German documents transcribed

About two years ago, I ordered German church microfilms from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. The only way to save the images was to snap a photo with my cell phone. The images weren't great, but using Photoshop Elements, I was able to piece two or three images together into one document. 

I could make out a few words like legitimate, baptism, family surnames but that was about all. Using a German dictionary, German word lists from Family Search Wiki, and Google translate - German to English, I still couldn't make out what the documents said. 

Earlier this month, I attended the FGS Regional/Wisconsin State Genealogical Society's conference at Wisconsin Dells, WI

On the second day, I attended a session by speaker Antje Petty. Her lecture was: “Max Kade Institute: Resources to help with your German-American Family Research”. My ears perked up, this was just what I needed. Part of my road trip this month was to research my mother's German paternal line. I spoke briefly with Ms Petty after her session and she said to email her with my German document questions. Ms Petty's office was on the University of Michigan-Madison campus near the Wisconsin Historical Society.

I made an appointment to meet with her the following Monday afternoon and sent my scanned documents in advance. Since I had planned on going to the historical society for research anyway, this was perfect. Over the weekend, Ms. Petty emailed me she wasn't feeling well, and would have to cancel our appointment. She said she looked over my scans and thought the documents might be in Latin, which she doesn't read, not German like I thought. That's why Google translate, the word lists and German dictionary couldn't decipher the documents. Wow, didn't see that coming! I would have to look into the documents after I got home.

I was disappointed we couldn't meet but thanked her for the valuable translation tip. A week later Ms Petty email me and said again how sorry she was we couldn't meet, she had actually come down with the flu but taken a second look at my documents and they were definitely in Latin. Thank you, thank you and thank you again! I won't be wasting time trying to decipher German. I'll be looking into Google translation - Latin to English. 

That invaluable tip was well worth the trip. You just don't know what you're going to learn when you attend conferences.

Copyright 2017, Gayle Ficarra Wolcott

SCGS 2015 Jamboree – Day 1

I’m in Burbank, CA for the annual Jamboree put on each year by Southern California Genealogical Society. I’ve been a member for several years and try not to miss this national conference which is “in my neighborhood.” No airport, TSA screening, tight seats and recirculating air. I do like to have a hotel room for the duration of the conference because I hate driving 50 minutes to over an hour each way, each day from home.

I attended an all-day workshop titled “Creating a Digital Genealogy Scrapbook” by Barb Groth.

We needed to bring our laptop as the process could not be completed on a smart phone or a tablet.

Ms. Groth sent an email with instructions what to have ready before we came to class. We should have some (not necessarily all) of the following information saved to our desktop in a single folder:

·         Family photos – each should be a minimum of 300 dpi

·         Documents, such as census records, church records, naturalization, military, newspaper articles, etc.

·         Scanned memorabilia – medals, etc.

·         Maps or photos of places and/or locations your family came from or resided in

·         A few Word document with brief typed information about the family or person you are including in the album

We downloaded the free demo version of the software program “ScrapRoom.” http://scraproomsoftware.com/purchase.html  (Scroll down until you see the free demo version.)

We also downloaded free templates and elements to use in the program at http://www.simplyyin.blogspot.com/   (Scroll all the way down the page until you see: Mye De Leon FREE Demo Kit.)

She recommended to watch any scrapbook tutorials on YouTube.com and just have fun! Use Google to look for other free design layouts for scrapbooking.

Ms. Groth discussed the organization of photos, elements and documents on our computer, the ScrapRoom Software and its components, and the organization of the album. We began to design and develop the actual pages of the album. I wasn’t able to complete the album in class. We were learning the techniques, but felt confident I’d be able to complete the album on my own. We could also purchase the Guide that’s been written to help assist with step by step directions. I’ll probably pick it up in the Exhibit Hall tomorrow.

I’m looking forward to completing my album at home.

©2015, copyright Gayle Ficarra Wolcott. All rights reserved.