I first learned of genealogy in my senior year of high school.  Back then, it was a paper-based system, and that took all the fun out of the idea for me.  Then, when I had small children, my Mom, Donna Stillwell, did family history books for each side of the family.  Interesting stuff! Personal computers and genealogy software were now available, so my interest in family history research took off.

If you’re wanting to do genealogy with paper and pencil, I don’t have much to offer. Good luck!

The rest of this post is for those of you who are ready to “get with the program.” Basic requirements are a fairly current computer (I prefer laptop for research portability), and reliable internet access. A flatbed scanner and a printer are somewhere between “really nice” and “indispensable.”

You’ve heard a lot about online services like Ancestry.com, MyHeritage.com and other such sites.  These are not resident on your computer, but on the web.  I like using them for gathering information, but my actual database is solidly built on my computer.

There are several good software programs for genealogy, such as My Family Tree, Family Tree Maker and Legacy.  I use Legacy, love it, and know nothing about the other programs, so don’t ask!

The beauty of using the software-based programs on your computer is that they usually allow you to print out reports.

Legacy’s reports options are amazing! It will take the data you’ve entered and turn it inside out and upside down and spit out the most fabulous reports.  Ancestors! Descendants! Pie charts! Chronologies! Relationship Reports!  Ancestry.com doesn’t allow you to print reports. My Legacy program on my computer is where my family tree is planted and thriving. And I love creating PDF reports to share with family.

You can get quite a bit done with your computer, scanner, printer and your Legacy-based family tree. Later on, when you’ve harvested all the data you can from the source material at hand, you can start searching the Internet for information.

The nice thing is that Legacy has a free version you can download immediately.  Play around with it, but don’t get too far entering information until I chat with you about Sources in my next blog.

Genealogy is a hobby that takes an investment of time and effort.  Would you like your investment to be paid out into the lives of future generations who will treasure it? Or might your efforts be callously tossed in the trash by people who don’t know or don’t care? Even if you have few or no relatives to receive your work of love, historical societies are often thrilled to acquire well-done family histories.

Paper and pencil versions of family trees are worthy of appreciation, certainly. Files of documentation might be perused if it’s easy to figure out who is who. Drawers and drawers of paper records are unlikely to be maintained.
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Here’s what I call “Full Digital.”

1. You build your family tree on your computer, using a quality genealogy software program.
2. You set up folders on your hard drive for photos, documents, and reports.
3. You scan (or photograph) all hard-copy documents.
4. You use my file naming system so that you can quickly retrieve whatever item you’re seeking.
5. You fill the folders on your hard drive with images of the source material.
6. You don’t save or file hard-copy backups except for actual documents like wedding licenses that are more artifact than mere document.
7. You learn how to download source material from the Internet and label it according to the system before storing it on your hard drive.
8. You learn how to get photos moved from your camera to your hard drive. 
9. You develop and maintain a backup system and schedule so that you don’t lose all your work to fire, theft or computer gremlins.

We’re so blessed to be alive in the age of technology.  I pity predecessors who were stuck with paper and pencil. Let’s give future generations something special in a way they can easily use and enjoy it.

​North Dakota filmmaker Dan Bielinski will this summer begin shooting “End of the Rope,” a movie about North Dakota’s last and most notorious lynching.

​Charles Bannon was the hired man for the Albert and Lulia Haven family of Schafer, a small town just east of Watford City. According to the book “End of the Rope” by Dennis Edward Johnson, Bannon got in a verbal tussle with one of the teenage Haven boys during morning chores. Bannon pulled a gun on the teen and it went off, killing the 18-year-old.  Before long, the whole family of six was dead.

Bannon hid the bodies and told visitors to the farm that the Havens had moved to Oregon, leasing the farm to him.  Neighbors and the authorities were suspicious, and Bannon was eventually charged with murdering the Haven family.  Bannon never saw a day in court because a mob formed, pulled him from jail and hung him from a bridge.

This piece of North Dakota history is important to the Stillwell family not only because my grandparents and great-grandparents lived in Schafer and then Watford City.

My dad, LaMoine “Larry” Stillwell, his siblings and his parents, Orrin Wesley and Mabel Stillwell, may have been the last people to see the ill-fated Haven family alive!

Whenever we passed through Shafer, Dad would like to stop and show us the Shafer Jail. He talked about the mob that lynched the killer by hanging him from a bridge. For some reason, it was only when I was an adult that he told me the Haven family had come over for Sunday dinner on Feb. 9, 1930. He also told me about some extended family members he believed participated in the lynching. I think these last two point were hush-hush, perhaps because the Stillwell family didn’t want to come under suspicion for being the last to see the Havens alive.

A census record taken just two months later shows the ages of the Stillwell family.  Orrin Wesley 48; Mable 43; Beatrice 22; Carl 21; Roland 15; Lester 12; LaMoine 2.

The ages of the Haven family were Albert, 50; Lulia, 39; Daniel, 18; Leland, 14; Charles, 2; and Mary, 2 months.
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Given the ages, I imagine Beatrice was helping prepare company dinner and keeping an eye on my dad, the toddler. Carl, Roland, and Lester would have been age-compatible chums for Daniel and Leland. I can just imagine my Dad and little Charlie playing with toys on the parlor floor as the adults conversed and fawned over two-month-old Mary. All oblivious to what daybreak tomorrow would bring.

Once you’ve thought through your goals for family history research, you’re ready to make a decision. There are two types of family history researchers, and a lot of gray area in between.

The Purist has a pristine (but perhaps smaller) family tree because no data is incorporated unless it’s proven beyond a doubt, preferably with documentation.  The Pragmatist isn’t afraid to put unproven, undocumented information into the family tree because, well, if you don’t, you won’t get far very fast. And frankly, much of the source material is unproven and undocumented.

Most family history researchers land on a spectrum somewhere between The Purist and The Pragmatist. I’m nowhere near The Purist, because when I encounter new data, if there are several points of agreement with my existing database, I joyfully copy the new material into my family tree.  Are there errors in that new material?  Possibly.  Likely.  The dirty little secret of genealogy is that there are always some errors and omissions.

My database, built over 20 years, is approaching 9,000 individuals. Some of them aren’t even in my family tree, but “floating” in the periphery as individuals who “might” be related.  The majority of my source material has been family trees made by others who have people in common with mine. This is not really research but copying parts of other people’s trees.  No documentation.

Yet the efficacy of my method has been vindicated when I go to Ancestry.com and connect with a person who shares small amounts of DNA with me. The ancestor we have in common is way back in the 1600s in colonial America! If my tree were inaccurate at any point back to that colonial kin, the other descendant would not be a DNA match.  I share Early American relatives with over a dozen previously unknown individuals, and we have the DNA evidence to prove it.
If you’re going to apply for membership in a lineage society, by all means, learn the qualifications and do the documentation.  If not, relax and get the documentation when you can, but don’t be afraid to build your tree without documentation. 

​ There’s always the delete button.

Well, as a wordsmith, I am rather tickled with that headline.  I can take it a step further as I list some common reasons for doing family history.

Notice I said “family history” and not “genealogy?”  That’s because there’s actually specific standards and training required to become a certified genealogist.  I am not a genealogist.  I don’t even like to say I do “genealogy,” but that’s generally the label used for the family history research I love to do. If you see me use the word genealogy, it is in this informal sense.

I believe it’s important to decide early on what your reasons are for doing family history research and documentation.  What you want to achieve will inform how you should proceed.
 
G is for Generational Sharing.

This is one of my goals. I have uncovered family connections to a number of famous or interesting people, but it’s the everyday lives of ancestors that is worthy of preservation. My children and extended family are only marginally interested now, but that might change.  As a result of this goal, I need to keep in mind how I will keep my research accessible, especially as technology changes.

O is for Organization.

A clipping here, a family Bible there, before you know it, you have boxes of memorabilia and documentation that needs serious organization.  And organization stamps out confusion, such as which “Jim Johnson” are we referring to, father or son? Your photo collection, too, can benefit from your family history efforts. I’ll have a whole blog post later on my numbering/naming system that lets me find documents and photos of individuals in just a few minutes.
 
A is for Addiction (um, Hobby)

Depending on how much free time you have on your hands, family history research can occupy many otherwise idle hours.  The nice thing is that the fruit of your labor can be enjoyed for decades and by many people.  At the very least, you’ll take research trips decades and centuries back in time, and it will keep you out of the stores.
 
L is for Lineage Society Membership

I’m not personally interested in seeking membership in the Mayflower Society or the Daughters of the American Revolution, but anyone who has such a goal should find the membership requirements up front. Proper documentation is key to gaining membership, so to avoid re-doing your research, learn how to collect and store documentation from the very start. 

So, what are your goals?  Post a reply to this blog and let’s have a group conversation.

My mom is sometimes amazed at how I can find information while doing genealogy. She thinks I could have been a private investigator.  Here’s how I tracked down one mystery.  I began writing before the mystery was solved, so I could remember the process.
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We have a photo of  a man with two small girls on a horse.  I vaguely remember being told it was “Grandpa and cousins Charlotte and Virginia.”  I don’t have a Charlotte or Virginia in this neck of my database.

I compared the man in the photo to others in our collection, and confirmed that this was my great grandfather Charles Wesley Stillwell.

I do have a photo of Dad (Larry Stillwell) with a woman named Charlotte, also an alleged cousin, taken while he was with Mom at an all-school reunion in Watford City. Was told her last name was Wolby.

I searched Ancestry and Google for Charlotte Wolby.  No luck.

I searched Google for Charlotte Walby and hit paydirt.  Found her obituary with her living in Pueblo, Colorado.  Her obituary photo is similar to the photo with Dad at the reunion. The obituary shows her as living a long time in Pueblo, Colorado.  Says she was born March 25, 1926 in Watford City, N.D.  No mention of her parents. Drats!

I found another obituary for Virginia Gail Hovet, born Nov. 26, 1928, with a sister Charlotte Walby, which is why the obit popped up in the search.  I checked the family photo of great grandpa Charles and the notation in the file name listed “Virginia” and “Charlotte.” (I put all identifying information into the image’s file name.)

Chills went up my spine to find sisters Charlotte and Virginia in genealogical records.  But have I hit a brick wall?
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I tried finding descendants of Charlotte and Virginia in Facebook.  Found one, but not yet ready to approach.  People can be skittish about the approach of strangers on Facebook, so I want to look for more information first.

I looked at the birthdates of the sisters.  1926 and 1928.  They should be listed in the 1930 census.  But I don’t have their last name. 

I accessed the free Census database through my online library using my account number.

In the 1930 Census, Charles Wesley Stillwell was 80, living alone in Tobacco Garden Township of McKenzie County, N.D.  His wife, Frances, had died in 1924.  Charles would die 11 years later.

Perhaps Charlotte and Virginia were daughters of a neighbor. Perhaps the family was checking on him. There were no sisters named Charlotte and Virginia in the whole township. So I widened the search and searched only for the first name “Charlotte” in all of McKenzie County, N.D.

Just a few lines down, I see a Charlotte Taylor.  “Taylor” popped up in my mind as the married name of Ruth Blossom Stillwell.  I click on the entry.

Bingo! Here in Northfork Township of McKenzie Co., North Dakota is the family of Lester F. and Ruth Blossom Stillwell Taylor. Listed below are daughters Charlotte and Virginia. Mystery solved.

My database did not yet include information for Charlotte and Virginia.  I added what I learned.

Charles seems rather old in the photo to be just Grandpa to these two little girls. He was 54 when his youngest, Ruth Blossom Stillwell was born, 76 when Charlotte was born, and 78 when Virginia was born.

Next I did a relationship report and discovered that my Dad, Larry Stillwell (or LaMoine, his legal name) is first cousin to Charlotte and Virginia Taylor. All three are deceased.

I relabeled the photo image name including the new information and moved it to the folder of identified and labeled photos.  It is growing.

Where to begin?  That question answered itself quickly when I saw a growing thread on Facebook about my paternal uncle and aunt, Roland and Margaret Stillwell. A handful of relatives were posting a few sentences of their memories. I know the stories go much deeper and wider.

And, after all, my only grandchild, Roland Thomas Koppenhaver, was named with Roland in mind.  This is is a good opportunity to gather those sweet memories and preserve them for when my sweet grandson asks about Roland and Margaret.

Since these articles will rely heavily on shared memories, those who share content with me will have the opportunity to review the articles in advance and give feedback.

How about joining in the fun?  If you don't have stories to share about Roland and Margaret, feel free to suggest others for the Notables page.

My plans for this blog is to have a place to discuss new family history discoveries. It may be weeks or months between postings, or I can imaging making several posts in one day.  As needed.

Before anyone gets nervous, I won't be publishing contact information or data about living individuals without consent.
The whole point is to bring family closer, not create friction.

Just as I was writing this blog, dear family members reached out about photos from decades past.  I'll do some study to see about how best to incorporate groups of photos into the other family history pages, "Bookshelf" and "Notables."

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