Brenner Genealogy

Recently I stumbled acorss an interesting non-genealogy blog post — “14 Expert Bloggers Sharing Their Opinions & Tips On Blogging.”  It started me thinking about what I have learned in 18 months of genea-blogging.  When I began blogging in February, 2010, I didn’t know what to expect.  I had been reading a few genealogy-related blogs and clearly heard the many invitations to begin blogging.   So, I began cautiously, not wanting to make a genea-fool of myself.  It is only recently that I have begun to realize how and why I am blogging.  My learnings (bolstered by comments from the “14 Expert Bloggers” mentioned above) are in the form of 6 Be-Attitudes.  My thanks to readers who have made comments on this post and, special thanks for the suggestions that have led to two additional be-attitudes (Be Adventuresome /  Be Happy).

1. Be Authentic!  I have learned that I don’t have to be Randy Seaver, Dick Eastmon, DearMrytle, AncestryInsider, Cyndi Howells, or …  Those roles (and their respective blogs) are already taken. Instead, I need simply to be me.  KIM (Today’s Creative Blog) says, “Be authentic! You’ve got to be YOU!  It’s basically the same lesson our mama’s taught us.“  A blog grows out of the determination to say something in a way that only I can say it — that story about my gg-aunt Julia (Hoffman) Brenner, what I learned from reading someone else’s genealogy blog, or how my son and I collaborate on our genealogy project.
2. Be Passionate!  If I don’t care about what I write, no one else will either.  BECKY (InfarrantlyCreative) says, “Bottom line – Blog because you love to. If blogging ever loses the joy for you then don’t be afraid to say goodbye.“  Yes, information is important.  And, the passion to collect and share that information is what genealogy is all about.  TennLady’s description of Obsessive Compulsive Family Research Disease (“Another Attack of OCFRD“) and Michael John Neill’s post (“10 Signs you have Genealogy OCD“) are indications of the passion with which so many of up approach genealogy.  JOANNA PENN (“The Creative Penn“) sums it up nicely: “write what you love to read.“
3. Be Connected!  Early on, I avoided participating in community blogging ventures.  I didn’t think I was ready.  What a mistake!  Recently, after a long hiatus that brought about a need to kick-start my blogging again, I joined Tonia’s “31 Weeks to a Better Genealogy Blog” and I have begun to participate in Randy Seavers “Saturday Night Genealogy Fun.”  Joining other bloggers in those challenges has helped open up my blog (and me!) to the greater geneabloggers’ community.  Writing a genealogy blog places one squarely in the midst of a caring, passionate, knowledgeable community of people — my genea-cousins.   I have also started leaving comments on the posts of other bloggers that I follow.  I learn from them, and apparently some of them are learning from me.
4. Be a Learner!  As a geneablogger, I am learning blogging and genealogy as I go along.  JULES CLANCY (“StoneSoup“) suggests that we “Just jump in! The most fun is in making it up as you go along.“  I experiment with this; you give that a try.  Then, when we share our experiences, we (along with others in the geneablogosphere) learn from one another — sometimes learning what to do; sometimes, what to try to do; others, what not to do.
5. Be There for your Readers!  “Write for your readers” was the most persistent recommendation of the 14 Expert Bloggers.  I began thinking I was writing my blog for me.  Wrong!  (Actually, I do have a private blog, just for me.)  DARYA PINO (“SummerTomato“) makes it quite clear:  “Understand that your blog is not about you. It’s about your readers, and helping them comprehend your little corner of the world. If you value your readers, respect their time, answer their questions and treat them well, they will notice and tell others about the great work you’re doing.“   44 people have signed on to “follow” my blog.  As JAMES CHARTRAND (“Men with Pens“) reminds us “Blogging is a long-term commitment to both yourself and your readers.“  So I need to understand “what they [the readers of my blog] are looking for, or what they could be looking for.” (  PARKA, “Parka Blogs“).
6. Be Adventuresome!   Sometimes genealogy seems like a “cookie cutter” venture — that is, there are standard forms for displaying data, standard ways to cite sources, standard ways of assessing data, etc.  Greta Koehl reminds us, “don’t be afraid to try something new or different. If it doesn’t work, that’s OK, but this is how we sometimes find what works”  Sometimes it is necessary to ‘color outside the lines.’ 
7. Be Happy!  Bobby McFerrin said it nicely in his song:  “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”  Sheryl’s comment reminded us that it is important to “Have fun!”  She also wonders if that might be the “the same thing as being passionate”  From my perspective, genealogical passion can sometimes keep us so tensely involved in what we are doing (like trying to break down a brick wall) that we can forget for a while that genealogy is at its best when it brings joy.  (I don’t know whether that is true for professional genealogists who are working for a client.  I do know, however, that it is true for me as a passionately involved hobby genealogist / family historian.)  
8. Be a Miracle!   This last Be-Attitude is simply a statement from LEONIE ALLEN (“Goddess Guidebook“),  “Share your gifts with the world. We need your miracles, dearest.“  Each of us has gifts to share.  Our authenticity, passion, connections, learnings, and readers all contribute to those gifts and miracles.  So…    Share!   Share!    Share!

Do you have any additional Be-Attitudes about your blogging that you would share?  I’d be delighted to hear about them.

Randy Seaver‘s Saturday Night Genealogical Fun this week is:  Write a poem about “Where I’m From” using the template found at the website http://www.swva.net/fred1st/wif.htm and share it.

Here’s mine:

I am from the house across from the vacant lot where the big boys played baseball,
from Tonsiline, Maxwell House Coffee, and 1955 Ford station wagon with fins,
and from long walks to Shady Run swimming pool.

I am from the home where a dozen inner city high school kids stay over-night on their way to Chicago…  boys sleeping in the sun room; girls, in the dining room
from hot water radiators adding to the human warmth of the house,
from the aroma of coffee perking, first thing in the morning.

I am from the snowball tree with Christmas lights,
from dandelions and weeping willows,
from an enclosed patio room behind the garage and a gas grill outside the door.

I am from “International Russell Day” and “International Cheryl Day,”
from driving to Michigan after dark,
from Brenners and Deeters and Miedings and Smiths
from Barthels (as surname) and Barthels (as given names).

I am from the “you can do anything you set your mind to…”
from “always give it your best…”
from “I can trust you…”
and from “I love you.”

My deep roots are from Evangelische Kirche (in Baden), 
more recently from Congregationalist and Presbyterian…
from a Presbyterian seminary leading to ordination as minister of word and sacrament,

I am from Adelshofen, Baden,
from Youngstown, Ohio,
from New Jersey, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota,
from bean soup (yecchh!) and rinkum-ditty (yummmm!) but, most of all,
from lots of corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, and creamy cucumbers.

I’m from a family of stronger women and weaker men (or so I thought)
from a Dad who could have been the poster boy for “still waters run deep,”
from a Mom who accomplished more in the last 30 years of her life (and is still going at 95) than most of us have in our first 60 or 70 years

I am from more mementos located in the heart, than in the hardware…
from more openness and possibility that is ahead, than from collectibles from the past,
from a lifetime of experiences that can only be described (in the words of the Mastercard commercials) as “priceless.”

I am from Stardust and Pecan Sandies and the power of Niagara Falls…
I am from the fossil skeleton of Lucy, from the Way of Jesus, from the wisdom of Einstein…
I am from the heart of the cosmos and the soul of Don and Garnet…
And I am standing next to you my sister, my brother.

Great fun!  Thanks, Randy.   I think I will ask the rest of the family to give it a whirl!

Tonia’s challenge this week’s was to choose one or more from a list of 11 ways to promote a blog post “that you’ve never done before and use it to promote one of your posts.”

My blog post was “6 Types of Genealogical Collaboration,”  a follow-up to a previous post (#8 on Tonia’s list) with an internal link to that previous post (#4).  I listed it on my Facebook page and to my Google+ genealogy circle (#2).  Since the original idea for a post on genealogical collaboration came from Dean Richardson Genlighten newsletter, with follow-up email conversation with Cindy Richardson, I sent them an email with a link to the new post (#1).  This morning I discovered that the latest Genlighten newsletter mentions both posts, includes links, and encourages their readers to “check them out.”

At the end of the post, I wrote: “How do you collaborate with others?  What does your genealogical collaboration look like?  I’d be interested in hearing from you.”   So far, two comments list both the readers’ joy of collaborating and specific ways of collaborating.  One comment raises a question about how to categorize participation in online family trees.  I will probably respond to that last comment with a new post.

In the past, I have made no effort to promote any blog post.  I have assumed that having written and published a post was all that I needed to do.  WRONG!  A little extra effort can bring additional additional recognition and viewers.  Since this blog had been dormant for a number of months, 31 WBGB has already provided a remarkable “kick start” for me.  I needed it to get back to writing.  Thanks Tonia!

I decided to join in Randy Seaver’s Saturday Night Genealogy Fun:

1. List your 16 great-great-grandparents with their birth, death and marriage data (dates and places).
2. Determine the countries (or states) that these ancestors lived in at their birth and at their death.
3. For extra credit, go make a “Heritage Pie” chart for the country of origin (birth place) for these 16 ancestors.

Here is the data that I have on my gg-grandparents:

16. John Brenner, son of Georg Frederick Brenner and Johanna Catarina Venniner was born on 10 February 1836 in Adelshofen, Baden.  He died 28 September 1909 in Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio, United States.  He and Catharine Welk were married on 1 October 1861 in either Columbiana, Ohio, United States or Mt. Jackson, Lawrence, Pennsylvania, United States.

17. Catharine Welk, daughter of Anthony Welk and Catherine Crumrine was born on 29 June 1841 in Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio, United States. She died 20 March 1915 in Youngstown, Mahoning, Ohio, United States.

18. George Washington Cole, son of Encer Cole and Elizabeth Schaffer was born on 24 June 1834 in Columbiana, Ohio, United States. He died 3 July 1895 in Beaver Township, Mahoning, Ohio, United States.   He and Sarah Renkenberger were married about 1854 in Columbiana, Ohio, United States.

19. Sarah A. Renkenberger, daughter of Johannes Renkenberger and Elizabeth Sheely, was born on 15 January 1834 in Ohio, United States.  She died on 21 February 1906 in Mahoning, Ohio, United States.

20. Carl O. Mieding was born in Germany.  He and Adele Schaar were married in Germany. 

21. Adele Schaar was born in May 1816 in Germany.   She died after 1900, probably in Rochester, Monroe, New York, United States.

22. John Messerall, son of Aaron D. Messerall and Sarah ???,  was born in March 1828 in Pennsylvania, United States.  He died after 1900 (probably in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States).  He and Susanna Catherine Shoemaker were married on 13 June 1850 in Pennsylvania, United States.

23. Susanna Catherine Shoemaker was born on 6 October 1831 in Pennsylvania.  She died on 23 March 1895 at Conchranton, Crawford, Pennsylvania, United States.

24. Abraham Deeter was born in Pennsylvania, United States.  He and Barbara ??? were married in Ohio in 1831.

25. Barbara (Deeter) was born in 1811 in Ohio, United States.

26. Aaron B Knepper was born in January 1841 in Ohio.  He died after 1910, probably in Fairfield, Ohio, United States.  He and Sarah Van Arsdale were probably married in Lawrence, Tennessee, United States.

27. Sarah Van Arsdale: born in February 1840 in Basil Township, Fairfield, Ohio, United States.  She died after 1910, probably in Fairfield, Ohio, United States.

28. John A. Smith, son of Richard Smith and Catherine Albright, was born on 22 August 1828 in Pennsylvania, United States.  He and Amelia Catherine Boyer were married in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States, about 1882.  He died on 7 April 1910 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States.

29. Amelia Catherine Boyer, daughter of Joshua Boyer and Susana Buck, was born on 3 November 1829 in Pennsylvania,United States.  She died on 10 February 1917 in Dayton, Montgomery, Ohio, United States.

30. Jacob Bartle (Barthel) was born about 1832 in Germany. 

31. Jane (Bartle).

I created the following pie chart for birth places for my gg-grandparents using the free tool at Kids Zone.

1. Maybe Later (an unexpected gift)
   Dana, my 1^st cousin once removed visited us about 35 years ago. He was a genealogical aficionado. He showed me his Brenner Notebook. Although I was not interested in genealogy at the time, I intuitively knew that this was a precious resource. With his permission, I copied all his hand-drawn charts and his photographs of people and documents. The beginning of a genealogical journey… maybe later!
2. It’s In the Box (an uninformed repository)
   As members of my extended family learned about my copy of Dana’s notebook, they began to send me bits of family lore. It all went into a drawer until the drawer filled up; then it all went into a box. I had become the family historian / genealogist by common consent. But I still had little interest in pursuing this venture… maybe later!
3. Baby Steps – Organize (almost) and Share (uncritical, untutored genealogy)
   John, a former brother-in-law began to work on my wife’s family genealogy. Knowing that I had data on my family, John encouraged me to share that data with him and he would share his data with me. I purchased Family Tree Maker and never figured out what to do with all the bonus discs that came with it. I entered the data I had with no concern about its sources or accuracy. We rejoiced as the number of people in our combined data bases grew… has ‘later’ arrived?
4. Partnering (beginning to think critically about genealogy)
   I retired five years ago. Now genealogy seemed a viable option. In addition, Russ, my son was interested in our working together. He serves as the technology expert and webmaster for our genealogical project; I am the field researcher. For the first time, I began to think critically about family history and genealogical. Russ and I had extended discussions about the design of a genealogical website, quality vis-à-vis quantity, security and privacy, et al. We built a website with a private ResearchWiki for conversations and data storage… ‘later’ has definitely arrived!
5. Internet Giddiness   (genealogy’s version of the flu?)
   Throughout stages 3 & 4 I was beginning to learn how to find appropriate genealogical data on the internet. Yahoo, then Google, searches began to generate data for our family genealogical project. The quantum leap came when I subscribed to Ancestry.com. I was finding more data than I knew what to do with, and loving every minute of it. I was copying images and data and storing it (unorganized) on hard drives and memory sticks. Some of it even made it into my RootsMagic data base. Unfortunately, too much data and too little organization. Too much giddiness and too little logic. One of these days, I’ll have to get organized… maybe later!
6. Blogging        (a courageous step for me)
   I’m not sure when or how I first became aware of geneabloggers, but I began reading genealogical blogs as a way to learn more about the discipline of genealogical research and the telling of family stories. There was a not-so-subtle message in a preponderance of the blogs I was reading: If you are serious about genealogy, you need to develop a blog. I wasn’t sure I was ready for blogging, but I bit the bullet and, on 4 February 2010, I opened “Stardust ‘n’ Roots.” This will be my 73^rd post… no time for ‘later;’ only ‘now’ counts!
7. Cite & Insight       (growing up, genealogically)
   As I began to get my data organized and as I read more and more blogs, I realized that the biggest stumbling block to my genealogical research was the lack of source citations. Dana’s Brenner Notebook (see #1, above) contained no source citations, except for photos of book title pages where other pages had been photographed as well. John’s database (see #3, above) had some good source citations, but also contained citations of many secondary or tertiary sources that could not be verified. In some cases, I had preserved information about the sources of the data, but those pieces of information were not always with the relevant data. Scraps of paper, loose file cards, and disorganized electronic files did not help. Organizational ‘limbo’ leads quickly to citation ‘hell.’ In order to bring some validity to my genealogical data, I have developed a fairly comprehensive data storage and retrieval system (increasingly, with citations of sources) in our Research Wiki (see #4, above)… our genealogical project is beginning to ‘grow up!’
8. Give Back         (the helped becomes the helper)
   While blogging and internet presence of our genealogy database is a fairly passive way of giving back (the data is available, but others have to take the initiative to get it), I have just begun indexing records for FamilySearch. In my first couple of weeks, I have indexed over 800 individual records. I am finding the indexing process to be a) rewarding (knowing that others will be able to find information about their ancestors), b) frustrating (deciphering the handwriting of others can be a real challenge, and c) fun, flat-out fun… my ‘now’ is someone else’s ‘later!’