Saturday, July 2, 2016

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun: Rootin' Tootin' Genealogy Quiz

For this week's venture into Saturday Night Genealogy Fun, Randy Seaver has found something that looks like a "bucket list" for genealogists:

Your mission, should you decide to accept it (cue the Mission:  Impossible music) is to:

1)  
Mary Harrell-Sesniak posted a "Rootin' Tootin' True Confessions of Genealogists Quiz" on the GenealogyBank Blog this week and invited readers to answer the 50 questions.  She also provided a score sheet.


2)  For this week's SNGF, let's answer her questions and see how we score.  Copy and paste my answers below and edit the list for yourself (be sure to delete or edit my comments).

3)  Please share your responses and your score in a blog post of your own, in a comment to Mary's post, or on Facebook or Google+.

Here are my answers:
  1.  _X_ Gone to sleep reciting details about ancestors?  I just wish that by dreaming about them, I could solve the problems I fall asleep thinking about.

  2.  _X_ Photographed more than 20 tombstones?  Dozens of them.

  3.  _X_ Had an ancestral chart, family photo, coat of arms, ship of immigration (or similar) professionally printed or framed?  Printed and framed.

  4.  _X_ Figured out your kinship to someone famous?  Figuring out that there is no kinship counts, right?

  5.  _X_ Solved a stranger’s dead-end mystery for free?  Of course!  I'm a volunteer at a Family History Center.

  6.  __ Considered consulting a psychic about genealogy?  Absolutely not.

  7.  _X_ Taken a selfie in a graveyard or hugged a tombstone?  Hugged a tombstone, yes.  I don't do selfies.

  8.  __ Probed the ground or used a divining rod to locate a missing tombstone?  Nope.

  9.  __ Written your own obituary?  No, although I have thought about it.

  10.  _X_ Created a birth, marriage, or death notice (obit) for an ancestor who didn’t have one?  Isn't that what happens when you write up the results of your research?

  11.  _X_ Eschewed the sunshine for valuable library/research time (or met the dawn while tracing your family tree)?  All the time!

  12.  _X_ Celebrated a birthday, marriage, or commemorative event of a deceased forebear?  All three, and often in this blog.

  13.  _X_ Rescued (i.e., purchased) photos, medals, or similar objects of someone not related to you?  As often as I can afford it.

  14.  _X_ Reunited lost artifacts with living relatives?  More than once.  It's a great feeling.

  15.  _X_ Centered a vacation around genealogy?  Of course!

  16.  _X_ Traveled to meet a newly discovered cousin whom you met through genealogy research?  Most recently was Christmas 2015.

  17.  _X_ Tested your DNA?  FTDNA, Ancestry, and Genes for Good.

  18.  _X_ Paid for others to get their DNA tested?  Several times.

  19.  _X_ Worn clothing (t-shirts, jackets, hats) emblazoned with genealogy surnames, slogans, society names, etc.?  T-shirts and polo shirts.

  20.  __ Upon their leaving the nest, converted your child’s bedroom (or personal space) into a genealogy room?  No children in the house to begin with, so nope.

  21.  _X_ Spent more on genealogy in a month than groceries?  Not hard to do.

  22.  _X_ Collected odd records in the name of genealogy (for example, taxes)?  Who says taxes are odd records?

  23.  __ Added margin notations in books (error corrections, enhanced details)?  I never write in books.

  24.  _X_ Mapped a forebear’s traipsings?  Yes.

  25.  _X_ Traveled more than 100 miles for research (library, courthouse)?  Absolutely.  My furthest was about 3,000 miles.

  26.  _X_ Purchased something that belonged to an ancestor or that has his/her name on it (photo albums, homesteads, lineage society pins)?  Yes.

  27.  __ Participated in a reenactment related to your ancestry?  No, but I'd like to.

  28.  _X_ Made something to commemorate genealogy (historical costumes, paraphernalia, needlepoint or model of an immigrant ship, painting, genealogy quilt)?  Several cross-stitch samplers as family gifts.

  29.  _X_ Joined more than five lineage or genealogy societies?  SFBAJGS, AAGSNC, CGS, CSGA, SCGS, Gesher Galicia.

  30.  _X_ Overlaid an ancestor’s photo on that of a living person to identify a doppelganger (look-alike)?  Only a couple of times, but the resemblances were amazing.

  31.  _X_ Downloaded, e-mailed, or shared genealogy jokes?  I have a nice little collection.

  32.  _X_ Purchased a book with only a small reference to your ancestry (100 words)?  More like only 20 words!

  33.  __ Mentioned genealogy in your will?  I need to write a will.

  34.  _X_ Studied old handwriting or consulted with a handwriting expert so that you can read old documents?  Yes, and I teach a class about old handwriting.

  35.  _X_ Made a gen-tote of gadgets for on-the-go projects (portable scanning, grave cleaning, flash drives, notepads, acid-free gloves)?  I keep a bag handy with several of my go-to genealogy tools.

  36.  __ Taken a handful of dirt or a stone from a place significant to your ancestry?  Um, nope.

  37.  _X_ Diverted a mealtime conversation to genealogy?  Far too often.

  38.  _X_ Initiated conversations about ancestry with complete strangers (outside of a genealogy setting)?  It's surprising how easy it is to do.

  39.  _X_ Researched the genealogy of complete strangers?  Oh yeah.

  40.  _X_ Transcribed an old document, or more than 500 genealogy records?  Definitely.

  41.  _X_ Joined a dozen or more social media genealogy groups?  That's another thing that's easy to do.

  42.  _X_ Created a genealogy blog or a public tree (online)?  This is a genealogy blog, right?

  43.  _X_ Published a family history book or distributed genealogy folders among the relatives?  I used to distribute printouts every holiday season to about a hundred relatives.

  44.  __ Programmed gen-destinations (courthouses, cemeteries) into your GPS?  I don't have GPS.

  45.  _X_ Taken genealogy courses with the intention of receiving a certificate or other form of recognition?  Yes.

  46.  _X_ Paid to attend genealogy conferences?  On occasion.

  47.  _X_ Searched surnames on eBay?  I have about 30 alerts set up.

  48.  _X_ Scoured thrift or resale shops for genealogical finds?  Whenever possible.

  49.  __ Trespassed in the name of genealogy?  Not that I know of.

  50.  _X_ Dined anywhere but your dining table to avoid disturbing a genealogy project?  The project is still on the table.
I think my score is 40, which barely makes me a "Hopelessly Hooked Family Historian", just ahead of Randy.  Most of the remaining questions will continue to be noes, but I do really need to make a will, not only to take care of my genealogy but also my birds.

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