Before heading to GRIP (Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh), I organized an informal outing to nearby North Park. I’d went last year with some friends and we had walked around the lake. This year, I was hoping to go kayaking. The day started out quite chilly, but thankfully the wind died down and the sun peeked out and Zola and I had a wonderful time on the lake. Five other GRIP attendees also headed to the park. We all enjoyed some much needed outdoor time… a little nature and a little exercise. Last year, I’d fallen in love with the...
This past week, I had an amazing week at GRIP: Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh! I took “Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy” which was primarily taught by Michael Ramage, J.D., CG; Kelvin Meyers; and Catherine B. W. Desmarais. Besides these three, Bethany Waterbury also taught two lectures. All four instructors were wonderful and I am already applying things I learned during the course. GRIP offers three evening lectures each week to the public. This photo is from Thursday night’s lecture by F. Warren Bittner, CG, titled “Understanding Illegitimacy: The Bittner Bastards of Bavaria.” (Bittner is still being introduced at this point.)...
We just finished our first day of classes at GRIP… (& I’m thankful for air-conditioning that works this year!) An “enthusiastic” quote for the “enthusiastic” genealogist One of my favorite parts of GRIP is being with my genealogy friends – both old and new. I have been pleasantly surprised to have four different ladies come up and tell me they have been reading and enjoying my blog. You don’t know how much this means to me, so thank you! One of these ladies told me she’d thought of me when she saw the above quote and handed it to me....
Yesterday, I drove to Clinton County, Pennsylvania with three of my dad’s first cousins. One of them, Tom, I had met last year. But, his two sisters, Sally and Ellen, I had just met. We spent part of the day at the Ross Library in Lock Haven, and also ‘toured’ three cemeteries looking for our ancestors headstones. Robert & Frances (Quigley) Stewart’s headstones at Dunnstown Cemetery in Clinton Co, PA While I’d seen a photo of the headstone for my 4th great grandparents, Robert and Frances (Quigley) Stewart, I was surprised at the size of it! Laid to rest in...
Next week I’ll be attending GRIP (Genealogical Research Institute in Pittsburgh) for the third year in a row. This year I’m taking “Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy for the 21st Century.” Room at GRIP (La Roche College in Pittsburgh) Unfortunately, the past two years when I’ve checked in to my room the air conditioning was broken. Both times, they moved me, but the first year I didn’t get moved until the second day. So, I’m hoping for a cold room on the first try this year! North Park – minutes away from GRIP I’m also organizing one or two trips to...
Summer is basically over as school is back in session this week. I had a wonderful summer with lots of travel, but it’s nice to be home now and getting back to a more regular schedule. Unfortunately, with all of the craziness of summer, I haven’t been blogging much! So, I hope to rectify that and blog regularly. One of my trips this summer was to Pennsylvania where I spent a week at GRIP: the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. In this post, I’ll share about my dorm room experience. In later posts, I’ll share about other aspects of my...
On Saturday, I returned from my second summer at the week-long genealogy institute in Pittsburgh known as GRIP: Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh. This year, I enjoyed a course taught by Michael D. Lacopo, DVM and Sharon Cook MacInnes, PhD titled Pennsylvania: Research in the Keystone State. While trying to decide which course to take, I recognized Dr. Lacopo’s name from his blog, Hoosier Daddy? I wondered how this Indiana native could be an expert on Pennsylvania research. I was pleasantly surprised! Michael, a former veterinarian, now works full time as a genealogy researcher, writer, blogger, and lecturer. He has graciously allowed...
This is a series of posts about the startling discoveries we made at GRIP (July 2014) in the Intermediate Genealogy class. Our head instructor, Paula Stuart-Warren, chose a random Pittsburgh will for us to research and see what we could uncover about the family. She had no idea of the amazing stories we would find.. Here’s another newspaper clipping about the ‘notorious Brawdy family’ from the Penn State University Libraries online collection. “Pittsburgh Daily Gazette and Advertiser,” March 2, 1868. Another Brawdy [?ease] Case – A Man Robbed of $200 and Severely Beaten We have but little sympathy for the...
This is a series of posts about the startling discoveries we made at GRIP (July 2014) in the Intermediate Genealogy class. Our head instructor, Paula Stuart-Warren, chose a random Pittsburgh will for us to research and see what we could uncover about the family. She had no idea of the amazing stories we would find… The larceny articles I shared yesterday from 1868 were about Martha’s brother, Tom. It mentions that the mother (Barbara) is currently in jail for “keeping a bawdy house” or brothel. So, let’s head back to Penn State’s “Pennsylvania Civil War Newspapers” and Elephind and search the Pittsburgh Daily Gazette and...
This is a series of posts about the startling discoveries we made at GRIP (July 2014) in the Intermediate Genealogy class. Our head instructor, Paula Stuart-Warren, chose a random Pittsburgh will for us to research and see what we could uncover about the family. She had no idea of the amazing stories we would find… I already posted about how we tracked down the original will on FamilySearch. With quite a bit of effort, we eventually found the census records for 1850 (Baldwin Twp – surname transcribed as “Brandy” on Ancestry), 1860 (Pittsburgh, Ward 5 – father transcribed as “W Brandy” on Ancestry – all family...
