier to locate, organize, and manage for you and those who follow. Plus, your photograhs will have the information needed to identify the who, what, when and where that is so important to those looking at them in years to come.

© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Sunday, June 17, 2012

In-Depth Genealogist June Edition

The June edition of The In-Depth Genealogist is out. Stop in and check it out. If you haven't yet subscribed to receive your free monthly copy, there are several ways to do it from the home page.

I haven't read all of this month's issue yet, but so far have enjoyed the "IDG Monthly Mystery" regarding an adoption. Maybe you can help!

Cindy Freed's article, "Tracing the Blue and Gray: Shake the Dust Off Your Civil War Ancestor with a Storyline," will get your mind mulling over ayour family's Civil War ancestors.

Mike Maglio's, "Deep into DNA: An Imperfect World," fed my desire for a deeper understanding of genetics.

My article, "Timeless Territories: First Steps to Obtaining Land Records," is there too. 

© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Monday, June 11, 2012

Inventories - Weeks 23 & 24

This is actually Week 24 of our 21COFH project. It looks a week slipped by on us somewhere. Don't think about it too hard like I did or it will make your head hurt!

We are in the season of genealogy conferences which means we are accumulating book purchases, syllabi and conference recordings (especially those of us who haven't been able to attend the conferences we would like to). For the next 2 weeks, let's get our inventories up to date (or create one).

Personally, I have inventories for:
  1. Genealogy Books (LibraryThing)
  2. Audio lecture recordings (Excel)
  3. Webinars and video recordings (Excel)
Eventually, I'll put together an inventory of lecture notes and syllabi.

Today I updated the audio lecture recordings since I would like to order some lectures from NGS in Cincinatti. It's a good thing because I almost ordered one I already have!

The next project is to update LibraryThing for the books purchased at the Mesa Family History Expo and RootsTech.

Do you have inventories for those genealogy items you use often or don't want to make duplicate purchases of? What tools do you (or will you) use? Tell us about it in the comments or in a blog post of your own (remember to leave a url in the comments).

Good luck!

© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Paper Sorting - Weeks 21-22 - 21COFH

Progress has been slow but steady with our project from the last two weeks. I've been mainly attempting to sort and file papers of my parents. The challenging part is that some of the piles contain papers from the grandparents, photos of all kinds (including pictures I sent Mom and Dad 10, 20+ years ago) and other miscellaneous stuff.

I continue to file in the temporary set-up I have for my parents and have started piles for other categories (grandparents, pictures, etc.). The mantra continues to be, "put like things together." Eventually I will be able to do a final organization, purge and begin digitizing (and probably do more purging). I just need to know what I have before deciding what I want to keep (or not).

There's lots of other fun things I would rather be  have been doing lately. After all it is summer. Trying to remember - baby steps, baby steps. Even though I just want it to be done NOW.

© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Flip-Pal Specials


Sometimes you find a product you love. In this case it's the Flip Pal Mobile Scanner. I purchased mine a year and a half ago shortly after they first came out on the market and use it all the time. I also keep writing about it so I decided it was time to become an affiliate.

I've added a Flip Pal tab at the top of the blog should you ever decide to purchase one, just go to that page. Occassionally, I'll post about specials they are having like three listed below:

To take advantage of any of these specials, click on the image at the top of this post or click here on Flip-Pal.

May 22 – August 31 Use Promotion Code: web522
Purchase a Flip-Pal mobile scanner and a Deluxe Flip-Pal mobile scanner Carry Case with Pocket and get a Flip-Pal mobile scanner Sketch Kit FREE! (All three items must be in your shopping cart.)


June 7-11 Use Promotion Code: father12
Save 10% off all items you purchase with any single order of $100 or more! (Please place items in your shopping cart first before using the promotion code.)

June 8-16 Promotion Code: 2father12
Free Shipping in the United States and Canada on all items you purchase with any single order of $50 or more! (Standard Ground shipping only, does not include Second Day or Next Day shipping. Please place items in your shopping cart first before using the promotion code.)


Please note: these promotional codes cannot be used in conjunction with other promotion codes.




© 2012, copyright Michelle Goodrum