Death of the Telegram

Telegram from George Burns to Bob Hope, 1991.  Library of Congress

According to Fox News, on July 14, 2013, India will signal the end of an era by sending the last telegram.  Text messaging has rendered the iconic telegram obsolete.  When I think of telegrams I think of bad news.  At one time this was the quickest way to notify family members that a tragedy had occurred.  During war time people dreaded seeing the telegram delivery boy.  I opted to post an image of a funny telegram instead.

The first telegram was sent by Samuel Morse 144 years ago and was an important form of communication in our country’s history.  I wonder what Samuel would have thought about text messaging.

Samuel F. B. Morse, 1872, Library of Congress

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Happy birthday, Kelly!

Today is my daughter Kelly’s 21st birthday!  WOO HOO!  I took a look at my database and found the following people share a birthday with Kelly:

Patience Spires 1728
Phoebe Bent 1782
Mary Garraway 1867
George Pylant 1908

Does Kelly care?  Not a bit.  She is much more excited that she shares a birthday with Paul McCartney.  Happy birthday to Kelly and Sir Paul!

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Did you know?

Did you know that most of the major interstates, US roads, and state roads used to be dirt trails traveled by your ancestors?  The “King’s Highway” went from Boston to Charleston and linked all 13 colonies by 1750.  Now it is better known as Interstate 95.  The “Fall Line” brought northerners to the deep south, also in the mid 1700s.  Today it breaks off of I 95 into US 1.  The “Trading Path” went from Virginia to Alabama which now follows current state roads through all three states.  “Jackson’s Military Road” from Nashville to New Orleans catches pieces of I 65, US 45 and I 59 as well as several state roads.

If you have a major interstate, US road or state road near you, do a little research and see if you can figure out if it was an old overland trail some of your ancestors might have traveled. 

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• Dollarhide, William. Map Guide to American Migration Routes, 1735-1815. Bountiful, Utah: Heritage Quest, 2000.
• Fall Line Road
• Jackson’s Military Road
• King’s Highway
• Migration Routes, Roads & Trails
• The Handybook for Genealogists. Tenth Edition. Draper, Utah: Everton Publishers, 2002.
• Trading Path
• US Migration Trails and Roads

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

To “e” or not to “e,” that is the question

Ted asks:
”My last name is Blackstone and all of my living relatives are Blackstones.  However, some of my ancestors were Blackstons and some are Blackstones.  I am not sure what to do.  It isn’t a misspelling because those that are Blackstons kept that spelling their whole lives.  It is almost like some in the family preferred that spelling. I don’t know how to record this.”

Those that were known as Blackstone you record as Blackstone.  Those that were known as Blackston you record as Blackston.  If you want to show that a certain person was known both ways you could put Blackston(e).  My husband is related to this Blackston(e) line so I know what you are talking about.  I haven’t done enough research on this line to give you any solid theories about it.  If you find a document where the person actually signed his name himself you will have a better idea and if you have enough of these types of documents you might even pick up some sort of a pattern.  For example, you might have a family of all Blackstones and then one of the sons decides he likes Blackston better.  When you follow his children they also use the Blackston spelling.  If the family was illiterate then they might have just spelled their name the way that others around them spelled it.  At this point there is no way to know,

Take a look at the Blackstone Website put together by Jim Blackstone. He has collected many records for Blackston(e) whether he could tie them into his family or not.  If that isn’t enough for you, take a look at the Blackstone/Blakeston DNA Study.  Here you will see a lot more variations. The more Blackston(e) (and all other variations) submit DNA, the clearer the name variations dilemma will become.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Annie’s Ghosts

I just finished reading Annie’s Ghosts by Steve Luxenberg and I highly recommend it.  The author is the senior editor of the Washington Post and not a genealogist, well, I guess he is now.  He found out about a secret in his family and he decided to investigate it.  The book chronicles his journey to discover the truth. 

The book is very well-written, not surprising considering Steve’s occupation.  Steve starts out not knowing anything about genealogy, research methods or repositories/document sets.  It is interesting to watch how learns through trial and error.  You will learn a lot of history pertaining to the treatment of mentally retarded persons and those suffering from mental illness back in the 1920s-1970s, both by the system and by society.  You will also learn some history about the atrocities suffered by Jews during the Holocaust.  This is an excellent example of an in depth case study in a non technical format.  I could not put this book down. 

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

RootsMagic and Legacy

By now you know that I am a long time user of Legacy Family Tree but I many of my colleagues like RootsMagic so I thought I should try it out.  I now have both programs on my computer and I am looking forward to comparing the two.  The first thing I did was join the RootsMagic Mailing List.  I know I will have questions even after watching the Training Webinars.  I love trying out new stuff so this will be fun. 

I also want to talk about Legacy a little bit ecause I am not abandoning it.  Version 8 is coming out very soon and Geoff Rassmussen has been sending out little teasers on the Legacy Mailing List about the new features.  So far we know that the look will be updated and streamlined.  Yesterday Geoff announced that you will be able to see all nine tags on the family view and on the individual screen instead of three which was definitely on my wish list.  You will also be able to see how many individuals there are on each tag which is very handy.  Before you would have to do a search for everyone tagged on tag 5 to get a count.  Legacy now interfaces with New FamilySearch but soon it will switch over to FamilyTree.  That might happen before Version 8 is released. 

Many genealogists run more than one database program on their computer to take advantage of each program’s strengths.  I guess I just became one of them.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Keep or Throw Out

There has been a lot of talk this past week on Facebook about whether or not we should be keeping the paper copies of our documents.  I would never even consider trashing true originals but what about the copies of marriage licenses, wills, deeds etc. that you have gotten from courthouses?  I thought about all of the documents that I have collected over the years.  I probably only have one binder’s worth of true originals.  Everything else I have are mere copies.  I have been wanting to get all of this stuff scanned into the computer so that I can link the documents to the correct people in Legacy.  That way I can see everything that I have in one place.  Should I trash the copies once I do this?  I have to admit, it would be very hard for me to get rid of all of these papers but honestly, do I really need them?  I have all of my scanned documents backed up to the “cloud” so even if my computer crashed I wouldn’t lose anything.  This is something that I really need to ponder.  If you have an  opinion, please leave a comment. 

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Compiled Genealogies

I have spoken to you several times about compiled genealogies.  The trees you find on Ancestry.com, FamilyTree and other websites are compiled genealogies. Family history books are also compiled genealogies.   I have always said to view these with caution but use them for clues to find the original documents you need for your own research.  Betty Lou Malesky, CG has written an excellent article I think you should read.  She lists ten things you should consider when evaluating the validity/credibility of a compiled genealogy. 

GENEALOGY: How to evaluate a compiled genealogy

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Alternate Spellings and Nicknames

1880 U.S. census, Marion County, Mississippi, population schedule, Beat 1, enumeration district (ED) 131, p. 281 [stamped], dwelling [blank], family [blank], A.G. Graham household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 Oct 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T9, roll 656; Every family in this enumeration district was listed as dwelling 1, family 1.

This is the household of my 2nd great-grandfather, Albert Gallitan Graham.  My great-grandmother is listed as Corean Graham.  That is an incorrect spelling of her name.  Her name was Corrine.  How do I know that?  My grandfather told me how his mother’s name was spelled and he also named one of his daughters Corrine.  Her name is spelled Corrine in the family Bible and I have other documents that have her name spelled this way.  Corean is a phonetic equivalent and it is easy to understand how the enumerator made this mistake.  So how do I handle this when I am recording the information in my file or if I am writing a report?

I do a couple of  things. I record the name Corrine Elizabeth Graham in the main name field because that is the name that I know to be correct (in some cases this would be the name that I “think” to be correct).  I record the name Corean Graham as an AKA in Legacy (and I know the other genealogy database programs also have this capability).     If I am writing a report, I will put a blurb in there stating that for clarity’s sake I will be using the name Corrine throughout the report though there are alternate spellings. 

If there is a reason why I need to mention a particular AKA I will do so.  An example  is when I am trying to prove that two people are in fact one and the same.  In my file I have a person named Mary who was referred to in her grandfather’s will as Polly.  I had to prove that Mary and Polly were the same person.  Another example would be showing that an alternate name is in fact the person’s middle name.  Many people even today prefer to be known by their middle name.  If I know a person had a specific nickname I will definitely mention it in reports because that helps make that person unique.  I still record what I know/think to be the person’s birth name in the main name field. 

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Researching a Lineage for the DAR

Anon asks:
”You may be the answer to prayers. Can you please tell me the source of this information. It is on a website that sells software, which I don't want. I can't figure out another way to get the info, pay or not. Any help would be so appreciated.”

Anon sent me a link to a compiled genealogy posted on Family Tree Maker’s website.  Here is the LINK.  Anon then clarified with this: 

“I do lineages with proofs not the family trees with aunts and cousins. This particular search is for a friend who is 92 years old and says she can die happy if she can get in the DAR [Daughters of the American Revolution] and she feels this is her last chance. Of course when you take on search like this, it becomes your search, too. I am not getting paid anything.  Her Revolutionary ancestor is Richard Curtis but I found this generation I need going thru William's wife – Callie Simmons. I need a family Bible or a will or probate record or some record of note. The line goes Richard, (Rev anc.),  to William (I have kinda), William to James b abt 1784 (I need), I have James Curtis's Family Bible and on down to my friend Bonnie.  I belong to ancestry.com but haven't found sources.”

To get your friend in the DAR you will need proofs for every relationship going up the line.  Sometimes these proofs are not simple documents that name the relationship specifically but rather a complex case study/proof argument.  You might want to start by reading my six part series on the Genealogical Proof Standard (GPS) which will give you some idea of what the DAR expects.  The DAR’s requirements have tightened up quite a bit in the last few years. 

Intro
Step 1 – A Reasonably Exhaustive Search
Step 2 – Complete and Accurate Source Citations
Step 3 – Analysis and Correlation of the Collected Information
Step 4 – Resolution of Any Conflicting Evidence
Step 5 – A Soundly Reasoned, Coherently Written Conclusion

I took a particular interest in your little dilemma because I happen to know who Callie Simmons was.  I had to research Callie’s father, James Simmons, because I had to differentiate this James Simmons from my James Simmons who also lived in Mississippi at the same time (they both lived there before Mississippi became a territory).  It was actually fairly easy for me because your James Simmons lived in the Natchez area and mine lived in Perry County which is quite a distance away.  My James was also one generation younger.  There might have been some sort of familial connection between the two but I haven’t been able to find it.

Anyway, back to your dilemma.  I would contact the person that posted this information just to see what he has in the way of documentation.   His contact information is posted on the site, just hit the HOME link at the bottom.  Even if he doesn’t have the documentation that you need, his research may give you clues to help you find the documentation yourself. 

You need to find out what DAR applications have already been submitted for this Revolutionary War Patriot.  If the application is not flagged as having errors, you can piggyback onto that application and only have to add any relationships that aren’t included.  I ran a search on the DAR Ancestor Search and your Richard Curtis #A028944 is listed HERE.  There are NO applications using Richard’s son William.  You will definitely have your work cut out for you because it looks like you will be starting from scratch.  Richard’s children that have been used are Richard Jr., Phoebe and Jemima.  It would still behoove you to get a few of these applications because however these people proved that Richard Jr., Phoebe and Jemima were children of Richard might also prove that William is a child of Richard’s. 

The two places you will need to look for your documentation are the Family History Library’s (FHL) and the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH).  It just so happens that there are a lot of surviving documents from the Natchez District.  Half the battle is knowing what is actually available and where it is located. 

It is very likely that you won’t be able to find direct evidence documents for every fact.  You will  probably need to put together a convincing circumstantial case and that is where the GPS will help you.  I wish you the very best luck.  Your friend is lucky to have someone to help her with this.


Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

NGSQ Study Group

The NGSQ Articles Online Study Group  is another FREE continuing education opportunity. There are several different groups set up that meet at different times and using different formats.  You should be able to find a group to your liking.  The groups meet once a month to discuss past articles published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly (NGSQ).  When you sign up you will get some articles to read that will help you learn how to read published articles critically.  You will also get the list of articles that will be reviewed for the entire year.  Members of each group take turns leading the discussion.  I really enjoy this group and have learned a lot.  If you are interested, send an email to the address listed in the above link.  You will need to be a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS) to be able to access the articles in their archives.  To learn about other reasons you need to join genealogical societies click HERE.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Two More Relationship Questions

Joshua asks:
”What is the proper relationship for a 1st cousin (not removed) of the wife of my fifth great granduncle to me?  To generalize, is there a simple rule of thumb for dealing with extended in-laws?”

You guys are killing me with relationship questions! I think y’all are trying to come up with the weirdest combo to see if you can trip me up :)  Actually, yours is pretty easy. Whenever you are describing the relationship of someone that is not blood related to you, you always describe it in terms of how the person relates to one of your actual blood relations. Your 5^th great-granduncle is the blood relation so you would say “the first cousin of my 5^th great-granduncle’s wife.”  You could also say, “my great-granduncle’s wife’s first cousin.” 

J. D. asks a related question:
”How do you describe someone that you are related to more than one way?”

This is a common dilemma for those of us that do research in the deep south.  You refer to them using the closest relationship.  In some cases I will violate the rule I gave Joshua (blood relationships come first) for simplicity’s sake.  My stepmother happens to be my 5th cousin once removed.  I prefer to just call her my stepmother.  Stepmother is the closest even though it isn’t a blood relationship.  My two stepsisters would die laughing if I called them my 5th cousins twice removed!  There are always exceptions to every rule. 

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Ada’s Birthdate

In yesterday’s Extra Children Post I mentioned Ada Frances Simmons.  I don’t have any direct evidence of her exact birthdate so I had to do a proof argument showing why I believe her birthdate was 23 July 1890.  This isn’t in normal proof argument format. I am leaving it in the current format because there is extra information in there that will help you understand the thought processes.  The last paragraph, “Analysis,” is more in a proof argument format.  This report was used in a National Genealogical Society (NGS) Home Study Course assignment as well as a ProGen assignment. 

I want to point out one thing.  In the report I stated that a date calculated from a census age was INDIRECT evidence. My rationale was that if a person was a certain age on the census he/she could have been born in two different years depending on what month they were born in.  It doesn’t exactly answer the question, “When was Ada born?”  However, the current thinking on this exact situation is that it is in fact DIRECT evidence. You could answer the above question by stating, “Ada was born in either 1889 or 1890.”  I left the report in its original format because I am still working on getting the definitive answer to this question.  Also, when I uploaded the pdf to Google Docs some of the formatting got messed up (different fonts show up in the same paragraph).  I just wanted you to know that the actual report doesn’t look that way.

When was Ada Frances (Simmons) Bounds born?

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Extra Children

I want you to look at two census entries:

1900 U.S. census, Marion County, Mississippi, population schedule, Township 4 North, Range 15 West, enumeration district (ED) 75, sheet 5B, p. 29, dwelling 82, family 83, James E. Simmons household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 20 Oct 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T623, roll 819.

1910 U.S. census, Lamar County, Mississippi, population schedule, Beat 4, enumeration district (ED) 91, sheet 18A, p. 83, dwelling 221, family 221, James Simmons household; digital images, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Oct 2009); citing National Archives and Records Administration microfilm T624, roll 747.

In 1900, Corrine was the mother of 7 children with 6 children living.  In 1910, she was the mother of 10 children with 7 children living.  Let’s see if I can reconcile James and Corrine’s children.

Ada Frances Simmons, born 23 Jul 1890, died 15 May 1960 ¹   [NOTE: Tomorrow I will present a mini proof argument showing how I came up with Ada’s birth date]
Mary Leona Simmons, born 19 Oct 1891, died 02 Jul 1976 ²
Albert Simmons,  born 05 Mar 1893, died 08 Mar 1893 ³
Jesse Colon Simmons, born 10 Apr 1894, died 11 Mar 1943 ⁴
Walter William Simmons, born 20 Mar 1896, died 17 Mar 1958 ⁵
Claudia Mae Simmons, born 14 Feb 1898, died 23 Jan 1968 ⁶
Lemuel Elexander Simmons, born 25 Mar 1899, died 03 Nov 1926 ⁷
Rufus Elmore Simmons, born 12 Jun 1906, died 22 Nov 1967 ⁸
William Houston Simmons, born 17 Nov 1910, died 13 Mar 1978 ⁹ [my grandfather]

There are nine known children.  In 1900, there were six children alive and Albert had died in 1893 so the census numbers are correct (7/6).  In 1910, there were seven children alive (Elmore had been born in 1906 so he makes the 7th living children).  Albert was dead but now we have two more dead children.  Houston was born in November (after the census was taken in May) so he is not listed on the 1910 census.  The conclusion?  Corrine had given birth to two children between 1900 and 1910 and both of those children had also died between those dates.

Do you see the seven year gap between Lem and Elmore? There is also a 4 year gap between Elmore and Houston. All of the other children are nice and tight. This also supports that there were two children that were born and died between the two census years.

So I have established that Corrine had two children that we have no information on.  What do I do with this information?  Do I record these children in my genealogy file?  The answer is yes.  There may be information about these children out there that I just haven’t found yet (Bible records, cemetery records, etc.). Corrine was the mother of 11 children, not nine.  Is it possible that she had even more children after Houston was born in Nov 1910?  In this case the answer is no.  Corrine died in childbirth with Houston so I can be fairly confident that Corrine was the mother of 11.¹⁰

I would add these two children to my file with their sex unknown and with birth and death dates between 11 June 1900 (when the 1900 census was taken) and 04 May 1910 (when the 1910 census was taken). 

Here is what my actual list of children looks like:

Created using Legacy Family Tree

Boys are blue, girls are red, and unknown sex children are green.  This gives me a more accurate picture of this family.  Even though I don’t know much about these two, I do know that they existed.

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¹ Mississippi State Department of Health, death certificate 8504 (1960), Ada Frances Bounds. 
² Entrekin Family Cemetery (Carnes, Forrest County, Mississippi), Mary Leona Entrekin marker, personally read, 2000. 
³ Grantham Family Cemetery (Lamar County, Mississippi; Cameron Road off of Old Hwy 24), Albert, son of J.E. and C.E. Simmons marker, personally read, 2000. 
⁴ Mississippi State Department of Health, death certificate 3466 (1943), Jesse Collon Simmons.
⁵ Grantham Family Cemetery (Lamar County, Mississippi; Cameron Road off of Old Hwy 24), Walter Simmons marker, personally read, 2000.  
⁶ Simmons Family Cemetery (Forrest County, Mississippi; On AB Simmons Road, off of Rock Hill to Brooklyn Road), Claudia M. Lee marker, personally read, 1999. 
⁷ Entrekin Family Cemetery (Carnes, Forrest County, Mississippi), L.A. Simmons marker, personally read, 2000. 
⁸ Pine Grove Baptist Church Cemetery (Pinegrove, Lamar County, Mississippi), L.A. Simmons marker, personally read, 2000. 
⁹ Florida Department of Health, death certificate 78-023580 (1978), William H. Simmons. 
¹⁰ William Houston Simmons, deceased (Purvis, MS), interview by Michele Simmons Lewis, 1977. 


Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Finding an Old Genealogy Website

Matt asks:
”I'm trying to find some information that was available on the web a number of years ago but is no longer accessible.  I've looked at the 'Wayback Machine' Internet Archive but the pages are no longer available.  Are you aware of another Internet Archive I can use to find the old webpage?  It is www.leverton-geneology.com.”

I ran a Google search and I found a 2004 post by Stu Roberts stating that all of his research was now on www.leverton-genealogy.com.  You can see the post HERE.  I ran another Google search with the following search terms; Stu Roberts, Leverton, genealogy.  I then found Leverton Genealogy which appears to be what you are looking for.

The Wayback Machine that Matt mentioned is an excellent way to find old websites that no longer exist.  I am really surprised that they have no record of Stu’s old website.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Mastering Genealogical Proof Study Groups

Woo hoo!  I am in the Mastering Genealogical Proof (MGP) Study Group 2 led by Harold Henderson, CG, a well-known Midwestern researcher.  The study group is based on Mastering Genealogical Proof by Thomas W. Jones, PhD, CG, CGL, FASG, FUGA, FNGS.  Tom’s book is in a workbook format so it is perfect for a study group.  I am really looking forward to working through the book with other researchers.  There are several groups in session at the same time but I know our group with Harold will be the best :)  If you are interested, you can get your name on the Waiting List for future groups. 

Dear Myrtle also has a MPG Study Group and It isn’t too late to get in on it.  They have already had the orientation session but you can see the archived video HERE.  The session for Chapter 1 is scheduled for 16 Jun 2013.  I will be watching these sessions via Dear Myrtle’s YouTube Channel.

Here are two great FREE options for quality continuing education.  Please don’t let this opportunity pass you by.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Sharing Your Research With Family

Fran asks:
”How do you respond when a family member (a non genealogist) hears about your research and suddenly gets all excited about it and asks you to send them everything thing that you have uncovered?”

I would send them a simple pedigree chart with that person as the anchor.  This will show them their direct line ancestors which is what most non genealogists are most interested in anyway.  I might throw in a few interesting family stories about specific ancestors. I would also answer any specific questions that they might have like “Do you know if Grandpa Morgan fought in WWI?”  Maybe it will be enough to spark their interest so that they will start sleuthing a bit on their own.  I don’t think I would ever send my entire file to anyone, let alone someone that doesn’t know what they are looking at.  It would be overwhelming for them and a waste of time for me if their interest is only fleeting.  It would also be way too tempting for someone just starting out to copy the entire file as their own.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

One of My Best Tips

One of the best things I ever did to advance my genealogy is go to two computer monitors.  I know that sounds a bit odd but I can’t tell you how much time and frustration this has saved me.  In the My Space blog post you can see my laptop with the attached second monitor and a couple of people asked me about it so I thought I would talk a bit about it. 

I have had my computer set up like this for about 5 years now.  Once I did it I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t done it before.  You can have your genealogy program up on one screen and a document on FamilySearch (or whatever) on the other other.  You can type the information into your genealogy program at the same time you are looking at it instead of minimizing and maximizing different windows back and forth.  Or, you can have your genealogy program up on one screen and Facebook up on the other :)

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

Siblings, Worth the Effort?

Someone on The Organized Genealogist Facebook Group Page asked a very interesting question.  She wanted to know how much effort you should put into researching siblings of your direct line.  I gave a short answer but want to expand it a bit on the blog.

I try and get complete information on the  siblings of my direct line ancestors.  At the very least, full name, date and place of birth, full name of spouse, date and place of marriage, date and  place of death and place of burial. Many times when you are researching a sibling you will find out more information about your direct line.  The siblings share the same parents as your direct line ancestors do.  For example, I was doing research for a client.  The person of interest had five siblings. I requested death certificates for all six people.  The names of both parents were listed on every death certificate EXCEPT on my client’s person of interest.  If I hadn’t checked the siblings I wouldn’t have had that information.  In this case it was very important because the parents died right after they came to this country and were not listed on any American census record.  This is how I was able to figure out who the parents were and I was then able to track down more information on them.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis

My Space

On The Organized Genealogist Facebook group page everyone was posting photos of their work space so I thought I would let you see where I do my sleuthing.  My “office” is one wall of my tiny bedroom.  I have quite a bit of stuff crammed in there.  The bookcase to the left has all of my genealogy books, my document binders and some office supplies.  On top of the bookcase, among the assorted photos and knick knacks, is an antique tea cup from about 1890.  To the left of my desk on the floor there is a shredder and tucked in beside the bookcase is my space heater (gotta have that!)  I use a brown paper bag for a trashcan which is usually under my desk but today is trash day and I haven’t replaced it yet.  The horizontal blinds over my desk serve as my bulletin board.  I use bull clamps to hold the notes on.  The picture on the wall to the left of the desk is a plat map of Wrightsborough, the first Quaker settlement in Georgia.  On top of that is my great-grandfather as a young man.  The painting on the wall to the right of my desk was done by my daughter Kelly.  On top of that are my 2nd great-aunts (both nurses like me!)  You can see my printer on top of the filing cabinet where I keep tons of misc. “stuff.”  The bookcase to the right has all of my nursing books (I work very part time as an RN in a emergency room) and my music (I play guitar and clarinet).  I have two shelves with genealogy stuff; an old Bible, two boxes of photos and a couple of framed photos that haven’t made it to the wall yet.  On top of this bookshelf, along with a stuffed frog and a photo of my wonderful children, is a stack of antique plates I got from my mother-in-law.  What you can’t see is a large plastic tub in my closet that holds all my old periodicals.

Normally my desk would be piled high with papers and the floor just to the right of my chair would be covered in reference books.  I cleaned everything up for the photo.  I wanted you to get the false impression that I keep my stuff organized all the time.  One day I hope to have a whole room to myself.  I need just one more child to move out.

Copyright © 2013 Michele Simmons Lewis