Should You Publish A Blog?

Blogging is Family History: Larry K Cragun     larry@cragun.net    http://larrycragunfamily.blogspot.com/

There is a community of people who have caught the genealogy and family history spirit. They are from all over the world, of all faiths and are engaged for similar reasons. They are writing, searching, and collaborating. This community is most easily discovered on a blog. 

Publishing a blog doesn’t need a webmaster; they are simple and flexible. Be aware though; there are reasons people resist. Here are the common reasons; “someone might read it, I am not a good writer, it’s too hard, I don’t have the time, and I have nothing to write about. 

WordPress.org and blogspot.com (Google) are the bulk of the blogs published. WordPress.org states that 97% of new bloggers quit publishing within 7 days. To avoid this it is important to have a reason and a plan. What is your reason, your goal?

Why blog? For What Purpose? Find cousins, influence family, inform others, Connect to Social Media, Collaborate, a journal for my family to share, preparing to write a book, find research partners, share my research, be a journal of  my research, preserve your research online,  or make a lot of money. Ha Ha, don't do a genealogy blog for his purpose.

Is there a book inside of you? Do you have family research to publish? I suggest that before you go to the expense of publishing a book that you create the book through a series of posts.

My main objectives in this blog are: feedback, collaboration, reach out to unknown cousins, improve some strained historical family relationships my ancestors created, and to come to the front in search engine results like these:

Cragun Genealogy:  Today that search delivers this me on page on 1 as the top three results.

Patrick Cragun: Today that search delivers this site on page one three times: #2, #5, and #6.

 Elisha Cragun, Patrick's son, and my 2nd great grandfather has this site as the #3 result on page 1.

I write about several topics to keep the site interesting and to make it less difficult to come up with articles to post. When I am focused I write at least three times a week. The more you write about your topic the better the search engines treat your site.

Blogs can be public, private, or limited to those you give access. Search engines won’t find your blog if it isn’t public.

Blogs can be free. Free blogs limit you in quality of templates. I use both WordPress and Blogspot. If you plan on making money by advertising you should use paid hosting and not use a free template or as they are called; themes. If you go the paid route you should definitely use WordPress. 

Themes can be purchased inexpensively now; I recommend you look to WPMUDEV.com for themes and support. Pagely.com is my recommendation for paid hosting. On a single blog your costs can be as low as $24.00 per month. Network, multi-user blogs are much more expensive to host.

Rules to be found on the search engines: (What is your blog about, really?) Make the title relevant, have the tagline or paragraph related to the topic, use tags, categories, article title, and some of the text in the article related to the topic of the blog. (The search engines like active sites with fresh content) Publish 3 or more times a week; sometimes for several weeks, to be found on page 1. Don’t steal other content or be banned. (The search engines recognize duplicate articles) It’s ok, even desirable to copy up to 1/3 of another post as long as you link to the original article. 

Some of my favorite genealogy blogs; (reading other blogs on your topic help you find your voice, give you ideas, and get you into the community are
) are: janasgenealogyandfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/‎, genealogystar.blogspot.com, http://www.geneamusings.com/, and  http://tangledtrees.blogspot.com/.  I list several others on the right sidebar of my blog.

Start simple, just start writing. Photographs make the articles much more interesting. Videos are a great addition to a blog. 

You can change your template at any time. You can start discovering the various widgets that add to the complexity of your blog later. Don’t wait until it is perfect to start publishing. Expect to be a better writer and photographer as you go. 

Blogging is genealogy, it’s a record of what you felt relevant. It’s an opportunity to share. It’s inviting feedback, opinions, and input.

Evernote Baby - For Cragun reserearch, actually for everything in your life that is important

I know I am not the only one who needs organizing improvements. I am also not the only one who is slow to catch on to some things staring me right in the face. I took a class at Rootstech 2012 on Evernote and it seemed fine. Having that attitude could be translated into "I didn't get the vision". I downloaded the program and let it set. I then took a class on Evernote at the Awesome Riverton 3rd Saturday Seminar last month. There is one every month but December. (Riverton Family History Center - 9AM to 12:30 PM, A most valuable event) and I finally caught the vision.

To not make me feel guilty the presenter admitted she had it downloaded for three years before she began to use it.

THIS PROGRAM IS AMAZING. Whether it is for organizing recipes, people you meet, your genealogy research and priorities; for anything and everything.

Please take a look at these two videos. Doing so might save you a year or three. They give you the big picture of what can be done.


Don't miss this one:

Here is a sample of what my Patrick Cragun research is beginning to look like in just one of my notebooks in Evernote. I've just started, much more to organize and MY IT IS EXCITING! I am so much more on top of my priorities already.

I can share this notebook or even just the note with those I want to collaborate with.

Really: take time to learn this. It a way to sharpen the saw, don' t keep sawing until you do this.

Are You A Utah Cragun Descendent?

Over the past many days, about a month,  I have had fun looking at this site:  http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

If you enter the name cragun in the search bar you will find 1735 articles are posted on this site. Most are papers from 1836 to 1922.

Some of the articles are not that historic; james cragun had a visitor from salt lake city for the weekend type of information. However, of these many articles I did find some of interest. These I attached to FamilySearch Family Tree. If you are a descendant of Wiley G Cragun, Jonathon Osborn Quicny Cragun, William Henry Cragun, James Hyrum Cragun, Annie May Budge, Mormon Cragun, Willard Uriah Cragun, Wiley Moroni Cragun, Lathael Grande Cragun, James Alfred Cragun, Wilson Elijah Cragun, Grace Cragun, WIlford Elisha Cragun, May Mahalia Cragun, Willard Simeon Cragun, Simeon Wilbert Cragun, John H Cragun, James H Cragun, Lydia Margaret Cragun, Levi Ephraim Cragun, Dresden James Cragun, Katie Blake Holladay, Oralie Kate Cragun, James Cragun, Lydia Margaret Cragun, Mabel Cragin, Royal Cragun, George Douglass, Pearl Cragun, Eva Cragun Heiner, Verna Cragun, Violet Cragun, you might check family tree. Who knows what you will find: good things, bad things, strange things. There are some wedding and funeral announcements, birth notices, even law suits discussed. This is not a complete list, so check it you craguns.

It was a fun experience and once I started I wasn't happy until I read them all. PS Obituaries are interesting, there were a few of those. We can now index obituaries in Family Search. Up until now I have thought my interest was in research and fixing the tree, but indexing obituaries has caught my attention. You might also want to give it a go.

Oh a bad thing, I found a great uncle sentenced to six months in prison for punching a woman in a dispute over water rights. His appeal failed. 

A Tip In Inputting Names

In many cases you will be glad you followed this procedure. Instead of identifying a photo as for example: Larry Kent Cragun; name it this way. CRAGUN Larry Kent. The more you do it this way the more you will love the tip.

Can't We All Just Get Along?

 

I have a sister who is a peacemaker. Good for her. Perhaps she should have lived back in our grandfathers era. One of my new initiatives is what I recently wrote about, searching newspapers. I will write more from time to time on my Cragun and other family discoveries.

I am finding, and posting good things, interesting things, but some not so pleasant discoveries on family tree; notices of lawsuits among brothers, my fathers uncles for example. Even suing over water rights more than once. I hadn't planned on finding this type of information. It makes for a few questions about their family legacy. They are direct first generation descendents of four Cragun siblings who were pioneers. A couple crossed the plains as babies.

What kind of legacy is this? Do we believe we will be together in a later life? I do. Do we think we will have interactions with our families then? I do. Will we be basically the same people, having the same personalities and issues? I believe so. So then what?

Perhaps we should take the follow of my good sister - let go of grudges. I was involved in  a conversation today with a some good people, one having troubles with family injustices. It made me think, how am I doing?

Perhaps I can be doing better with cousins, siblings, and other family members; how about you? I wonder now, if those great Uncles have made any progress. They are all gone from here now - I wonder how it is for them.

This newspaper research is interesting with interesting finds. I guess we all are creating a legacy; some good some needing to be better however. For the record, family tree allows us to post our stories. As living people they are only seen by those we give permission. Perhaps we should be posting our stories, written by us. Stories are a part of memories section now; I have some good ones I have entered there; currently 24 stories. They go live to the public when I am deceased. You could do that too. I wish my great Uncles had provided us some of their stories, I plan on looking them up on the other side, if you know what I mean. 

Yet, I am on this side and could use some better relationships, as could some of my siblings and cousins with each other. I'm willing, even anxious - "Can't We All  Just Get Along?" 

Larry your brother and cousin Cragun.

PS: I was raised in Idaho, lived most of my adult life in Washington State. My grandfather lived much of his life in Pleasant View Utah. He, Simeon Cragun's first wife, Mary Ann Clifford, died when he was 41 years old. They had 6 children at that time. Eight years later he married my grandmother, Blanche Bingham. She had has some disappointments in life and I am told was hoping for a peaceful life with Simeon. She was 21 when she married Simeon, he was 49. They had five children and Simeon adopted a son, Reuben with her. Her pictures show  her as good looking. I lovingly call her the trophy wife. One of their sons is still living and 90 years old. I asked him to discuss how it was with the step brothers and it was not a topic he would discuss other than to say it wasn't good. His mother was only 7 years older than Levi the youngest of Mary Ann's children. So a rift between our two families seems to have begun. How long will it last?

Man, there must be a lot to overcome in the eternities to come, I think I will seek to be more like my sister, be a doer  here on earth.

Warning About RootsTech

Rootstech has come and gone. It was awesome this year, especially with the larger venue. Even the 4,000 youth there didn't seem disruptive. It actually seemed like they were having a great event. Sign up now; plan for next year. If they just repeated this years curriculum it would be fine as every hour had multiple options for classes and of course we can only take one at a time.

PS Rootstech: will you please post the keynote by Elder Brimhall? Thanks in advance.

I was told by a fellow family history missionary that his Church Leaders are telling the youth to go to the youth activities even if they didn't get signed up. Bad Advice from a good leader. Only those youth that are registered and weary wristbands will be allowed to enter the auditorium. After all - full is full.

Here is the email I just received:

RootsTech 2014 January 2014

Family Discovery Day is just a week away. It will be a great day with many opportunities for you to learn how to connect with your family-past, present and future! Check-in Process On Saturday morning, please arrive by 9:00 a.m. in order to check in and get your name badge before the morning devotional with Elder Bradley D. Foster of the Seventy, which starts at 10:00 a.m. Check-in is located at the RootsTech registration area in the South Foyer of the Salt Palace Convention Center. Enter your name into the computer kiosk, and show your picture ID to the volunteer. You'll receive your name badge, which will give you access to the Family Discovery Day events and the RootsTech Expo Hall. Family Discovery Day Schedule Family Discovery Day includes free, fun, and informative classes to help you strengthen your family relationships. Use this schedule to plan your day. Your Family Discovery Day pass will get you into classes with an ID number that starts with LDS. RootsTech (RT) and Getting Started (GS) classes are part of the paid RootsTech pass and requires a separate registration. Access to youth (YOUTH) classes and activities are for those with Youth Event registrations and wristbands.

Interactive and Hands-on Be sure to check out the new Family Discovery Exhibit, sponsored by FamilySearch, in the RootsTech Expo Hall. Photo Scanning Area Make digital copies of family photos that you can preserve, share, and even upload directly to your FamilySearch Family Tree. There are also plenty of high-capacity scanners that make great digital copies quickly.  What to do: Bring the photos you want to scan and a flash drive.  Recording Booth - Record Your Story Video or audio record your favorite family story in one of our enclosed sound booths. Your private recording session includes ten minutes of recording time and you'll get a copy of it on a flash drive. Enjoy sharing the memory for many years to come.  What to do: Think of a family story or memory that you want to capture and preserve. Story helps will be provided on-site. Record a Call - With Someone Who Inspires You Make a phone call that will last a lifetime. Simply call a parent, grandparent, or someone who inspires you and find out more about their life. Our app will record the conversation and you can take it and treasure the memory for years.  What to do: Bring a phone number of a person you want to call and interview, as well as an email address you'd like to send the recorded file to. See Yourself in History How would you look as a cowboy or as one of the pretty maids all in a row? Have your face (and the faces of your friends) added to one of several fun antique photos and e-mail yourself a digital copy you can share.  What to do: Have an email address to send your new photo to.  FamilySearch Book Scanning Booth Get your family book scanned for free. We'll make a digital copy, you keep the original and a searchable PDF copy for yourself. You can also donate personal works, books that are copyright protected, and books that are in the public domain. Questions? bookdonations@familysearch.org

Youth Activities Family Discovery Day for Youth is a separate event from Family Discovery Day and is completely full. In order to accommodate this group successfully, only those registered for the youth event and who have wristbands will have access to youth classes and activities. Seating for the Studio C event and the devotional with Elder Neil L. Andersen will be made available to registered Family Discovery Day attendees on a first come, first seated basis in Hall D.  Parking Parking at the Salt Palace is available, but it can be expensive. There are a number of less expensive parking lots in downtown Salt Lake City, around the Salt Palace. We recommend parking in the lot located on South Temple between 200 West and 300 West, which charges $3 per day per vehicle. Parking at the LDS Conference Center or Joseph Smith Memorial Building is $10.  Public Transportation For those taking Trax, the Green or Blue line will get you to the Salt Palace. The closest stop to the Salt Palace is Temple Square (132 W. South Temple Street). Learn more at rideuta.com.

We're excited to see you at Family Discovery Day on Saturday, February 8! To contact us with questions, please email info@rootstech.org.

Family Tree: “Photos” Changed to “Memories” in Main Navigation

The FamilySearch site has had a couple of significant changes in the last couple of days.

“Photos” Changed to “Memories” in Main Navigation

It is now official: the “Photos” section of the site has been renamed to “Memories.” Our site currently allows users to add 3 types of memories: photos, stories, and documents.

If you click “Memories,” that page has been altered somewhat to reflect the new wording:

This planned change was announced on the FamilySearch blog last a few days ago 

(https://familysearch.org/blog/en/photos-feature-called-memories/).

If you click “Memories,” that page has been altered somewhat to reflect the new wording:

In Family Tree, where it used used to say “Photos,” it now also uses “Memories.” Here’s the summary card:

On the details page, the “Photos and Documents” tab is now “Memories.” The page has three sections, one for each memory type. The sections can be opened and closed, and links for adding new memories located directly under the title of the section.

Improved Sitewide Navigation

If you hover your mouse over each item in the header, you now get options that you can use to quickly get to a specific place within that section of the site.

This change was announced on the blog last November (https://familysearch.org/blog/en/change-to-site-wide-navigation-coming/).

Some Family Tree Watch List Improvements Just Went Live

The Watch List in Family Tree is now part of a larger lists feature. This new lists feature lets you sort and filter your lists so you can focus the list on what you are looking for. This new lists feature also provides a framework that the Family Tree development team can use to build more useful lists that we can use in the future.To see the new Lists feature, go to Family Tree, and click Lists.From there, you can see two lists.

·         People I’m Watching. This is what was formerly called the “Watch List.” It is a simple list of all the people in Family Tree you’re watching for changes. This list should now load more quickly than it did in the past. When it first appears, the list is sorted alphabetically by the last or family name of the person being watched.

·         Changes to People I’m Watching (beta). This is a new list. It shows you all of the changes made in the last 30 days to people you are watching. When it first appears, the list will be sorted by the date when the last change was made, starting with the most recent changes.

This list may take a little while longer to load, so it will be labelled as “beta” feature for a while after its release.

Sorting Lists

Use the column headings to sort the list.

If a particular column has only one sorting option, click the column heading itself. Click the heading again to reverse the sort order.

If a column has more than one sort option, you see a little triangle. Click the triangle, and click the sort order you want.

Green highlighting and an arrow tell you how the list is currently sorted.

Filtering Your Lists

Sometimes you want to be able to focus your list according to any of the text that shows up in the list, such as a particular surname or other information. To do that, just enter the text that you want to filter by in the Filter box, which is located at the top of your list:

Have You Downloaded The RootsTech App Yet?

This will be my 3rd RootsTech and am I excited! Notice there was no question mark, rather an explanation point.

It's time to download their app. Schedules are in it. Information on the vendors are there. Keynotes are identified.

They have done a great job with the app. Use it to decide if you even want to attend. Of course you do want to attend, this will just cement that thought. There are classes for all levels of skills. There are classes for the beginning youth.

The venue is bigger this year, the classrooms are larger. I used the app last year to make last minute changes of plans on which classes to go to. Some filled up so fast I needed a back up plan. A couple of classes weren't what I expected and my app was ready with an alternative class to move over to.

It's great - RootsTech, and the app is great too.

Using Digital Newspapers In Research; Library of Congress Chronicling America: Updated

 

Yesterday was the 3rd Saturday and it was Saturday Seminar day at The Riverton Family History Library. The keynote was great, an hour presentation on photos and stories by Devin Ashby who is a project manager for FamilySearch. He has some great ideas and terrific instruction.

Following the keynote, were two 1 1/4 hour breakout sessions. There are four classes to choose from. Kathleen anxious to learn how to use her MAC better took a class on MAC Tricks from Jimmy Zimmrman. She loved the class.

I took a class taught by Ron Ray, who currently maintains an awesome website for research links: http://eaglequestpro.com/share 

As is typical to these classes and even those at events such as Rootstech, the handouts are as valuable as the lecture.

I have to say that as much as I love genealogy I usually come out of seminars and conferences on fire. Yesterday was no exception. The focus of this article is on newspapers as taught by Ron. In another post I will write on the topic of "Beginning Guide to tracing Irish Ancestry taught by Jessica Taylor of Ancestry.com, which was the second break out class I took.

OK now, putting into action the newspapers class. 

I will start by going to Library of Congress Chronicling America website. http://chroniclingamerica'loc.gov/ Here you can explore historic newspaper pages from 1836-1922.

At first I am going to search for CRAGUN and see what they have. Yikes, 1733 pages on Cragun. This should be interesting and keep me busy for awhile.

I think I will publish this now and share more with you later - I have research to do..

What I am expecting is to find interesting information, perhaps information on people previously lost or unknown to me.

--
I just have to update this post. Yesterday I reviewed about 16 articles. They were the first Craguns to appear and were on some of my great grandfathers brothers. It was just so interesting. One brother had his finger shot off by armed robbers. I wonder what finger it was and how they picked which one to remove; and why. (humor here). Another article was about how one of his brothers was sued by another for unduly influencing their mother to sign a will naming the sued brother as the sole heir. The article claimed the will  was done the day before their mom died, and that she was not capable of making a sound decision. Now, I didn't think things like that happened in our family. (more humor)

What was also interesting, was that almost none of the people I have so far come across had any or much sourcing done in FamilyTree. Since they are so closely related, and since basic sourcing is so smoothly done in FamilyTree I probably added about 200 sources to the tree yesterday. I even found a few relatives not attached to the tree.

I learned more about our family, it was a fun few hours yesterday. All of this from one website with 1733 pages of newspaper articles on Cragun, and having read only about a dozen of those articles. (I did attach photo copies of all of these articles to FamilyTree.) I used the snipping tool that is part of Windows to make a copy to my desktop and then uploaded that to the persons sources section on their person page. Where the article was about more than one person I also hit the attach to source box button and then went to each individual mentioned and added it as a source from the source box. Again, this is a smooth and easy process.

PS: the two stories I mention here weren't the only interesting stories, just the most dramatic. These old newspapers are really quite fun.