Reflections on getting ORGANIZED

NOW THAT I AM ORGANIZED

According to Denise Levenick in her article in Family Tree magazine, "cutting clutter will make you better organized and sharpen your genealogy focus."

I am here to tell you Denise is

 "right on the money."

Using Denise's techniques for organizing  documents on my computer, I can apply them to hard copy files in my file cabinet. My hard copy files are yet to be done. 

Remember the mantra:

1) read, 2) scan and, 3) recyle

don't print... don't print...don't print 

Note what Levenick says: "If it would be a financial or logistical burden to replace the item, consider it an original."

If the above definition meets the criteria for a document, then scan, keep the original, file in hard copy file.

_______________________________

Here are some examples of success from my organization project so far:

1) When I labeled consistently I found 2, 3 ,4 or more copies of documents, placed in several locations (so I could find it and still couldn't find it.)

I had a photocopied birth record for my mother Catherine (Kata) labeled:

Kata birth, 

Binder Kata Croatia birth, 

birth_record kata 

placed in several locations/folders.

Once all the copies were opened and labeled consistently Binder, Kata birth record, the computer alphabetized them and I 
1) noted that I had several of the same document, 2) practiced consistency and, 
3) trashed two of the copied.

I can easily find that document now.

_________________________

2) The family portrait that was within hundreds of pictures in iPhoto for which I had to search and search is now in a folder called Photos under each surname folder and labeled so I can find it. 

Binder, Joseph formal portrait. 

__________________________

3) Levenick says "label so you know what is in the folder." With consistency and labeling you KNOW what is in the folder.  For example:

What was in the folder I labelled Stoner information? The item in Stoner folder is now called 

S. Dak. neighbor letter re: Stoner.

____________________________

4) Found gold!
Going through email folders I reread, labelled, and placed emails in surname or appropriate folders. 

As I organized and reread emails I found contacts. I needed to reconnect with contacts and I did! 
I reconnected and it generated  

additional surname information and photos from  reconnecting with these contacts.

____________________________

5) I was always opening folders to see what was in them and then closing them because it wasn't what I was looking for. This was a waste of time and caused frustration.

___________________________

6) I located document, emails, and items that were 

  in the wrong surname folder

____________________________

I have not finished organizing. 
I am getting organized and it feels 

Great!

Thanks Denise

Share your reorganizing thoughts, surprises, esamples of success?

See ya down the road... 

Copyright @ 2015-16 Diane McClure Lott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Amanuensis Monday

Death by Run Away Team of Horses

The Death of Winfield Scott Bauer

(As reported in the Miller Press June 24, 1926)

Mr. Bauer was working on his farm when a team of horses became frightened and ran away. In his attempt to hold them, he grasped the wheel of the wagon. The horses did not slacken their speed and as the wheel revolved it carried the unfortunate man with it.

He was thrown to the ground with considerable force, falling on his head and shoulders. Mr. Bauer was still conscious when members of the family came to his aid, but shortly after the arrival of the physician he lost consciousness.  He died Tuesday noon.

The deceased was born in Pennsylvania and was 44 years of age. He has made his home in the county for some years. At one time he was in charge of the municipal light plant before it was taken over by the city.

He was survived by his widow and ten children. 
(My mother Catherine Mae Binder was one of those 10 children but not the daughter of Mr. Bauer.)

Funeral services will  be  held in Ree Heights Friday at 10:00.

Mr. Bauer was the husband of my grandmother Anna Marie Binder Bauer husband and son of Irvin Bauer. 

They lived in Hand County, Ree Heights, South Dakota.

See ya down the road...

Copyright @ 2015-16 Diane McClure Lott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION

Grandmother Born in Berlin, Germany ?

A BERLIN BRICKWALL

My maternal grandmother, Anna Marie Binder, was my brick wall from the beginning of my genealogical research. Document after document  that I had in my possession stated country of origin Germany or Berlin.

Church document in San Diego. Information provided by Anna.

Year, YEARS of research in Berlin archives and locations referred to by Berlin Archives involved postal mail, postage, international postal certificates, weeks of waitiing for replies and then further translations.

Below are addresses in Berlin or German Genealogical archives between the years 1997 and 2004.

Staasbibbliothek Zu Berlin
D-10102 Berlin
Unter Den Linden 8
D 10117

Standesamt 1 in Berlin

Senatsverwaltung fur Innes
Fehrbelliner Platz 1
10702 Berlin

Evangelisches Zentralarchiv in Berlin
Jebebasstrasse 3 106 Berlin

Sachsisches Staatsaarchiv Leipsig
Deutche Zentr4alstelle fur Genealogie
Schonnenstrasse
04329 Leipsig

Hauptstaatsarchiv Stuttgart
Konrad Adenauer Str. 4
70173 Stuttgart

Thuringisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Weimar
D 99423 Weimar
Marstallstrasse 2


I provide these address here for anyone who may need to research Berlin, Germany.

In another post you will read how I determined that Berlin was not the location of my grandmother's birth.

PART TWO of WE THREE and our story

Ron, Diane and Anna 

Continued... A Brief 

Family History of the Berger and Binder Surnames.

Catherine Binder was born in what was Yugoslavia (now Palesnik/Hercegovac, Croatia) but her mother Anna Marie and the Binders were born in Hungary and believed also to have emigrated prior to the 1700’s  from Germany as Donube Swabians. 

Germans were recruited to come into the Hungary to help rebuild the country after the Turks laid it waste. The Binders can be traced back to mid 1700s in Somogy Harsagy, Hungary .

LDS micfrofilm

Anna Marie Binder (Bauer) was born in Somogy Harsagy, Hungary as was her father Johan (Ivan, John). She was the only living birth of Johan Binder and Agnes Marie Weingartner. Agnes was listed as native of Switzerland on Anna's death certificate.  Agnes Marie died (?) and Johan remarried Marianna Bauman (Baumann).

LDS microfilm

Of that union there were Kata (Aunt Katie), Ivan (uncle John) who came to America and Teresa Binder Bauer, and Elizabeth Binder Rebic. Of these who remained in Europe I have visited the daughter (Teresia) of Teresa Binder Holowitz (who lives outside Munich) and the grandson (Franjo) of Elizabeth Binder Rebic (who lives in Zagreb, Croatia).

LDS microfilm,  family group sheets of Estella Bacon

Johan Binder (Anna’s father) visited America and at least in 1910 was on the South Dakota census as a hired man. He made several trips to and from America but no other family members followed.

Ree Heights, South Dakota census of 1910

Anna Bauer moved to Ree Heights South Dakota where she married Winfield Scott Bauer.

Marriage certificate of Polo Catholic church document

Kata (Aunt Katie, my half great aunt) came to America registered on the ship as Binder and married Matias Muehl at Ellis Island. 

Ellis Island and passenger list documents

Kata was pregnant at the time. They moved to Reblake, WI. From there they went to South Dakota and then to New York state. Anna Binder and her daughter Kata (my mother) came to America in about 1910. It is believed that at any one time they were all in the same place Reblake, WI or Mitchell, SD as there was a family photo* taken of Johan, Katie, Matt Muehl, little Kata, and two of Katie’s other children (Mathew and John?). Kata Muehl’s first child Anton died at birth in Reblake, WI.

Census records, death record, church records

*The photo then had three of Johan’s children in it (Ivan/John, Katie and Anna).

DNA results of our lineage has been somewhat stunted as not many Eastern Europeans of the Bergers or Szabos are here in America. And of those that may be in the USA it is supposed have not many take the DNA tests.

From the DNA samples from Ronnie and David Berger the DNA reveals a not so surprising German ancestry but also and surprisingly French ancestry as well. 

If you are Danube Swabian I would like to hear from you.

See ya down the road... on the horizon...

What Was It that Sparked Your Passion?

What Was the Spark to Your Passion?
My passion for family research began with the death of my maternal grandmother Anna Marie BINDER Bauer.

My interest in genealogy/family research started when my grandmother Anna Marie Binder Bauer passed away in 1961. As a young teen holding the funeral card in my hand and staring down at the simple gravestone I wondered... and my wonder became my passion for genealogy and family research. 

Gravestone for Anna Marie at Holy Cross Cemetery San Diego, CA

   Much later another spark was ignited when my mother Catherine Mae Bender (BINDER) Berger  retired and decided to get a passport for travel. The difficulty and the process she went through to get proof of citizenship/naturalization etc. continued this intrigue for me.

   I am first generation in America of immigrant parents and research in the countries of Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, and the state of South Dakota was difficult to nonproductive. I spun my wheels writing queries, doing translation into several languages, and waiting for postal responses that provided little to nothing from abroad. 
My spark waned.

  Feeling frustrated, I switched my interest to my husband's Dutch ancestry and was tremendously successful. These sparks of success kept me going...nonetheless I was hooked.
More on Dutch research in another post.   

  When I returned to the BINDER research I was more successful in finding information about my grandmother Anna Marie Binder, by sidestepping on the family chart to Anna's half sister, Katherine Binder Muehl.

Katherine is located in the middle of this chart

There will be MORE ON SIDESTEPPING IN THE UPCOMING BLOG ENTITLED SERENDIPITY. WATCH FOR IT.

QUESTIONS:

Have you had sparks?

What sparked your interest in conducting family history/genealogy research?

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I would love to hear some of your comments!

Some may go into another one of my blogs.

Copyright @ 2015-16 Diane McClure Lott

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO USE WITHOUT PERMISSION