Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Genealogy of Vladimir Putin--or lack thereof!

Thanks again to Dick Eastman, my favorite blogger, I found another interesting article to share with you. The article is about Russian President Vladimir Putin and his genealogy. What's interesting is the overall lack of information about Putin's parents and ancestors.


This article is especially appealing to yours truly, since my other profession is that of a college professor teaching political science and I happen to like a good mystery (or perhaps a conspiracy theory in this case).


So, here's the link, and enjoy the intrigue.
http://english.pravda.ru/business/finance/05-11-2002/1528-putin-0/

Friday, March 14, 2014

Ancestors of the Week--a 1954 Anniversary Photo




This weeks' ancestors are seven of the nine Wombacher siblings. Missing are George and Henry, who predeceased this 1954 photo. In this photo are (left to right) Elmer, Robert, Clarence (Dutch!), Marie, Katherine, Margaret, and Lester. Here's the hitch--I don't remember what anniversary they were celebrating! If anyone can figure it out, let me know. :)

UPDATE! It was Katherine's 25th wedding anniversary with her husband Tom Bell. Thanks to Cousin Mary in Philadelphia for clueing me in. 




Saturday, March 8, 2014

Ancestors of the Week--Where's Harold??


Do you remember the children's game, "Where's Waldo"? Well, that is today's challenge. In this 1960 photo is my grandfather Harold Gates, and your job is to figure out which one of these fellows he is. The others in the photo are his co-workers at a company called Bendix, once located in Hollywood, one of the many neighborhoods that make up the greater Los Angeles area. They were all machinists, making various types of tools. Thanks to California State University Northridge for establishing the San Fernando History Digital Library project (http://digital-library.csun.edu/SFV/index.html), where I found this photo.


I'll give you a little hint: below is a photo of my grandparents--Harold and Eleanor--so, see if you can find him in the above photo. And, yes, I do see him in the above photo!








Wednesday, March 5, 2014

NGS Announces Live Streaming at NGS 2014 Conference


NGS announces the live streaming of ten lectures from the NGS 2014 Family History Conference, which will be held 710 May 2014, in Richmond, Virginia.  The upcoming conference will be the first time NGS has provided a portion of the conference to NGS members and others across the United States and overseas who are unable to attend the conference in person.

 

Details of the live streaming program can be found at on the NGS Conference website at http://conference.ngsgenealogy.org/attend/live-streaming-at-ngs2014gen/.  NGS has selected some of the most popular topics and nationally known speakers for the two featured tracks. Registrants for live streaming can select either track or the bundled package that includes both tracks.

·         Track One: Records and Research Techniques can be viewed on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014. Join the conference from home and learn about best practices and research sources.

·         Track Two: Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns can be viewed on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014. Learn about Virginia’s records and her people who moved south and west to new lands pushing the frontier ever forward.

 

Registration for live streaming will close at midnight 30 April 2014. All registrants will receive an electronic version of the NGS 2014 Family History Conference Syllabus. Registration is discounted for NGS Members.  

 

Track
Selection
Included
Formats
Member
Price
Non-Member
Price
Track Descriptions
Track One or
Track Two
Live Streaming
and three months
access to  Track One or Two
 
 
$65.00
 
 
$80.00
Records and Research Techniques. Five lectures on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014, or
Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns. Five lectures on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014.
Bundled Package
Track One and Track Two
Live Streaming
and three months
access to both Tracks
$115.00
$145.00
Records and Research Techniques. Five lectures on Thursday afternoon, 8 May 2014, and Friday morning, 9 May 2014, and Virginia Resources and Migration Patterns. Five lectures on Friday afternoon, 9 May 2014, and Saturday morning, 10 May 2014.

 

Once registered, you can watch the event live, or if you have other commitments on those dates, you can view the sessions as many times as you want for ninety days following the conference (through 10 August 2014). NGS has selected PlayBackNow to broadcast the live sessions and to provide the recorded sessions for later viewing. Instructions for viewing the live streaming will be sent to registrants before 6 May 2014.

 

For those fortunate enough to be able to attend the conference in person and chose from ten tracks and more than 175 lectures over four days, a reminder that the discounted Early Bird registration will close on 24 March 2014. Conference attendees may also benefit from NGS live streaming by registering to the view either track or the bundled package, which they will be able to view after they return home. By selecting different lecture presentations to hear live at the conference, they can expand their overall conference experience.

 



Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Legacy Family Tree Webinars--this week!

For anyone who's interested, Legacy Family Tree is offering two webinars this week. No, you do not need to have nor use Legacy software to participate.


Register for 2 genealogy webinars this week: Using Google Earth for Genealogy (Lisa Louise Cooke) and Sources and Citations (Geoff Rasmussen)
Join us this Wednesday AND Friday for two exciting genealogy webinars presented by Lisa Louise Cooke and Geoff Rasmussen. On Wednesday, Lisa will present "Using Google Earth for Genealogy" and on Friday Geoff will present "Sources and Citations Made Simple, Standard, and Powerful."
Click here for more details:
http://blog.geneawebinars.com/2014/03/register-for-2-genealogy-webinars-this.html


Enjoy!

Sunday, March 2, 2014

Ancestors of the Week


Continuing the theme of Irish and German ancestors--which happen to be most of my ancestors--here's a 1930 photo of my maternal grandparents, Clarence and Helen (Murphy) Wombacher.  Clarence preferred to be called Dutch, as he despised the name Clarence. Dutch (1900-1968) was 100% German in his background, and Helen (1903-1984) was 100% Irish in her background.

This 1930 photo was taken the year they married. They had a great story--he born and raised in Duluth, Minnesota, and she in Logansport, Indiana.  They moved to Los Angeles in the late 1920's and met at a company picnic in Los Angeles area. Love at first sight, apparently.  Raised five children with a much-needed sense of humor--especially since these children were humorous in their own right.