Sorting Saturday - NEW FTM SIG in town!

There is a new SIG (Special Interest Group) in town being sponsored by Root Cellar SGS

      "Family Tree Maker"

              

It's first meeting was October 16. I attended. I think I will attend the November meeting also.

I am completely involved with Legacy Family Tree Software but I am beginning to get a little frustrated with it. Nothing seems easy, there is always something more to learn in order to do a task. I used FTM several years ago, but then they stopped supporting it and I had to find something else to use for my family records/documents/pictures. So I picked Legacy FT. I have always liked it but as I said getting a little frustrated with it. Anyway, I attended the meeting hoping to get a little encouragement one way or the other. Lots of great discussions but none without problems.

One good thing I like about FamilyTree Maker is that you can use it whether you are a Mac user or a PC user. I am so tired hearing about there is nothing for the MAC or they don't support both platforms. So this is a very good thing. They of course are not the same program, each has its own version but they are more alike than not.

Family Tree Maker (FTM) Genealogy Software SIG  also discussed the interaction with the Family Trees on Ancestry.com. So you can register on Ancestry.com for a family tree and then import all or part of your family tree from your FTM program. You can then sync back and forth as you add more ancestors/descendants, documents, pictures. Pretty nifty.

A lot of discussion around this sync'ing, because it was not working for many of the participants. FTM Program were locking up when trying to sync. Others were going to look into that and see if they could come up with some solutions for the next meeting in November.

I am tempted to try out FTM again ..........I am considering it. I am a Legacy user now but don't know why you couldn't use more than one program  ..... but I see you can update your family tree from anywhere using FTM with TreeSync. With TreeSync you can keep your tree up-to-date no matter where you are. Access and share your family tree from any computer- even your iPhone or iPad. AND Yes, now there is an Ancestry.com APP to complete the entire circle. OMG technology can be so great and so overwhelming too.............  I do already have the Ancestry.com APP where part of my family tree exists. But it is the same partial tree that I have on Ancestry.com. Ok I have that part of it and the mobility of that family tree. I am just not using FTM yet. You don't have to use FTM to use the Ancestry.com APP. The trees on Ancestry.com are free to use and build on, however you can not add documentation from Ancestry.com unless you have a membership - which I do.

I am able to sync my Legacy software/family tree with a third party iPhone/iPad APP called Families. I do find it cumbersome to up date/sync. You can not add or make changes to the Families APP. It only sync's one way..........  even so, while traveling and researching I do have my entire family tree available to look at or through on my iPhone, which is a darn good benefit.

So I am not sure what I will do now. I think I would like to install FTM and upload part of my tree and work it that way right now. It doesn't do me much good to have only have access to part of a tree, DOES IT?



So here are the particulars for the FTM SIG if you are interested.
Come out, join in, ask your questions and see if this is right for you and then learn from each other.
Start at the beginning and grow with the group.

What: Family Tree Maker SIG
When: FIRST meeting 20 November  (3rd Thursday)
Time: 11:30am- 1:30pm
Where: Sylvan Community Center, 7521 Community Dr, Citrus Heights

Friday Funny - Happy Halloween with a Scary Night

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Be safe but have fun

Hallowe'en

Allhalloween

All Hallows' Eve

All Saints Eve

What does your family do for Halloween?

What are your family traditions?  

Have you written those stories down so they won't be lost? 

Society Sunday - FGS2015 - Connect - Explore - Refresh

      FGS 2015 Conference                    

Two Conferences - One Location

                  
"Connect.Explore. Refresh    
  + RootsTech Conference       
both 11-14 February 2015    Salt Lake City, Utah 

What does this mean to me? 

.......and I hope it means a great deal to others. 

Connect -I hope that conference goes will connect with other individuals and society leaders. Find out what is working and what is not working? How can we improve, how can we change, how can we continue on as a society?  Share the latest ideas, network, make new friends. Connect with new ways of researching, with new tools, with a new zest to do the job.

Explore- Try to explore as many topics as you can with so many classes being offered at FGS to help in your research and explore the new cool tools with RootsTech with the many many classes they will be offering. This is a big chance to explore the country's (maybe the worlds) largest Genealogy Library right here in Salt Lake City. What an opportunity. Explore your heritage in a new light.

Refresh - Relaxing with other's of a like mind, with similar goals, that speak the same language. AND with people that don't gloss over when you begin to talk about your family & its tree - you know what I am talking about! OK, now that you have taken the classes, some workshops, spent countless hours/days at the Exhibit Hall and the Library- go home with a new frame of mind, new found information and documentation, new avenues for research, new cool tools to help you in your search for your ancestors...... refreshed, renewed and re- energized.

I hope to see you there...............   

...........it is worth the time and effort. 

 I will be there, will you?

Family Friends Friday - Gathering of the Clan

What a great weekend...........  a day at my first Scottish Games and a day with family members I have not seen or talked too in many many years- it's an ABERLE gathering. It was held in a home in West Sacramento- pool, swimming, and BBQ and lot so catching up. What a great day, and I hope the first of many......... Thanks Janice for your hospitality and opening up your home to this bunch. We had a great time. Hopefully the grounds were left as clean as it was when we arrived.

It did rain/sprinkled a little through out the day but it did not stop anything..........  just enough water that we knew it was coming down but no thunder or lightning so the water fun continued along with the BBQ etc etc.

The Cousins- it all about the cousins and their children. Only one cousin missing. Nate lives in Chicago so we really didn't expect to see him but wouldn't it have been great. Hi Nate, maybe next time.

left to right:   Jake (Connie's son); Anabella with DJ and Zaiden; Connie; Jason with Ashlyn (Michael's daughter), Travis with Aden (Michael's son) and Michael.........  what a great looking group.

There are certainly other cousins from other sides of the family but this is the immediate ABERLE cousins.

..........and here is everyone together. 

back left: Ron and Connie; Jason Aberle; Deb Aberle (wife of John Aberle); Leslie and Travis Aberle; Joe (Louella's friend) and Louella Fusaro (Travis's mother); Chuck and Sandi (Gardner-Aberle) Benward

front left: Jake (Ron & Connie's son); Josh (Jason's son); Anabella (daughter) & Zaiden (son) of DJ;   Michael Aberle; John Aberle; Ashlyn and Aden Aberle (Michael's children)

Not pictured Krisi (Jason's wife) & missing is Nate from Chicago & thanks to Janice for taking the pictures from 3 dozen phones. 

Great day with a BBQ machine out of the dark ages (1999), ran out of charcoal and ran out of lighter fluid but we finally got it all together between Janice, Connie, and John........  the charcoal temps finally got up to temps (of course after we cooked most of the meat) that would actually cook food well .............  beef, chicken, vegi, steaks and hot dogs all went on.....  lots of very good side dishes, fruit and sweets and plenty of drinks of all types. My two dozen deviled eggs disappeared quickly.

Several took advantage of the pool..........  love the make up of the pool, with a very shallow end for lounge chairs. How cool is that!! AND AND the pool is filled with salt water YES salt water. 

.........and these wonderful stepping stones around the pool that are sand dollars. Absolutely love them.

  

Notes to myself to-do:  Need to get with Connie and write down all the basic information about my niece and nephews, their spouses and children. It surprises me how much I don't know. Need to get caught up with the living first and then go back to the Ancestors.......

All these cousins all come from two families.........  Walter Bridge ABERLE and brother John ABERLE. The whole thing is a little complex (volatile & emotional) so I won't go into it here, I just need to know that I know the truth.

Walter ABERLE is the father of Michael, Jason and Travis
John ABERLE is the father of Connie, Douglas John (DJ) and Nate

Walter & John's parents are:

Douglas John and Dorothy Margaret (Bridge) ABERLE both born in 1921 in San Francisco, California both deceased

ABERLE family side is sketchy at best........  this information came from my wedding book, the family tree for groom filled in by MIL Dorothy Aberle...........

Doug's parents are listed as:
Miguel (Central America) and Clara (Klein- San Jose, California) ABERLE

Miguel's parents are: Richard ABERLE (no wife listed) he is from Spain
Clara's parents are: Walter and Clara (BAHN) Klein -both from Germany
================================

Dorothy BRIDGE Aberle is a bit easier to follow back..........
 born in San Francisco, California in  1921 (- 2003)
Her parents: Ernest Herbert Bridge (B: Park City, Utah) and
           Anna Frances Mache (San Francisco, California)

Ernest's parents:
John M and Helen (CATO) BRIDGE both from England
Anna's parents:
Peter (b: Lombardy, Italy) and Meta (Klee  b: New York, New York) Mache
===============================

I can see where some of the given names are popping up on the ABERLE side ......
                             Walter, Douglas John, Clara
....and so far I see where there is English, German and Italian backgrounds - Italian research is new for me.

Wondering if any of the family have any family pictures of the grandparents and great grandparents. That would be wonderful........  

Travel Tuesday - Scottish Games in Dixon - Come join us at the CEILIDH!!

The Scottish Games gave me an opportunity to Explore my Scottish side on my dad's side...... all at the Dixon Scottish Games yesterday. I have never attended before although each year I hear about them and for whatever reason could not make it. So this year all the stars were in alignment, a beautiful day and Chuck came with me...........  how much better does it get!! (well, add men in kilts) (Yes there are plenty of women participating too)

The Games feature a slice of Scottish life for guests to learn about, and sample.  Vendors selling Scottish foods, drink, and goods, will be on hand.  Athletes will compete in traditional Scottish sporting events, including Shinty and Rugby.  Dancers, pipers, and pipe bands will play and perform to traditional Scottish tunes.  And the clans will be present to help you find your inner Scot.

For more information about the Games & the Association - Dixon Scottish Cultural Association

I was thrilled because there was an interactive genealogical lecture presented by Lauren Boyd McLachlan.  

  

Lauren is President of the House of Boyd, President of the Scottish Information Society, Past President of the Marin County Genealogical Society, Co– Administrator of the Scottish DNA Project and Genealogist Emeritus for Clan Stewart Society in America.  

Lauren’s lectures  on Scottish Genealogy have been well received at the Sacramento Valley Caledonian Club’s Scottish Games and Gatherings as well as other venues for several years.  She has had a life long interest in family history and has been doing genealogy since the 1980s. She even gave us the password so that we could download her handout from the lecture. 

So You Think You Are Scottish but you need a SECRET password to download the information.

Scottish Heavy Athletics a little more explanation of each of the games...........

Wow, grown healthy men in kilts, what else could I ask for!! It sure kept my attention.......  and of course the question that is always asked. Anything under those kilts? Don't know but...............

Weight Over the Bar - Hammer Throw- now 16-22 lbs iron balls 

Throwing metal of great weights is not as easy as it looks. They brought the piece over to the sidelines so we could examine it and hold it............ HEAVY!!!! 

Caber Toss - 

Huge logs about 19 feet long and weighing about 120 lbs. must be thrown end to end........ and it is not an easy thing to do either. Very few were able to do it. 

So much harder to do ..........  he missed to put the sack over the top bar.... but listen to the music!!

I don't know what this game is called "SACK SLINGING?" I am sure that he was exhausted since this was the end of the day and each participant had quite a number of tries........ the bar is started above the colored marks and is raised 3 feet after each participants makes it over the bar or exhaust his 3 tries .....  then the remaining continue with 3 feet higher and then another 3 feet  etc. It starts with 23 feet and ends at 32 or maybe it was 35 feet............

Entertainment Through Out the Day - good music 

Surname Saturday: TROWBRIDGE and BRISTOL

TROWBRIDGE AND BRISTOLS (on my mother side) 

I got curious and went and found the "TROWBRIDGE" Genealogy Book that I downloaded at the Salt Lake City Library. There sure is a lot of history along with the genealogy aspect too.

5th Great Grandparents:
Benjamin BRISTOL (1720 New Haven , CT-1790 Washington, NY)  married (1744 Waterbury Connecticut) Thankful TROWBRIDGE (1729 New Haven, CT-)

So you can see where the TROWBRIDGE family entered the picture with my BRISTOL family. From all I have read, the Trowbridge family appears to be a very prominent, and wealthy family in England as well as in Massachusetts and into Connecticut.

The Trowbridge Genealogy Book, The History of the Trowbridge Family in America by Francis Bacon Trowbridge.  It is compilation. (1110 pages) The physical book was originally owned by the Seattle Genealogy Society and then they sold or gave it to the Salt Lake City Library who in turn digitized it. YEA!!!

                      ================================================
From the Preface of the Book.........  a couple of paragraphs to get things into context........

About the year 1850 the first attempt was made to collect and arrange in genealogical order the descendants of Thomas Trowbridge, the first of his name in this country, who emigrated from Exeter, Devonshire, England, to Dorchester, Mass., as early as 1637, and soon after went with the early settlers to the
colony of New Haven. Those who were most interested in this undertaking were Thomas R. Trowbridge of New Haven, Philo M. Trowbridge of Woodbury, Conn., and Otis Trowbridge of Newton. Mass. As the result of their efforts, most of the descendants in the male line of Thomas, the second son of the settler, were collected by Rev. William S. Porter, who was employed for that purpose by Mr. Thomas R. Trowbridge; many of the descendants of William Trowbridge, the third son, were collected by Deacon Philo M. Trowbridge; and of the descendants of James Trowbridge, the youngest son, the records of several
hundred were collected and printed in a pamphlet in 1854 by Deacon Otis Trowbridge. John, the oldest son of the settler, did not come with his father to this country and died unmarried in early manhood in Taunton, England. The subject then rested until the summer of 1869, when Mr. Thomas E. Trowbridge employed Rev. Frederick W. Chapman to take the materials collected and gather such other records as might be found and prepare a book for publication. As a result of his work the "Trowbridge Family" was published in 1872.

The compilation of the present book was begun early in 1898. The genealogical standard has advanced materially since the "Trowbridge Family" was published, and the compiler of the present book decided that he would obtain the best results if he should disregard all printed records of the Trowbridges and
proceed as if no history of the family had ever been published. He has followed this plan throughout the compilation of this book, and all statements made are based on public records, examined by himself in nearly every case, or on correspondence with members of the family.
                      =================================================

Following the Trowbridge family back from Thankful Trowbridge.............

Thankful's Parents:
6th Great Grandparents
William Trowbridge (1700New Haven, CT-1793) and Mehitable Blakslee (1702 New Haven, CT- )

William's Parents:
7th Great Grandparents
Thomas Trowbridge(?) and Abigail Beardsley (1664 Stratford, CT) -1770 (West Haven, CT)

Thomas's Parents:
8th Great Grandparents
William Trowbridge (1633- ) and Elizabeth Lamberton

William's Parents:
9th Great Grandparents
Thomas Trowbridge (1600 Taunton, Somerset, England) -1672 Taunton, Somerset, England) and
        Elizabeth Marshall (1602 Exeter, England - )

       Thomas: b Taunton Somersetshire, Eng 1610, settled Dorchester Mass, 1636, removed New Haven Con 1639, returned to Eng 1641and died in Taunton Somersetshire England in 1672  (BIRTH DATE is off by 10 years........  I am fairly certain that this is the same person but not sure which date is correct.
NOTE: 1610 birth date came from DIRECTORY of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families 1620-1700 HOMLES. The 1600 birthdate came from the Trowbridge Genealogy Book

But there is the connection to Massachusetts from England, continuing to Connecticut and back to England.

Wow I can hardly believe I can go back that far but I have!! .......and I can go back a couple more generations to my 10th & 11th Great Grandparents on the Trowbridge family but right now I have my hands completely full and fumbling to keep it together..........

Looking at the dates I think my earliest BRISTOL, Henry (7th Great Grandfather) was born around 1625 in England and he was in CT around the same time as the early Trowbridges. I always wonder if the families knew each other back in early 1600's in England........ (or is that like saying to an Englishman, I have a cousin in the Lake District, do you know her? More than likely NO is the answer. Just like someone saying to me, Oh your from California, do you know Joe Blue in the LA area?

I don't find any indication that one knew the other before American but I always wonder anyway.

Motivation Monday - NEHGS comes West for the Day

I was very fortunate to attend the "New England Historic Genealogical Society"  NEHGS Comes West: Navigating New England and New York Resources" It was held at the famous Hotel Shattuck Plaza in their Crystal Ballroom.........

,...... California Genealogical Society and Library partnered with NEHGS to put on this event.

I renewed my CGS membership and received a free copy of  "A Most Dreadful Earthquake, a first hand account by Dorothy Fowler ". I also renewed my NEHGS membership.

The Crystal Ballroom was a large room, very elegant with the old world look & feel, comfortable chairs, fake windows with mirror inserts (gave the room a much roomier space than it was)  ......  unfortunately the room was hard to cool down (it was warmer than usual in Berkeley)  ..........  coffee, tea and water were available all day and in the afternoon SURPRISE cookies appeared.






The four sessions that Chris Child

and Alice Kane

both from NEHGS presented ..............

Migrations Into and Out of New England, 1620-1900, Chris Child

Boston in a Whirlwind: A Primer Tour of 10 Repositories, Alice Kane

NEHGS Sources for New York Research, Chris Child

I Had Him in My Sights, and POOF! Strategies for Relocating the Disappearing Ancestor, Alice Kane

....... lots of good information and resources for me to follow-up with and investigate further. No, New York is not one of the New England states but it is a border state, it has a big impact on New England,  and many migrated there from one of the other New England states so they are doing a concentration on New York too.(and I am so glad) Since I have New York ancestors I was thrilled and very interested in the third session. I do have ancestors from Connecticut (and Massachusetts -I think). I think that part of the Connecticut ancestors originally came down from the Massachusetts Bay area, so I am wondering is that where they entered the United States.  You can see I am really looking forward to checking out their catalog to see what they do have and how they can further my research.

For some reason I have a hard time remembering which states make up the New England area..... I had to look it up again and the 6 states New England refers too are ........  Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut.

As far as I know right now I have one line (TROWBRIDGE) that I believe came down from the New England area - Massachusetts to New Haven Connecticut. I believe that they enter the US through Boston but need to research and find some documentation.

My fifth (5) great grandfather Benjamin BRISTOL (1721 New Haven CT-1790 Washington NY) married my 5th great grandmother Thankful TROWBRIDGE (1729 New Haven CT- ?unknown). They married 1744 in Waterbury CT before coming to New York.  I believe the TROWBRIDGE line goes back through Massachusetts to England. AND the other way from New Haven, to New York - Washington, Argyle, Summerhill, and eventually to Cortland all in New York. My research for the BRISTOL line begins in New Haven, Connecticut starting around 1625 ........  maybe there is a connection in Massachusetts. I will be looking there next, along with the TROWBRIDGE line.  I did download a TROWBRIDGE book through the Salt Lake City Library so that may have some basic information I am looking for.

Any BRISTOL'S and TROWBRIDGE'S out there?

And I am off.....................