Monday, July 11, 2011

More Interviews

Not long after The First Post on this blog in February, the people over at My Heritage launched into a similar series of interviews with people from the world of genealogy. Great minds think alike!

If you wish to meet  the people that My Heritage have interviewed hop over and take a look at their interview series. These include: Ann Major, Anne Bradshaw, and Kay Francis.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Carol Cacciapuoti

I spotted Carol over on the British Isles Genealogy Group on Facebook where she does an amazing amount of work assisting the members of that group.

I am thrilled to be able to profile another Canadian genealogist. Thanks, Carol for your entry.

Date  30 June 2011
Name  Carol Cacciapuoti
Hometown  Bolton Ontario Canada

Are you a Hobbyist or Professional Genealogist?  Hobbyist

What is your day job?  Homemaker

How long have you been chasing ancestors?  12 Years

How did you get hooked on genealogy?  I always had the interest since I was a child, but never delved into genealogy until 1986, when a cousin wrote a book, and another cousin did a huge family tree. That is when I started asking older relatives for information.

What, if any, formal or informal studies have you undertaken that are relevant to genealogical research?My first computer was purchased in 1999 and after my daughter showed me the basics, I was off and running, in a search for my Irish and English ancestors. I had no studies at all, just prayers to God to guide me in my search. I met a super nice lady, who worked on my family, in Ontario, and she helped me with information and documents from the archives, she has since passed on and is missed very much.

What are your areas of Expertise in Genealogy? 
I do very well in England and Ireland, and in Canada, especially Ontario, all by computer.

Please outline your involvement in Genealogy Societies and Groups.I am not involved in any groups as I have no time, with doing the Bookkeeping for a small family business. I belong to Facebook groups and help when I can.

What are the lands of your ancestors? Paternal- Leicestershire, England and Manitoba
Maternal- Ireland, Scotland, Huron County, Ontario and Manitoba

What Family Names are you Researching?  Paternal: Cleaver, Ward, Fitchett,

Maternal: Graham, Henry/ Henery, Marks, Wiggett, Robinson ( have a contact)

There are extended Family names, but I haven't expanded on them as yet.

Who is your favourite ancestor? Why?My favourite ancestor is my Paternal Great Grandfather, James Cleaver, who helped me, (after a prayer to him) to start my search for the Cleavers in The Midlands, England, as I had thought we were Irish and could find nothing in Ireland.

What ancestral city or town would you like to visit? Why?Paternal: Hinckley, Leicestershire, England, where the Cleavers originated from 1700s to mid 1850's then to Leicester, Leicestershire, and Birmigham, Warwickshire, where my Grandfather was born.

Maternal: Cavan County, Ireland where my Henry Family lived, from approximately 1825 to 1838, and Enniskillen ,Fermanaugh, Ireland, where my Grt Grt Grt Grandfather died, in 1858.

What is your favourite resource for genealogy? My favourite resource is Family Search.org and also Ancestry.ca, with Genes Reunited very good also.

Do you keep your genealogy files on paper?  Yes
Do you keep your genealogy files on a computer?  Yes

What genealogy software do you use to record your family tree?Presently I am using Ancestry.ca, but I do have an old Family Tree maker partially done, on my old computer.

Do you have your tree posted on the internet?  No

What Social Networking Sites do you use for genealogy?Ancestry, Facebook, Genes Reunited, Other

Do you have a blog?  No

What are your Other Hobbies, Activities, Interests?
Family events, Reading, Art, Cooking, Baking, small business operation, am Intuitive, and am interested in Pyschic Phenomena.


What is your favourite lesiure time activity apart from genealogy?Computer and cooking for a big family

What is your favourite (non genealogy) book? Jean Auel Prehistoric series

What is your personal philosophy in a few words ?Pray often, thank God for each sunrise, do what makes you happy, respect the elders in your family, keep your family united, and look at each day as a new experience

If you have anything else to share please add it below.I am not a professional, blessed with a good husband, Mom of five daughters and a son, Grandmother of eight Grandchildren, and Great Grandmother to two little girls.
I am blessed with our family, friends, good health per se, and strong "pioneer" genes that keep me optimistic and always wanting to learn more.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Amanda Epperson

Amanda E Epperson
As I have a number of Scottish ancestors who emigrated to Australia "The Scottish Emigration Blog"  (http://www.scottishemigration.blogspot.com/) is on my list of RSS feeds. Keen to find out more about the person behind this blog I approached Amanda for a Genimates profile.

Thanks, Amanda, for sharing your story with us.

Date 29 June 2011      
Name Amanda E. Epperson       
Hometown: South Pasadena
Current City: Cleveland, Ohio (more or less)

Are you a Hobbyist or Professional Genealogist?
Neither, I am a professional historian who is fascinated by family history

What is your day job?
I teach history at a community college

How long have you been chasing ancestors?  As an historian, I’ve been chasing people from the past for about 15 years. For my own family, on and off for many more years.

How did you get hooked on genealogy?
Both of my grandmothers were interested in their family histories.  My one grandmother had a very neatly printed out family tree that a cousin had done, but she didn’t actively do any research. My other grandmother and her sister did research their families and drag me to overgrown cemeteries. I think part of their interest came from the fact that their parents had been orphaned, so they did not have really know where their family came from.

What, if any, formal or informal studies have you undertaken that are relevant to genealogical research?
I have a PhD in history with a specialization in immigration – I have always been fascinated by how people move about and take their culture with them. I have also attended several genealogy conferences and workshops.

What are your areas of Expertise in Genealogy? 
Ohio and Scotland

Please outline your involvement in Genealogy Societies and Groups.
I belong to the Ohio Genealogical Society and the Great Lakes Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.  My APG chapter meets most months to discuss articles from the National Genealogy Society Quarterly (NGSQ).

What are the lands of your ancestors?
My dad’s family has been in the United States for a really long time.  We haven’t traced them back to Europe yet, but we presume that most branches are from the British Isles. On my mother’s side are more recent immigrants from Scotland, Norway and Sweden.

What Family Names are you Researching?

The four main ones are: Eldridge, Epperson, Hood, and Nordstrom.

Who is your favourite ancestor? Why?I try not to play favorites.

What ancestral city or town would you like to visit? Why?I would like to visit Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

What is your favourite resource for genealogy?The internet.
Do you keep your genealogy files on paper? Yes (but I’m trying to move to an all/mostly digital system)
Do you keep your genealogy files on a computer?  Yes

What genealogy software do you use to record your family tree?I’ve used Family Tree Maker since the first or second DOS version. But I’ve recently gotten Legacy to do some work for a client. It is not as pretty as Family Tree Maker, but I really like its interface for citations.

Do you have your tree posted on the internet? No

What Social Networking Sites do you use for genealogy?I don’t use social networking for genealogy, but I do use several of the sites listed for other purpose.

Do you have a blog? Several
What are your blogs' URLs? 
The Scottish Emigration Blog: http://www.scottishemigration.blogspot.com/
& The Historian’s Family: http://www.historiansfamily.blogspot.com/

What are your Other Hobbies, Activities, Interests? Reading, knitting, trying to stay out of trouble.

What is your favourite (non genealogy) book? 
Pride & Prejudice

What is your personal philosophy in a few words ?Don’t Worry; Be Happy.  (yes, you do hear Bobby McFerrin in your head)