Scanner Recommendations Anyone?

I could really use a new scanner.  Or maybe I just want something newer with more bells and whistles.  I don't know.  I've been asking around for recommendations and good ol' Thomas MacEntee of Geneabloggers had a great idea:  write a blog post asking for recommendations.  So here goes. 

I'm looking for a scanner that will:

• Scan documents (up to 8.5 X 14 would be nice but is not absolutely necessary).
• Scan photos.
• Scan slides (I have lots and lots of slides so I would like something that will scan more than 4 at a time which is what mine does now).
• Scan negatives in various sizes. So I will need appropriate templates.
• Oh yes, and I need OCR

Maybe I need more than one device - like a flatbed and one of those fast little negative scanners.  I'm pretty much open to and would appreciate any suggestions!  I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Monday Madness - Flora J. Ballinger

Flora was probably born 27 February 1859 (or 1857).  So far, no evidence of her marrying has been uncovered.  Her death date and place are unknown.

Here is a timeline of what I have been able to find out about Flora:

27 February 1857 or 1859 - Flora is born.  In the 3 census records I have for Flora (CO State census 1885, Federal MT 1900 & 1910), she is listed as being forn in Iowa.  Between the census records and the Declaration for an Original Pension of a Father, listed below in sources, there is a discrepancy in Flora's birth year.

1860s - Flora and her siblings Nancy, John and Mary Ann are listed as attendees in the first school house built in Colorado (see sources below).

1880 - Living in Boulder, Colorado, with Joseph Wolff, are his wife Eliza J, Flora Ballinger and several hired men.  Flora is doing housework. (1880 Federal CO census).

1892 - in the Directory of Farmers in Boulder County for 1892, Flora is listed as a farmer.  From the property description, it appears she is farming on her father's former homestead.

1900 - In 1900 in the Township of Stillwater, Carbon County, Montana, Flora J. Ballinger was enumerated with Charles Williams, his wife Georgie L., and their family, a servant and a boarder. Flora is listed as Aunt. She is the aunt of Georgie L. (nee Robinson). Flora’s sister, Nancy Robinson (nee Ballenger) was Georgie’s mother.

1910 - Flora is enumerated in the Town of Joliet, School District No 7, Carbon County, Montana with the Henry family.  Oddly she is listed un the relationship column as a patient.  Although it is very difficult to read.

After the 1910 census Flora appears to disappear.  I am waiting for something else to turn up.

Sources not listed above:

• Ed Hubbard's article from The Daily Camera 17 November 1909 as extracted and appearing in the Boulder Genealogical Society Quarterly February 2002.
• Declaration for an Original Pension of a Father, Military Pension file for John H. Ballenger, file number 630269, National Archives and Records Administration.  William H. Ballinger is the informant and made the declaration on 8 February 1896 in Boulder, Colorado.  Further he states in the document that he is a resident of Nye City, Montana.

Copyright 2010, Michelle Goodrum

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - WDYTYA - John Eugene Roos

This is my first time participating in Randy Seaver's Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.  The mission:

1) Pretend that you are one of the subjects on the Who Do You Think You Are? show on NBC TV.
2) Which of your ancestors (maximum of two) would be featured on your hour-long show? What stories would be told, and what places would you visit?
3) Tell us about it on your own blog, in comments to this blog post, or in a Note or Comment on Facebook.

My great grandfather John Eugene Roos would be the subject  of my WDYTYA episode.  Eugene was born in February 1858, allegedly, in the Alsace region of France.  We know from family photos and letters that he had siblings and other family members in the Colmar area so I would begin there hoping to locate family records.
 
Since Eugene came to America as a child and was taken to live with sisters in St. Louis, that would be my next stop.  I would like to visit some of their homes and the cemeteries where they are buried. 
 
Next as a young man, Eugene went to live in Naperville, Illinois which is there he was living for the 1880 census and where he obtained his US citizenship that same year.  As the story goes, he attended Northwestern University for a time.  Whether or not he graduated is unknown.  So that is something I would love to look into. 
 
In 1885, Eugene supposedly went back to St. Louis for a time and moved to Los Angeles around 1887.  The family story is that he owned a bakery in what is now downtown LA on some really prime real estate.  Family members have for years pointed out that had he stayed there, we would now all be rich!  Eugene definitely was a baker but I have yet to find any evidence that he actually owned a bakery.  I like to point out to family members that had Eugene stayed in LA, none of us would be around to discuss this bakery story because grandpa never would have met grandma! Anyway, this is an intriguing story that I have always wanted to get to the bottom of.
 
While living in Los Angeles, Eugene met and married Eugenie Georger.  They were married in June of 1893.  Their first 3 children were born in Los Angeles before they moved to Cheney, Washington to open a bakery in the young town.  It was here that the family spent the rest of their lives and it is this town that would be my last stop.  Since it has been many years since I've been to Cheney, I would like to see the homes where various family members lived, visit the Cheney Historical Museum where there is an exhibit regarding the Cheney Bakery and visit the graves of the various Roos family members at Riverside Memorial Park in Spokane.  Finally, I would want to meet face to face, and take her to lunch, a lady who has been helping me with my Roos and Georger families in Cheney for a number of years. Barb Curtis has been sending me little newspaper tidbits for probably 10 years now.  Maybe longer.  Genealogists are such wonderful people!
 
So that's my WDYTYA adventure and after watching the real show last night, I believe my episode or any other genealogist's episode would be every bit as exciting as Sarah Jessica Parker's.

Copyright 2010, Michelle Goodrum

Sorting Saturday - Treasures in the Cabinet

Last week I wrote about some of the "sorting tools" I used in a recent sorting session with my mother.  This week you'll see how the session went.

This particular session, we chose a couple of cabinets in the dining room to work on.  There was a lot of the usual household decorating items like candles and napkins that were quickly dispensed with - as in keep that, get rid of that, so and so might like this.  Occassionally an item would appear that would incite a story.  That's when I would reach over and quickly push the record button on my little audio recorder that I kept on the dining room table. 

There were also a couple of items that belonged to my grandparents.  Had I not been made aware of that, I probably would have chosen to give those items away without much thought.  Now that I know, the items have been labelled as to who they belonged to.  They will make nice mementos.  One is a pie server with an interesting handle.  The other is a southwestern pottery mug. 

The mug represents something rather cool in that I have my grandparents slides and travel journal from their trip to Arizona where they no doubt bought this mug.

Here's what I took away from this session:

1.  Some family stories.  Some of which were downright hilarious!
2.  A couple of cleaned out cabinets.
3.  Mementos for various family members.
4.  A better sense of what's important to my mother.
5.  A really fun afternoon.

Next week I'm sorting through some really old bills.

Copyright 2010, Michelle Goodrum

52 Weeks Challenge 9 - Blogs

I have accepted  this week's Challenge which is to read 5 new blogs every day and write about them. 

The first blog I found is a new one to the GeneaBloggers group - The Clue Wagon.  Kerry Scott has been blogging for a while on another topic and has just switched over to genealogy.  The first post I read, "Organizing Your Family Photos - Part 1" caught my eye because that is a favorite topic of mine.  She has since posted Parts 2 and 3. I have thousands of photos that are in the process of being organized (and probably will be forever) and I'm always looking for ideas.

Then I read some older posts.  I like her style.  It's light, witty and humorous and I want to keep reading more.  I encourage you to check it out!

GeneaBlogie is new to me but not new to the blogging scene. Even if the blog is on a brief haitus, there is plenty of material to read every day for quite a while.  I particularly like The Best of GeneaBlogie and noticed he has an entire section about the law as it relates to genealogy.  The copyright articles look particularly interesting since, as a new blogger, the last thing I want to do is unwittingly violate copyright or someone's privacy.

I have been reading The Family Curator for a few weeks now but decided to go back to the beginning and read all of her entries.  Since my great grandparents, grandparents, parents and now myself are the "Savers of Everything," I need to get back to organizing all of this stuff I have been schlepping over to my house for the last 10 or 15 years.  I have a real archive here and I think Denise's blog can help get me back on track.

Gen Wish List initially attracted me because of Tina's monthly Genealogy To Do List and her follow up at the end of the month.  I am a list person but putting one's To Do List out for all the world to see and then following up to say what she did/didn't accomplish - well that's gutsy!  At least for me it would be! It's also something I need to start doing!!!  Maybe I'll try it privately for a month and then work up the courage to post my monthly to do list.  Thanks Tina for a great idea!

Finally, I stepped out of my comfort zone and took a look at The Genetic Genealogist.  Genetics really does interest me but for some reason I get a bit intimidated by the thought of delving into this topic.  Anyway, my next course at the National Institute for Genealogical Studies is on genetics so it's time to get going on this topic.

In summary, this was a really good activity and I found some ideas for activities.  I also found some other great blogs that are new to me by reading some of the other blogger's entries for this week's 52 Weeks Challenge.

Copyright 2010, Michelle Goodrum

Treasure Chest Thursday - A Real Treasure?

I'm not sure this one will go in my Heirloom Book but it's a great conversation piece!  We found 2 boxes of these in the basement.  As near as I can tell, from my quick Google searching, these water cans are from the Korean War and/or Vietnam War era.  They still have water in them.

It made for a great family conversation that went something like this:

Teenager:  Is there really water in that?? 
Answer: Yes.
Teenager: Didn't they have water back then? 
Answer:  Of course they did but these were water rations for troops and emergencies.
Teenager:  Why did they drink water from a can? [This one was my personal favorite!]
Answer:  Because they didn't have plastic bottles back then! 

You get the idea.  It was a fun conversation.

One family member has turned one into a pencil holder for his desk at work.  I'm sure we will come up with some other fun uses for these!

Copyright 2010, Michelle Goodrum

Madness Monday - Landon W. Ballinger

This week's Madness Monday post is a short one.  Unfortunately, the number 4 child of William and Lucinda Ballinger, lived a short life and appears to have left behind very few clues.

The timeline is this:

• Circa 1858 Landon is born.  The place is unknown although quite possibly was it in Boulder as that is allegedly the year the family moved to Boulder.  See the February 26th post - Timeline William Harrison Ballinger.
• 26 November 1870 - Landon dies near Boulder and is buried in Columbia Cemetery at the age of 12.

Landon was the second Ballinger child to pass away in November of 1870.  More on that in a future post.

Here is where I wish there was federal census data available on this family, hope that something will eventually turn up and wonder why and how William Ballinger managed to evade the federal census taker every year that William was considered a head of household (1850 through 1900).