Tag: fun

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A Treasure in the Tax Book

The tax records from Fayette County Georgia for the years 1833-1851 are in rough shape. The years 1839 and 1840 seem to be bound in the December 13, 1836 edition of the Southern Reporter, published in Milledgville. And tucked into the back of the 1840 tax records, this poem appears in a hand different than William Sparkman, the tax assessor. [Spelling preserved from the original.]

Our Taxes increase so Evry Year
We Surely cannot pay
For we are getting in debt tis clear
And have to move away
Unless we get our Martin Van
To rule our nation right
He will do justice to every man
And Keep his ends in sight

That good Old William Henry H.
Who fought at Tippacanoe
Will Beat our Van in Spite of fate
& inspite of all we can doe
But God will not suffer man to fall
Who lives by his hard labour
But at the Judgement day h__ call
For our Whig friends & Neighbours
A[nd] Say depart ye – – I know you not
T. Slick

Section of poem found in tax book for the year 1840 in Fayette County, Georgia.

A brief dive into history finds that President Martin Van Buren maintained the austere government policies of his predecessor, deepening the financial crisis in 1837. And during that time he continued to live a wealthy lifestyle in the White House, staffed by both free people of color and enslaved people. William Henry Harrison, a hero from a battle in Indiana against the Native people living there, defeated him in the election of 1840.

This little treasure scribbled onto a page in the back of a tax book provides a glimpse into the feelings of the citizens of Georgia in 1840. Take a look for yourself, the tax records are available online at FamilySearch.

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The benefits of taking a break

Sunrise at Kilauea Crater, Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, photo by Connie Davis

I’m returning from a wonderful trip to the Big Island, and I’m privileged to have that opportunity. I’m reflecting on the benefits of a break.

According to the Harvard Business Review, vacations benefit “mind, body, and soul.” The potential benefits include an uncluttered mind, improved creativity, and enhanced mood. A reduction in circulating stress hormones allows the immune system to recover and can reduce your blood pressure. And if you are in your “happy place,” you may have the opportunity to reconnect with who you truly are and what matters to you.

The vacation was an opportunity to reflect on the beauty of the world around me and on serendipity. When our rental car was unexpectedly available at midnight, we added a middle-of-the-night visit to Kilauea Crater to our agenda and saw glowing lava and a beautiful sunrise. When our rental car’s “Check Engine” light came on during our first day, our budget rental was replaced with a brand-new 11-miles-on-the-odometer SUV, perfect for our seven nights of beach camping. When a storm caused the Hawaii County officials to close their parks to overnight campers, we were able to find a sweet, inexpensive hotel room in a family-owned operation one block from a beach where turquoise blue waves crashed into the rocky shore. As an added bonus, whales cavorted offshore. When another camper couldn’t finish his last papaya before boarding his flight, we received an unexpected treat of the delectable fruit. We were among the less than one thousand people who will visit a protected national wildlife reserve in 2025. Our trip did end with a return to our own vehicle at 11:45 PM, buried under 6 inches of snow with a dead battery. Luckily we were prepared with a Battery Jump Starter and it started right away. (Seriously, if you don’t have a Battery Jump Starter, add it to your wish list!)

Our travel experiences remind me that I need to accept my family history research journey with the same attitude of wonder and the ability to change strategies as needed. I’m easing my way back into my genetic genealogy projects with renewed energy and hope.

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Fun with Time Travel, AI style

Genealogy can be serious work. Searching for unknown parents, trying to untangle twisted bits of information, and checking everywhere a reasonable genealogist would check for evidence…it all takes time and dedication.

For a diversion, I recently used MyHeritage’s AI Time MachineTM to imagine myself in other places and times. The program asks you to upload as many as 25 photos of yourself: portrait, profile, upper body and full body. Tip: Hats seem to throw if off, so upload your photos of yourself without hats! I am almost always wearing a baseball cap when outdoors, and ended up with some distorted images. I wear glasses and did have a recent passport photo of me without glasses which seemed helpful. In some images there are ghosts of my glasses. I did use the photo program on my Mac to clean up a few with weird blotches that were ghosts from either my long hair or my glasses. The program takes some time and uses Artificial Intelligence (that’s the AI part). More about the technology here. When the program is ready, you then choose various places and times and have yourself placed in the style and clothing of that era.

Here are some of my favourites starting with the furthest back in time:

16th Century Royalty

The fact that so many of the choices provided in the AI Time MachineTM involve royalty reminded me of this quote from the movie, Bull Durham: “How come in former lifetimes, everybody is someone famous? How come nobody ever says they were Joe Schmo?” –Crash Davis

I’m pretty sure my family were serfs.

18th Century France

This one from 18th Century France was kind of fun. This would be the last part of the 18th Century when hairstyles were tall and exotic. The hairstyles of the day sometimes made political statements or included a ship model. If you decide you want do your hair like this, here’s a tutorial.

US, Civil War Era

By the time we get to the Civil War Era, it’s possible that photos of our own families have survived. I do have a copy of a photo of my 2x great-grandfather, Jesse Workman, in his Civil War uniform. He served in the 119th Regiment of the Illinois Infantry. There are also photos of some of my 2x great-grandmother, Sarah Jane (Ellis) Davis around this time period.

1920’s

By the time we get to the 1920’s, I have more family photos. It’s fun to see some family resemblances start to come through. The MyHeritage models were much better off financially than most of my ancestors, though!

And since it is a Time Machine, we can go forward into the future. My husband and I often talk about the fact that we really thought space travel would be common in our lifetime. Here is my fantasy future:

Future Me

If you aren’t on MyHeritage, consider giving it a try, not just for the fun AI Time MachineTM but for all the other benefits. You may find additional DNA matches (especially from Europe), helpful genetic communities, great DNA tools, and additional records you might not find anywhere else. And do have fun imagining yourself throughout history!

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Celebrating with the Virtual Genealogical Association (VGA)

Image by D. Sharon Pruitt, courtesy of WikiMedia Commons

We celebrate far too little. So when the VGA asked me to come to the party, I said, “yes!”

I spent 3 hours today with fellow family historians. We heard from great speakers who shared fun tips and told interesting stories. We played genealogy games, too! I shared my version of a much-loved evening game show that involves responding to an answer with a question. Yes, that’s the one! Everyone had a blast and we had a winner who excelled at the Genealogical Proof Standard Category.

The sponsors recorded the presentations and shared additional presentations on their YouTube Channel. I contributed two recordings: Concise Communication for Genealogists using SBAR and an Introduction to WikiTree’s US Black Heritage Project. Head on over to listen to my recordings and hear all the wonderful presenters.

What a fun party!