Ramblings about genealogy
Getting back into the swing of things, it’s time for Randy’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun! This week my assignment is to make a surname Christmas tree.
I don’t have the patience to type surnames and try to form them into a tree. I’m going to cheat and use Tagxedo. I found a shape like a Christmas tree and used it for this. Then, I added in first 5 generations of surnames from my tree.
This is my Surname Christmas Tree…
It’s been awhile since I’ve put finger to keyboard for a new blog post. Where the heck have I been? Well, let me tell you…
I put out a family newsletter at the end of the year. This isn’t your typical “what we did last summer” kind of thing. It’s a family history newsletter for my Portuguese side of the tree. The first section is dedicated to current news and family happenings from cousins in my Pacheco-de Braga tree. The second section is family history, recaps of research I’ve done, and sharing of family stories. The whole newsletter is 4 pages long. I’ve been writing it for 14 years.
It takes considerable time for me to put it together. I usually keep some notes throughout the year (but I’m not that organized). Then, around September, I do some searches in the Social Security Death Index to see who has passed on. I do some Google searches, check a couple newspapers near where most of the family members live, etc. Then, I send out emails to about 50 or so cousins to ask them for any news they might have. This part is the most difficult. It’s hard to convince people they have something worthwhile to share. I think sometimes they think they must really achieve something to be included. In reality, it’s just the regular comings and goings of daily life (vacations, new jobs, retirements, classes taken, new homes, children born, etc.)
I finished my part in the newsletter the first week of December. Proofed, corrected, rewrote, and then proofed again. Then, I let it sit a bit. There is always someone who pops up just as I am about to print the darn thing with info on a marriage or death.
This year I surpassed myself. Meaning, I screwed up and wrote way too many stories! LOL I keep the newsletter in MS Works in two files so that the header only appears on page one. If I put all four pages together, it screws up the spacing. Well, I forgot the second file was supposed to be 3 pages, not 4. So, I kept writing. I wasted a lot of time putting together that extra material. The good thing is I’m already started on the 2014 newsletter! :D I’ve got almost 2 pages ready to go.
You might wonder why I go through all this effort. Several years ago, it dawned on me that many people were sharing their family stories with me, but I didn’t have a way to reciprocate. I began to feel burdened with all the stories and information I was collecting. Family history really doesn’t mean much if you don’t share. This is my way of making sure as many people as possible know our shared history and that it stays alive.
I sent out the newsletter Wednesday. Now I can focus on Christmas and then getting back to my other writing. I really need to get caught up on the Book of Me post. I’m behind by 4, I think.
Hope your holidays are merry!
Randy’s latest Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge is up. Tonight’s challenge is to go to my genealogy database. Scroll down to the letter B, and select the last person in my list. Then, tell what I know about this person.
1. The last person in my letter B’s is Manuel Buttelo.
2. I see that I only have vague information about Manuel. He was born ca 1900. He married Jorgina Pacheco ca 1931. He died in 1976 and was buried at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Oakland, CA. Manuel and Jorgina had 4 children.
3. I decided that ol’ Manuel needed some more data, so I searched for the family in the 1940 census (the first that he and Jorgina would be together.) Surprisingly, he is listed as John Buttelo–and this is not the first time he was noted as John. His name was given as John in an obituary for one of their children.
From the 1940 census I learned that he was 17 (so my ca 1900 needs to be moved over a bit) in California. The family was living in Alameda, CA in 1935, but moved to 93rd Avenue in Oakland by the time the census was taken. He had 7 years of schooling. His occupation was pipe fitter for the shipyards.
I tried to research Manuel/John further but couldn’t get beyond 1930. I did a search for Buttelo as soundex (in case it was originally Botelho or some other form) but I came up with no John or Manuel. Very curious.
I decided to move over to familysearch.org because I hate dead ends. Using vague information I found Manuel Buttelo in the California Death Index. He was born in 1903 but it says “Other Country” for his birth place not California. I did a search on John Buttelo and found the exact same entry, so he went by John and Manuel.
I did a little searching in the Daily Review and the Oakland Tribune to see if I could find an obituary. No luck. Maybe I’ll try again later when my brain is fresh.
I ended with a city directory search. I used ancestry.com’s search form and found two entries. If I went through each year manually, I’d probably find more.
I found John and Jean Buttelo in 1935 living on Redding Street. John was an auto mechanic. In 1943, they were on 93rd Avenue (same as in the 1940 Census) and he worked for the shipyards. In both years, they are the only people with the Buttelo surname. This leads me to believe that the surname was Botelho or some other variation originally.
So, beyond the 1940 Census, two city directory entries, and the California Death index, I wasn’t able to take Manuel Buttelo back any farther. And, I collected another question: Was he born in California or another country?
4. Manuel was the husband of Jorgina Pacheco (aka Georgina Algrava) who was my grandfather’s first cousin.
So, once again I don’t get anything done that I was supposed to because I was researching ;) I did pick up a little information but not a lot.
