Category: Admin
Posts about Mightier Acorns, but not necessarily about ancestors or research.
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And embarking on the Tartan Trail A somewhat short post today, but it covers a lot of ground. I have known for some time now that James Livingston (1754-1829) was a Quaker, and last time I talked about this family, I gave you a sample of the kinds of records I was able to assemble…
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Are we noticing the history we are living? The way we were taught history in school did not prepare me for this moment. We studied the usual significant milestones in (mostly) American history, learning the dates of events and some of the connective tissue of cause and effect. However, few of my classmates retained any…
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Using lessons learned from a different family In January I talked about finding some of my wife’s ancestors in the records of the Society of Friends (also called “Quakers”) in Indiana. As it happens, the skills I picked up as I learned about the Dyer family may help me learn more about my Scottish immigrant…
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Tips and Tricks for stirring up clues Even if you’re new to genealogy, you have probably already run across somebody posting a warning not to trust information from various common sources: And yet, people who are just starting on their family history journey are also bombarded with advice to look for clues in all of…
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I messed it up – did anyone notice? I don’t know how I did it, but at some point, I shifted from scheduling my Mightier Acorns posts on Wednesday and Friday mornings. My music newsletter was posting Tuesday and Thursday nights at midnight, and I think I mentally shifted both schedules back during a transition…
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Identifying “political correctness” as a bias in our research As I have conducted my family history research over the years, I have had to go back more than once and reconsider my biases. Like anyone else, I tend to think of my point of view as “neutral”—but it rarely is. My point of view was…
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There’s a whole mess of kin I tell my fellow researchers that I use this Substack newsletter as a family history tool, but what does that mean? Spotting the Gaps The main function of the newsletter is to share stories about my research. I don’t use Substack to search records or manage the tree, but…
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Who are we really doing this for? By this point in any New Year, you may have had your fill of annual retrospectives, best-of lists, motivational etudes, and resolutions. (If you haven’t, here are some good resources at Projectkin and Mission:Genealogy to help launch your New Year.) But if you’re like me, feeling leery of…
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They only point the way… the rest is up to us If you were a fly on the wall… or if I set up a Twitch stream… the scene that would play out in front of you might disrupt your image of the studious researcher. I know I like to think of myself as a…
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More of Aunt Vicki’s legacy We lost my Aunt Vicki this summer. But before she left, Vicki spent her time on countless thoughtful projects that will continue to remind us what was most important to her. Her son, Jeff, was the first of my generation of cousins, and for Christmas of 2021, Vicki assembled 50…
Mightier Acorns 