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What is a Podcast?

September 6, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: It's Not For Sissies

Have you heard about podcasts but are unsure what they are? You are not alone. Only 22% of us over 55 years of age listen to podcasts at least once a month. That means, most of us seniors have not taken advantage of what podcasts have to offer. And I am one of them. I rarely listen to podcasts.

However, my household is changing that statistic. I discovered that podcasts are great entertainment for my husband who has dementia. I’ll explain later in this post.

So what are podcasts?

Podcasts are pre-recorded shows that you can access through apps like Spotify. They can entertain you, educate you, update you, and improve your well being. You can listen to them while driving, walking, doing your daily housework, or even your yard work. Or you can just relax in your recliner and listen to one.

There are oodles of podcasts about, well, everything you can imagine, such as cooking, health, organizing, current events, crime, comedy, finance, books, music, fishing, fashion, fitness, just to name a few. You can download them and listen to them later. 

How to Find a Podcast

Try this! Google “types of podcasts available” or google a subject and then podcasts. For example, google “fishing podcasts” and see what you find.

I looked for history podcasts about Florida, and I found Historiansplaining. I listened to this podcast series on Florida, more particularly #4, that explains the 1840s. It is entitled “Fortresses on Sand:
The History of Florida -pt. 4, Episode #157.” I especially loved it when I learned more about this time period which was the setting for my first book, “Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants.” You can click on it below.

https://historiansplaining.com/individual-episodes/fortresses-on-sand-the-history-of-florida-pt-4/

Podcasts refer to pre-recorded shows that you can access through other Apps such as Stitcher, Apple podcast, Podcast Addict, and Google Play Music. Podcasts are free on many different platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, IHeart Radio, and Google Music.

You can listen to free podcasts on your phone and various other platforms like your ipad, tablet, or computer. Your phone probably came with a podcast app already installed. Look for it on your home page. Use your Iphone “Podcasts” app to search for a podcast. Follow your favorite podcast so you will know when there is a new episode available.

Free Podcasts?

Amazon Prime comes with free podcasts, and the podcasts are also ad-free.

Similar to the free podcasts on iPhone, you can get podcasts for free on all your Apple devices. If you have a Mac or an iPad, you can use the same Podcast app as your iPhone to listen to podcasts for free.

Podcasts are free on Spotify, and all you need is to sign up for a Spotify Free account. Listen on your computer or download the app on your phone or tablet.

Amazon Music has free podcasts with millions of podcast episodes. You can listen to podcasts from Amazon on your computer or us the Amazon Music app on your cell.

On Android, you cannot use a service like Apple Music since that is only for Apple devices. But you can go online through Google and search for podcasts or download an app like Spotify or Google Podcasts, where you can listen to the podcasts free.

Listening to podcasts on the computer is easy since there are so many websites you can use to find podcasts. Use your brower and internet connection to search online for free podcasts. There are hundreds of websites to choose from.

For more information on how to get podcasts on all these platforms for free, click on the link below.

https://bloggingtips.com/are-podcasts-free/#:~:text=Podcasts%20are%20free%20on%20many,as%20much%20as%20I%20do.

There are lots of podcasts for us seniors. Better Health While Aging is a podcast by a geriatrics doctor.

A Source of Connection discusses a topic of interest and is designrf to instill a sense of connection, even if one is alone at home. There are also podcasts for mental stimulation and memory enhancement. Good Job, Brain is an interactive game show.

AARP does podcasts, such as The Perfect Scam, Closing the Savings Gap and AARP Take on Today. They are available on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, Spotify, TuneIn and AARP.org. The Perfect Scam shares stories from people who have been affected by scams and former scam artists. This podcast shows common tactics useed by scammers and provides tips to protect your from them. 

Camp Codger is a podcast produced by older adults for older adults. It shares rocking-chair wisdom from three old guys. It is for people who want to make the most of their golden years and laugh at their aging adventures (or misadventures).

Excuse My Grandma discusses differences between the silent generation, those born before 1946, and millennials. 

Stuff You Missed in History Class highlights historical trivia.

So there is so much out there! Put your thinking caps on, and google the word podcast and whatever interests you. I googled Podcast Fishing, and now Chuck has something else he enjoys! There is a link to the one he likes best below.

https://www.itinerantangler.com/blog/podcasts/category/podcasts/

How to do a solar eclipse!

July 24, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Following Old Trails, Travel

Goodness. Tonight, I searched for an earlier post on a solar eclipse we witnessed while traveling in Idaho several years ago. I discovered that it was a post I never posted. So, with some updating, it is below.

We in the United States will soon have two opportunities to witness two more solar eclipses within the next year. More on that below.

On August 20th of 2017, Chuck and I had two goals for that day and the next–to see a solar eclipse and to drive to Missoula, Montana. But we had also been following the trail of Lewis and Clark. Though theirs was a water trail we followed it by searching for their camps. We were on their return from the great Pacific.

At this point in the trail, Lewis and Clark were stuck near Kamiah, Idaho in a month-long camp waiting for the snow to melt on the Lolo Pass Trail. Like Lewis and Clark, we were stuck, too. A great forest fire blocked our way back to Missoula on the Lewis and Clark Scenic Byway through Lolo Pass.

We found ourselves in a pickle. We wanted to travel a little farther south to see the solar eclipse on August 21, the next day; but south of Missoula was the fire. Because this vast wilderness area lacked roads, to travel south to the eclipse, we would have had to drive another couple of days. We were flying out of Missoula on the 22nd. We didn’t have another couple of days.

So where could we go to watch the eclipse and still make it to Missoula in time for our flight the day after the eclipse? Turns out we had to go north, away from the best place to see the eclipse, but there were no places to stay between Kamiah and Couer d-Alene, the closest city with lodging.

So we spent our day traveling the blue highways north. We were off the Lewis and Clark Trail to see the eclipse.

In Couer d-Alene, we stayed in a local hotel. We had both been there before, many years earlier. Chuck had attended an environmental conference there, back in the 1970s, that would be BC, before Cindy. The city had a lovely downtown with entertainment around a large lake. We spent a nice evening there.

Cindy on a Dock at the Lake

The next morning, for the eclipse, we had our special-purpose solar filters, which I had bought online beforehand. Thankfully, the online vendor sent several more than we needed. We were able to share with some of the hotel’s employees who were unaware of what was happening.

Chuck Looking at the Eclipse

We hung out around the pool where there were no trees to block our view. What we saw was a partial eclipse, though, because we were so far north. Still, we were excited by what we saw. It was a great day anyway.

That afternoon, we left for Missoula. Lewis and Clark, after a month’s wait, began their journey over the Bitterroots in mid-June and arrived at Hot Lolo Springs near today’s Missoula by the end of June. They made it.

We did, too. We got to Missoula by 3 pm the same day. The city was covered with smoke from the Lolo fire just about fifteen miles down US 30 West. We checked into a hotel and waited for our flight home the following morning.

At Lolo Pass, though, Lewis took a small party overland to the great falls and then up the Marias River. Clark took another small group and crossed through the Bitterroot Valley, across the great divide and to explore the Yellowstone. Their plans were to meet at the mouth of the Yellowstone on the Missouri River. This they did on August 13, 1806, over a month later.

After some councils with the Missouri River neighboring Indian nations, the expedition continued downstream covering 50 to 60 miles a day with the current. They arrived in St, Louis by the third week of September.

They brought with them a Mandan Chief Sheheke and his family. Can you imagine that scene when the world of the Mandan Indians came to St. Louis with its stores of foodstuffs, calico piled high, shirts, handkerchiefs, and beads?

The next morning, Chuck and I boarded a 5:40 am flight back to Florida arriving by 6 pm the same day.

Two eclipses coming soon!

There are two more solar eclipses coming soon. The first will be on October 14, 2023, and the second on April 8, 2024. Both will cross the United States. If you wish to see them, make plans to be in the areas where they can be seen best.

Below are two NASA links for each eclipse. Each shows its path.

October 14, 2023 Eclipse                            April 8, 2024 Eclipse

Also, here is a link for what you should do and expect to do. Wearing protective eyewear is vital. The National Park Service gives instructions. Only use special-purpose solar filters. It is not safe to use homemade filters or ordinary sunglasses, even very dark ones.

Make sure your solar filters have ISO 12312-2:2015 certification, as well as the manufacturer’s name and address printed on them. Do not use ones made before 2015.  With all the substandard Chinese products now sold in the US, this new certification will be vital. Don’t take chances with your eyes.

Below is the link on how to view the eclipse safely. It also explains the different types of solar eclipses, how to plan ahead, and how to use the eclipse filters correctly. Just click on the link below.

National Park Service, Eclipse Planning & Safety

My Life with Alexa

June 22, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Family Life

And how it can help dementia patients!

I remember when I first met Alexa. We spent a weekend at the beach with our three kids and their families. Our youngest daughter brought her Echo Dot.

I know not everyone uses these things and are asking, What is an Echo Dot?

The Echo Dot is a smart speaker developed by Amazon.com.  It is about the size of a hockey put or paper weight. Tap below to see one on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/All-New-release-Smart-speaker-Charcoal/dp/B09B8V1LZ3/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3O15471L1X882&keywords=Echo&qid=1687486541&sprefix=echo%2Caps%2C305&sr=8-1

Mine is set up in the kitchen because that is where I need the most information. I often need help with measurements, like how many ounces are in a half cup.  Or in the morning I might want to know what the weather is for the day. Or I’ll ask her to set an alarm for 35 minutes.  Or maybe I just want to listen to the radio.

Cost is reasonable at under $50.   Simple to set up.  Simple to use.

Sitting here, I asked Alexa to play a Louie Armstrong song, and  “When You Are Smiling” came up first. Wow!  His trumpet solo at the end was just as amazing as the first time I heard it.  I love Alexa.

A few days after I got the Echo Dot, I was in the kitchen as was Chuck, who had no idea what was lurking behind the beige rooster that sits by the range.  All of a sudden, I said, “Alexa, play 100.7 Tallahassee,” and instantly Preston Scott’s voice appeared in our kitchen.  With a confused look on his face, Chuck looked around for where the sound was coming.  That was fun.

Echo Dot is a hands-free, voice-controlled device that can play music, control smart home devices, provide information, read the news, set alarms, and much more. I like to play the state capital game. She asks five questions, like “What is the capital of Pennsylvania?” I keep wanting to say Philadelphia, but she says, “That is incorrect. The capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg.” It entertains me while I’m cooking.

My Echo Dot can be connected to speakers or headphones through Bluetooth or a 3.5 mm stereo cable to play music from Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, or TuneIn. The one I now have in my kitchen is bigger than the dot and has a screen. Chuck loves to see  pictures of himself on it.

I now have a few compatible smart devices in my home. The one in my kitchen turns off and on a light in the living room. When she does it, she says “ok.” Sometimes, Chuck says, “ok, what?”

The Echo Dot has a built-in speaker so it can work on its own as a smart alarm clock in the bedroom, as an assistant in the kitchen, or anywhere you might want a voice-controlled computer.

It has been especially helpful with Chuck’s dementia. Everyday at 9:30 am, she says, “Chuck, please don’t forget to take your vitamins.” At 10:30 am, she reminds him to mix some protein powder with fruit juice. Twice during the day, she reminds him to do his physical therapy exercises.

Sometimes, it works, with no additional prompting from me. He takes his vitamins. Some days, she says, “Chuck, please don’t forget to do your physical therapy exercises, and from his man cave he blows her a raspberry. Funny man!

Chuck has an echo dot in his man cave. For a while, he would ask me to come get it to play 100.7 WFLA in the mornings. I obliged, until one day, I heard him talking to her. When I got there 100.7 was playing. I wondered how he did it all by himself.

A few days later, he told me that Alexa was so cool. All he has to say is “Alexa start,” and she does. I try not to disagree with Chuck, but I’m thinking, “I don’t think that’s how she works.”

Turns out, I was wrong. Somehow, those two have worked it out. He says, “Alexa start,” and she plays the last thing he did, which is always the same, 100.7. I’m always amazed at how Chuck maintains his independence! We’re still hanging in here!

You are losing us out here!

May 21, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Opinion, This & That

Until about a decade ago, everything they taught me about breakfast was wrong. My traditional eggs and bacon breakfast was bad for me. That changed during the Obama administration. Eggs, both yellow and white, were good for me. The bacon was, too, in moderation.

Years ago, the US Government, under Obama, finally took meat off the “do not eat list.” But no, we did not enjoy it for long before the naysayers ran to another group to put the skids on meat again. The World Health Organization claimed processed meats like bacon, ham, red meat, and sausage pose a cancer risk…as significant as cigarettes.

So now my breakfast is not good for me AGAIN. People, you are losing all of us out here!

WHO cited a study that showed a minimal increase in colon cancer for men and women who eat these meats daily. They explained it in this article from Australia.  http://www.uicc.org/how-interpret-iarc-findings-red-and-processed-meat-cancer-risk-factors

But I like meat, and I’m willing to take the risk if there is a risk. Why can’t we get along and realize? To each his own. Live and let live.

My parents had this attitude. They were part of a generation entitled “The Silent Generation.” Their generation was sandwiched between two very vocal generations—Civic (the greatest generation) and Baby Boomers (the loudest generation, according to my interpretation). I am a Boomer.

As I grow older, I am learning to appreciate my parents’ generation. According to Time Magazine in their November 5, 1951 issue,

“The most startling fact about the younger generation is its silence. It does not issue manifestoes, make speeches or carry posters. It has been called the “Silent Generation.”

Wikipedia says, “The Silent Generation, is generally defined as people born from 1928 to 1945.” By this definition, my husband Chuck, who was born in 1944, fits this description.

Wikipedia continued, “Silents were sometimes characterized as trending towards conformity and traditionalism, as well as comprising the “silent majority“. However, they have also been noted as forming the leadership of the Civil rights movement and the 1960s counterculture, and creating the rock and roll music of the 1950s and 1960s. They just went about it differently than anyone today.

I miss my parents, especially the quiet way they got things done. Our later generations need to study how they did it.

Wikipedia

Silent Generation – Wikipedia

How to: From Genealogy to a Family Book

March 19, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy

Over seven years ago, when I retired, I stared at the boxes and files filed with over 35 years of genealogical research. It was time to digitize everything, so I did that for about three years. It takes about three hours a day. 

The family trees and research are on Ancestry with a backup on my computer using Family Tree Maker software. I was an early customer of Ancestry, all the way back to the early 1990s. When I decided to back up what was online, I chose Family Tree Maker shortly after that. Their track record was already good. I trusted them.

I stayed with both because Ancestry offered an extensive sample, and the Family Tree Maker’s track record was still excellent. Plus, it would require too much work to change now. I had too much invested.

While inputting it, I couldn’t help wondering whether anyone in my family would actually read it. Except for one daughter, I feared no one else would take the time to search through the “this ancestor begat that ancestor” information. 

So what can one do to ensure one’s offspring understands their heritage?

It occurred to me that people will read narrative stories before reading basic research, so I wrote a book.

Because I needed help, I found Lynn Palermo and her Family History Writing Studio. Her online courses teach amateur genealogists how to write about one’s family in a narrative nonfiction way. 

https://www.familyhistorywritingstudio.com/

I signed up for a 28-day challenge held in February several years ago. It turned out to be just what I needed. The challenge came with daily directives, such as identifying the theme and focus of what I wished to write. She immediately made me realize I needed to focus on one or two ancestors instead of entire families.

Next, it helped me organize and gather the resources I already had. In addition, it helped me understand the resources and research needed. She just completed one in February.

https://www.familyhistorywritingstudio.com/family-history-writing-challenge/

Later, for example, she requested a short story about our chosen ancestor, and the challenge participants critiqued each other’s work. It became a daily exercise that got each of us into the habit of writing. 

The result was a book series entitled Palmetto Pioneers, a three-book story. I chose one family member, Mary Adeline Walker, my third-great-grandmother, on my maternal side. She came to territorial Florida in 1829 and settled with her parents and grandparents near Monticello, Florida. They were yeoman farmers who primarily raised cattle.

During the 28-day challenge, I focused on my family in my home county. I had been told they were among the first settlers of this area of Florida, but there were too many family lines. I descend from the Hamricks, McSwains, Rodgers, Wheelers, Lightseys, Andrews, Wilsons, Carters, and Walkers. All arrived in Jefferson County, Florida, before the Civil War. 

I narrowed the list to the Walkers because they first arrived in 1829. They came to this county as several Walker families.

I chose Mary because she is the keystone for the distinct lines of the family from which I descended. Her daughter, an Andrews, married a Lightsey, who married a Hamrick. My mother is a Hamrick.

All I knew about Mary, though, was her marriage. It required much more research to prove her parents. Until the 1850 census, the enumerator did not ask for the names of other household members, so she is not listed by name in the 1830 and 1840 censuses. She married in 1843 and moved out. However, there is a girl her age in each of the two earlier censuses; and I could not find a girl her age living with any other Walker family. There are other secondary sources used in a proof argument in the book.

Mary’s parentage wasn’t the only research needed. It took over two more years of research, including over 120 digitized issues of Monticello’s first newspaper from 1859 to 1861. This process was slow but valuable. Information gleaned from these issues changed the story. I had to rewrite an entire chapter of the second book.

Because I was writing a narrative account, the story needed much more than its characters’ primary and secondary resources. I realized I needed a timeline, not only for local happenings but also for state and national. I developed all three timelines and used them to fill in the backstory, those events happening to the family at each point. 

For example, during the Second Seminole Indian war, Jefferson County suffered many massacres. One was in Mary’s community. History Geo showed that the massacred family lived next door, close enough for the family to hear. Local diaries and journals described the fear of children and adults. One log told about a Carter cousin killed.

While researching the family for the book, I realized that Mary and her husband may be Florida Pioneers. Thus, I began the Florida Pioneer Descendent Certificate process. At first, this task seemed daunting, but the Florida State Genealogical Society had an excellent system to follow. A warning, though. If I had looked too far ahead at the amount of work to be done, I wouldn’t have started it. But I went through each part step-by-step without looking ahead, and before I realized it, I was done. 

When I turned in my initial application, it needed more. Kathy Stickney contacted me, and she became my mentor. She was on the committee that helped those who wished to complete their certificates. I accomplished it several years ago. 

A Series named Palmetto Pioneers

I entitled the first book, “The Emigrants, which begins when Mary was seven and still living in South Carolina. It covers the roads we believe they took between Colleton District and Monticello, Florida. It is also a bit of a history lesson, describing why these areas had recently opened.

Determining when they left South Carolina and arrived in Jefferson County required several resources. Later, census records showed when their children were born and where. Using these dates and places provided a good idea when they made the trip. Common sense showed they probably made the trip in the late fall or early winter. These were farmers. They would have wanted to stay for the last harvest and be in place in the new land by the time of planting. With all this information, we felt confident they left around early October 1829 and arrived by the end of the year, with plenty of time to raise their cabins and get their first crops into the ground.

To determine what route they took, I studied maps from that era. The family did not use some roads because they traveled with livestock. According to journals and diaries from that era, the road down the east coast and the Coffee trail did not have enough water for the cattle. I studied other roads, weighing their distance and ease of travel, before choosing the most likely route.

The first book ends when Mary marries and begins having children. She married a widower born and raised in the District of Columbia, when Washington, DC, was rebuilt after the British burned the Capitol and other buildings during the War of 1812. His father was a joiner in the carpentry business there. 

Another milestone of the book’s ending, though, is statehood. The book carries the reader through when her father and husband vote in Florida’s first statewide election. For this story, their day began early because they had to ride 8 miles into town for the event. Because it was spring, a busy time on any farm, I felt certain Mary’s father did not come into town the day before.

When I began the book and was well into ending it, I thought I was working on one book. It wasn’t until my 94-year-old distant cousin read it for family content. He said, “Cindy, I think this is two books.” He kept the chapters I sent him and placed them in a notebook. It required two large notebooks. That is when I knew I had written a series.

The book is self-published by Amazon, and it was easier to publish than I imagined. It is available on Amazon as an e-book, paperback, and hardback. Because I felt the first book was over-priced, I have split the second part in half again. Hopefully, the next two will be a cheaper read.

The book has an extensive bibliography in the back, and the e-version can be word searched for any person, place, or event.

Though my primary purpose was to write a book for my descendants, I always had in mind two more secondary goals. I love my state and my county, and it concerns me that my neighboring citizens do not understand its rich history. I meant these books to provide anyone, whether kin, a look into how this wonderful state was settled. 

FAN Club Research & Family History Writing

February 21, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy

I blogged earlier about location research, but another type of research can help you drill further into a person’s or family’s life. It is called researching a person’s FAN Club. I’ll use my main character Mary as a model.

Mary’s records included census records from 1830 in Jefferson County to 1870. I also found marriage records, tax records, and several land records. These helped me determine where she lived and traveled, but there are more profound clues that can help one paint a broader picture. For example, who witnessed these events and filed for a marriage license just before or after hers? Who married her?

Laura Andrews Lightsey, daughter of Mary

Census records can show us who their neighbors were. Who else lived in their community? Land records can help one tell how far away that person lived? Who witnessed their land purchases? Who purchased land on the same day? Who voted, and who voted next or immediately before in line. These people are their FAN Club (their friends, associates, and neighbors). Many of these people may be related to them, though they may not initially appear to be.

Elizabeth Shown Mills named the FAN club, which can also be called cluster research. In short, it is a network of people to whom a person connects. It was imperative to research Mary because no definitive records show who her parents are. I had to look to others around her to find the answer.

For example, her father and her husband traveled together to vote back to back in Florida’s first statewide election. Her brother Henry and her husband traveled together to Tallahassee and bought adjoining land on the same day from the US government. Almost all of her children named at least one child after her father, one of which named his son Jesse Walker Andrews, using her father’s surname, too. Several of her Walker family members named their children after her husband.

FAN research was also used to determine Mary’s mother’s maiden name. Though less robust, there is one secondary document with her maiden name listed, but the informant never knew her personally. The document is dated more than forty years after Elizabeth died.

However, using FAN club research, some people lived nearby, both in South Carolina and in Florida, who shared this maiden surname.
Numerous Wilsons attended their church in South Carolina. Also, in Jefferson County, a lady less than a quarter mile away in the northern part of the Elizabeth community shares the same surname and could be a sister. Both Mary’s mother and this woman came to Florida from the same community in South Carolina at the same time. Both their husbands are descendants of Walkers, too. This and other information make a strong case that Mary’s mother was a Wilson before she married.

This additional research can provide clues that your ancestor‘s research failed to do. Granted, it is much more work, but it can help you break through your brick wall.

Using FAN club or cluster research, one can rely upon indirect clues and a preponderance of evidence to build a case instead of relying on primary evidence, which is often unavailable.

The more I learned about Mary–who lived with or near her and interacted with her family–the more I learned about Mary herself.

To learn more, please click on the link below.

https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-11-identity-problems-fan-principle/

A Timeline Can Make Your Writing Better

February 6, 2023 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

Since I published the book, I’ve had numerous requests for information on how I prepared. Writing a family history book, especially one that is narrative, required research and ways to analyze the information found.

I spent over two years researching the book. I gathered my main character’s information, reviewed what I already had, and searched for her FAN Club (her friends, associates, and neighbors). Still, making a timeline was one of the most essential parts of this research. It included dates, events, places, and occupations.

In the end, I had several different timelines: one for the family (dates of births, religious dates, marriages, deaths, etc.), one for local events (Monticello & Jefferson County), one for state events (Florida), and one for national. There were two more for the Civil War and for the Second Seminole Indian War. I added nothing to a timeline without a good reference, and I immediately added the reference to my bibliography.

I used timelines to illustrate how things changed over time and to draw connections between the people and events. I also used them to check my work, especially the chronological events. Sometimes, it helped me add more dialogue since it is obvious the residents of a town would converse about important changes happening to them.

My timelines brought together elements of my character’s history, the people they may have known, the places they may have frequented, and the events that might have brought them to town.

Timeline for Monticello Events

The timelines were formatted with bullets for the dates and events. Sometimes, it was for a full date and sometimes only a year was given.

I eventually did a spreadsheet for the Civil War, showing the men from the family who fought in it, their units, and the places they fought. I could add a line anytime I needed, and I could sort the date, event, or place. This was especially helpful. I added their regiments and companies and could sort them according to such. This way, I could see them as a unit for questions like who else served with them, who was wounded in a particular battle, and who didn’t return home.

Family in the Military Spreadsheet

Initially, I didn’t cite sources for the individual events within the timelines, but I realized later I should have. It would have made it easier for me to check a reference when I noticed that the order of some events was duplicated. For example, I discovered conflicting dates for events in the Indian and Civil Wars. They conflicted because people’s memories aren’t always the same. A person’s diary written on the spot is better than a person’s memoir, especially when that person’s memoir was written fifty years after the event.

When Location Becomes Their Story

December 10, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Books, Following Old Trails, Genealogy, Palmetto Pioneers

One of the most important parts of writing the book “Palmetto Pioneers” was research. Studying the location of my chosen ancestor became an important next step.

But let’s take a step back. I didn’t begin looking at the locations. I began reviewing what I already knew about my main character, Mary. I went back to my original research, first to my paper files, then my online files, such as her family’s Ancestry tree.

This review identified all the places she had lived or traveled. This was easy because Mary lived in Colleton District, South Carolina and traveled by wagon with her parents and extended family to Jefferson County, Florida. It appears she lived there for the rest of her life, so I only had three locations to research, but one of which was fluid.

I asked questions. Where was she married (Jefferson County, Florida marriage record)? When and where were her children born (census records which showed when and where she lived)? Where and when did she die? I also looked for land, court, and probate records.

Full Book Cover–Front, Back, & Spine

An important part of this process was making a timeline for the family. It had three columns—one for the event, one for the date, and another for the place. It helped tremendously when trying to find events or write about them in the correct order they happened.

It also showed flaws in the research. Not everyone’s memory is the same for any event, and people make mistakes when recording important dates. Timelines helped me find the discrepancies and then helped me either fix the discrepancies or explain them in the book.

These earlier steps, used to analyze Mary and those around her, brought me to the next part of my research.

Where did these events take place? And what did I know about them?

Using census records for her father and the other Walker heads of household in the family, we know she came from South Carolina, most likely Colleton District, southwest of Charleston. But what did I really know about that area? This became an important question for the next step.

I began with the courthouse in Colleton County, but before making a trip up there, I researched the courthouse itself and where I could expect to find records. Right away, I discovered that though the courthouse itself did not burn during the Civil War, its records did. Because they were on the path of Sherman, they sent their records for safekeeping to their capital, Columbia. After marching through Colleton County and leaving its courthouse untouched, Sherman made a beeline to Columbia and burned the capitol and Colleton’s records there.

However, I learned that there are land records in neighboring counties that show lands near the county lines. They reflect who owned the land across the line. Barnwell County’s records for Lightsey lands showed the Walkers were their neighbors in Colleton County. I also learned that people have donated records from their families to a local Genealogy Room, which was in the same building as Colleton’s extension service. There is also a genealogy room at the county library.

Roadtrip!

This led to my favorite pastime—travel. Add a trip to a genealogical site, and for me it is a match made in heaven. I chose one of the old routes, certainly not an interstate highway, and I drove from Monticello to Walterboro, wondering if these families may have used a trail or road nearby.

Family Search Wiki, Colonial Roads in America

Using all this information, I made several trips to Walterboro, the county seat, and to the location of the Walker lands near Carter’s Ford on the Little Salkehatchie River. This location research was invaluable to the story, especially when the family still lived in South Carolina. It was wonderful to walk where they had walked almost two hundred years before, but why did they leave? Studying their first location could help provide answers.

The Florida State Genealogical Society featured a speaker last month during their Poolside Chat series. Diana Elder suggested in her presentation entitled, “Locality, Locality, Locality: Putting Your Ancestors in Their Place,” that one should create a “locality guide.” I wish I had listened to this about six years ago. It would have saved me later headaches.

I should have created a “Colleton County Locality Guide,” with a section for “Background Information,” showing “Quick Facts” such as laws that changed the economic environment for the family and their dates, purchases of property, natural disasters in their area, when South Carolina became a colony, and so forth. One event I found was the building of a nearby railroad, which might have changed the family’s mind about moving since the railroad provided better opportunities to reach new markets.

In the Locality Guide, “General Collections” shows where to find information as well as “Online Research Guides” and “Maps and their Dates”. Here, one records maps that show the changes in state and county lines. Within Colleton County, they divided the county into parishes. The family lived in the St. Bartholomew Parish, but did they always? The guide is used to collect all the information found about a location.

The Walker Migration Route

Another important research project was trying to find how they got to Jefferson County, Florida, from Colleton District, South Carolina. I knew the names of several trails between the two areas, and I began my research quest by studying those trails.

Later, though, I discovered that the best place to begin this research was Family Search Wiki. Simply enter the words “migration” and the location to find the different trails and roads in an area. It gives you a list of trails and roads plus maps and other resources.

Usually, I began by googling the name of a town, river, road, trail, or anything else on which I needed more information. It usually sent me to other sources, such as maps, gazetteers, trails, and so forth.

Several gazetteers became important. You can find them using Family Search Wiki. Search for “gazetteer”(singular) and then enter the location you wish to find. We can find the digitized ones this way, but I found some that were not digitized in the bibliographies of other historical works. Always check their sources. It will surprise you what you uncover.

Maps became very important to the story. They showed me how they got to Florida.

I began with trails, because they built most of the older roads on old Indian or military trails. I found some on old maps, especially the earliest maps. William Dollarhide has done much work in identifying old trails throughout the nation. His books were very important to my work. I also used diaries and journals to learn what they saw on the trails and roads when they migrated south. In the book, what the Walkers saw on their journey south was in those diaries and journals.

Something I did not use is the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) on the United States Geographical Survey (USGS) website. I discovered it well after I had finished my research. Here you can search for the names of trails, and also towns, post offices, lakes, and rivers nearby.

Once I had sufficient information about the trails and roads available, I analyzed them for the families’ most likely route. Because they drove a foundation herd of cattle with them, I cut two of the more popular routes from the list—not enough water.

Why Florida?

The next step was to study her final home. Why did the family choose Florida? What else was out there? Newspapers seemed to be a good place to start, and there were Charleston papers that they may have read. Mary’s father and uncles were educated men. I discovered a wealth of information about moving to Florida, some of it from the South Carolina papers in their era.

I also had records already in my files. Federal censuses showed us when they made the move. Some children were born in South Carolina, and others in Florida. Land records showed us when the land was available for the family to buy. The Walkers came here before the land was available in the area they settled. They probably squatted on that land and made improvements that gave them the first dibs.

An early probate record for her grandfather told a story about how hard it was to live with local diseases such as malaria. Court records showed when they made their trips eight miles away to the county seat. All of this was important because vital records mostly did not exist. There were no death records or birth records in territorial Florida. There were only church records and Bible records, but few.

I mentioned a boundary issue earlier while they were in South Carolina. Though the boundary did not change, some in Colleton County were lucky to live near the boundary of another county, whose records did not burn. Atlas of Historical County Boundaries is a website by The Newberry Library which shows how a county’s boundary changed. It also shows state boundaries, too.

When the Walker family moved to Florida, it appears another group of Walkers moved just north of the state line in Georgia—an area less than ten miles away. We know from DNA they are kin to each other and from census records; they lived in Colleton District, too. We could never determine if they made the trip down together, though.

https://historygeo.com/

Later, Historygeo.com showed me who first bought the lands next to them once they bought land and settled in Jefferson County. History Geo even showed me how far away two massacred families lived during the Second Seminole Indian War. Using the sound of a gunshot, I determined which of them the family could hear from their home. I decided all of this using locality research.

Finally, I spent a lot of time studying the history of Jefferson County. It provided clues why they came when they did. For example, our state government only recently formed Jefferson County. It was less than two years old. Its land was just becoming available for sale from the state.

Historical books for a county can be important. Being from the county, I am a local and I knew which books to use. However, the National Genealogical Society has a series of books entitled “NGS Research in the States.” There is one for Florida, and it tells you where to go to find information on any county in the state. I also visited Family Search Wiki to look at their state timelines. It provided me a beginning for my in-house state events timeline.

In Jefferson County, the WPA did a research project in the 1930s, and they generated a book. We call it the Green Book. It includes first-hand stories from the children of these early settlers. A University of Florida professor wrote another county history book in 1976. Contracted by the Jefferson County Historical Association, it is an excellent source. Add to these the various diaries and journals kept, and they provided plentiful information about what Monticello and Jefferson County looked like when the Walkers arrived.

Jefferson County Courthouse, replaced in early 1900s

Locality research was vital to the book and an understanding of who these people were and what happened to them. It helped me determine who they were in South Carolina, how they got to Florida, and what impact they had on their new community once they arrived. Location research provided a wealth of information. I could not have written “Palmetto Pioneers” without it.

What Did it Take to be a Florida Pioneer

December 2, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Books, Genealogy

What was Florida like when the first white settlers got here? We can only imagine the hazards—the native population, alligators, mosquitoes, and poisonous arachnids. Add to this a list of climate changes—hurricanes, droughts, tornadoes, lightning strikes, and the economics of settling a new land—its unknown character.

One man, not from Florida, said in 1829, “no man would immigrate to Florida–no not from hell itself!” Obviously, he was wrong; because these first settlers came, and now, almost two hundred years later, they are still coming.

In my family, came seven-year-old Mary Adeline Walker with her parents; and later her grandparents followed. She is my third great-grandmother, and she came to Jefferson County, Florida, in 1829. We have important records and resources about her, but no diaries or journals from her or her immediate family. There are diaries and journals from other people, though, who lived in this area during territorial Florida.

Using Mary as my primary character, I wrote a book entitled “Palmetto Pioneers: The Emigrants.” It is one of a three-part series. The final book ends in Monticello during reconstruction, after the Civil War. The first book begins when Mary’s family migrates from South Carolina. They brought with them on the journey a foundation herd of cattle.

They primarily dealt with cattle, but like most good farmers, they varied their livestock and crops to diversify their risks. Mary is one of eleven children, primarily boys, a real plus for the family’s operations, which were in Jefferson County.

The book, written in a genre called narrative nonfiction, may be classified in a sub-genre called family history writing. It uses elements of creative writing to present a factual, true story. It uses literary techniques usually reserved for writing fiction, such as dialog, scene-setting, and narrative arcs. But I rooted it in facts. No part of the story is made up or fabricated unless the author signals otherwise.

A clear example of this type of genre is the book, “1776”, by David McCullough. McCullough extensively researched this subject using both American and British archives to create a powerful drama with extraordinary narrative vitality.

For “Palmetto Pioneers,” the territorial Florida time period was extensively researched, and a bibliography follows at the end of the book. I divided it into time periods such as “Life in South Carolina,” “The Migration,”, “Life in Territorial Florida,” and “The Indian Wars.” I limited their life in South Carolina to reflecting on why they left and what they needed to bring, but it doesn’t tell the reader. Instead, it shows these events.

In the first book are scenes that reflect the realities of living in Florida. The reader sees what Florida was like through Mary’s eyes. The reader can also see her and her husband’s place in Florida history.

There is no family tree in this book, but it references an online Ancestry tree that is public and accessible to anyone without a membership. Many of Mary’s brothers and sisters, as well as her own children, left Monticello and settled in many other parts of Florida, such as DeSoto, Citrus, Putnam, Marion, Bradford, Madison, Suwannee, Levy, Indian River, Brevard, Dade, Duval, Okeechobee, and many more counties. Two families went to Texas, and their descendants still live there.

One can find the first book of the series on Amazon, and there are soft-cover copies at two businesses in Monticello, Florida—Oh Happy Days Gifts and Vintage Antiques. On Amazon, the books are almost $25 for hardcover and softcover but only $9.99 for the e-book.

I’m Back!

August 3, 2022 by oldageisnotforsissies54 Filed Under: Family Life, Palmetto Pioneers

Several years ago, I wrote a farewell post letting all of you know that I was taking some time off. The post is here.

Chuck’s dementia and the book I was writing took too much of my time. I suspended the blog for the interim.

I am happy to announce that the book is finished and finally published. I knew it was taking me forever, but the book is now three books of the “Palmetto Pioneers” series. Here is a post I did on the book back in 2016.

The first book in the series is entitled, “The Emigrants”, and it follows the main character’s life from the age of 7 until Florida becomes a state in 1845, when she was 23 and married. Her family moves to the territory of Florida in 1829.

Full Book Cover (Front, Spine, and Back)

The book has three purposes. The primary purpose is to help her descendants understand what it was like to move to Florida during that era. It describes what Monticello looked like when they arrived, and how it and Jefferson County changed over the early years of its founding.

A secondary purpose of the book is for Jefferson County and its residents to understand the area’s heritage.

A third purpose is for Floridians to understand this part of the state and the role it played in the formation of the down-state areas. Many of these families migrated farther south after the Indian wars and the Civil War.

So I am back writing posts for this blog. Chuck is doing as well as can be expected. He no longer drives and lacks his short-term memory, but he is still fairly independent, especially after we moved from the larger house to my much smaller family home. We are in walking distance of downtown with its coffee shop, barber shop, and vegetable and fruit stand.

Chuck walks everywhere and enjoys his newfound freedom. He has no trouble finding his way back home as long as he can see the courthouse which is higher than anything else in town. From the courthouse, he knows to go toward the bank and keep walking.

More to follow!

I won’t post weekly like before, but will try to post at least once a month.

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