90th Carnival of Genealogy--Third Annual iGene Awards

And now it's time for the Call for Submissions! The topic for the next edition (#90!) of the COG will be: The Third Annual iGene Awards, The Best of The Best! It's Academy awards time... time for the Academy of Genealogy and Family History, aka AGFH, to honor their best blog posts of 2009 in the following 5 categories:

•Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009. Tell us which you liked best and why.
•Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?
•Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?
•Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?
•Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

Thank you to Creative Gene for again sponsoring this carnival.

Welcome to the third annual iGene Awards. Ah yes, genealogists are an obsessive bunch. Since I am one of them, I can certainly understand these recently overheard comments from a local genealogical gathering; "Not tonight dear, I just found that they have listed the local turn of the century newspapers from Columbiana County Ohio on ancestry," or from the newbies, "Ok so I don't descend from anyone--now what?"

Always found on any geneabloggers wish list is, "I want relatives who religiously wrote in the family Bible, journalising every little event and detailing the familial relationship of every visitor" and "I want ancestors who were wealthy enough to afford, and to keep for generations, the family homestead, and who left all the aforementioned pictures and diaries and journals intact in the library". However, uppermost in all genealogists minds is I want ancestors I can FIND!

During my first year as a geneablogger I have met and made some solid new genealogy friends who have given me warm and yet constructive comments. Many are here tonight walking their own red carpets. Oh, I have seen Carol from Reflections From the Fence and there's Hummer from Branching Out Through the Years; Lori from Genealogy and Me and Greta from Greta's Bog to mention just a few. I know they will be among those stepping up to the microphone to announce their blogs personal picks.

This is my maiden geneablogging year and the time has come to reflect and pick the best of 2009 from Flipside. The envelopes please.

•Best Picture - Best old family photo that appeared on your blog in 2009.

There were so many contenders for this award; however, the winner is my paternal grand aunt, Mary Louise VanGilder showing a little skin on her tiger skin rug, who topped the list at Carnival of Genealogy 74th Edition Swimsuits.


•Best Screen Play - Which family story that you shared in 2009 would make the best movie? Who would you cast as your family members?

After searching through the entries to find the appropriate blog that could become a screen play the Gene goes to My Dad's Homecoming From Korea a SNGF entry that has the promise of pulling at the heart strings.

The Cast for A Soldier's Homecoming

Dad: Matt Damon
Mom: Kate Winslet
Linda at age 6: Lucy Merriman
Ken at age 1: Twin boys from central casting
Dr. Arthur: Ben Affleck
Pop Pop: John Travolta
Grams: Geena Davis
Teek: Jane Fonda
Soldiers on base: Extras from central casting

•Best Documentary - Which was the best informational article you wrote about a place, thing, or event involving your family's history in 2009?

The Morgantown West Virginia roots win again! Best Doc goes to Sampson Frum Pool at Carnival of Genealogy 73rd Edition--The Good Earth.

•Best Biography - Which was the best biographical article you wrote in 2009?

The winner and one of my favorite subjects to write about....hands down, my paternal great grandmother, West Virginian, Jessica Pool VanGilder and her biography featured at The 67th Carnival of Genealogy: Nobody's Fool.

•Best Comedy - Which was the best funny story, poem, joke, photo, or video that you shared on your blog in 2009?

After several ballots the top vote getter, not genealogy related at all, is The Bay Leaf Fiasco a Wordless Wednesday blog which beat out several other worthy opponents.


Thanks go out to all the compelling prompts supplied this year by COG, SNGF, Smile for the Camera, Festival of Postcards and Graveyard Rabbits as well as the weekly memes. We thank the ballot tabulators of Flip & Side for counting and organizing the Third Annual iGene Awards for 2009. Congratulations to the winners and we look forward to the 2010 contenders next year. BLOG ON

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Treasure Chest Thursday--My Jill Doll

Ah, my old Jill doll. As a young girl, I did not have all that many dolls probably because the doll buyer (my Mom) was not a doll fancier. She loved stuffed animals. I had so many plush critters covering my bed that it was difficult to get into it at night.



I can remember three dolls....Betsy Wetsy, Ginny and this Jill doll. Girls from the 1950's will remember Betsy....feed it a bottle filled with water and it would wet the diaper and cry "real" tears! There was also another version by a different company--Tiny Tears.

Ginny was my favorite. I have none from my childhood, but have collected the old, hard plastic ones as an adult. Truth be told, I became somewhat obsessed with doll collecting as an adult. Perhaps that is another blog. I don't know if I was trying to make up for not having dolls as a child....or what....now I currently have hundreds of them in antique display cases around the house.

My Jill doll shows some wear. As a child, I was not too "easy" with my toys or dolls. They were played with, taken into the bathtub and I usually gave them a haircut or two ;-) Enough to make any collector cringe.

The necklace is original to the doll. I'm not certain if it was actually purchased with an outfit or if I custom made it from a broken piece of jewelry I already owned.

When I found Jill among boxes of my saved memorabilia, she was wearing a little dress that was handmade by my maternal grandmother, Martha Marie Frederick Stark aka Teek. Back in the day, Teek made most of my dresses and she would always make a smaller version for Ginny or Jill. Come to think of it, I need to get a photo of that little dress!

For this photograph Jill is appropriately attired in a late 1950's ensemble with strappy gold heels.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Wordless Wednesday--Squirrel Nest

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

More Phil at Gobbler's Knob--Groundhog Day Revisited

After my son, Aric, encouraged me to get his Uncle Ken to post the video on YouTube and me sending Ken a text.....here is the finished product. Miss Snap Happy (that would be moi) was on board filming the theatrical portion and I see that a few of the Flipside photos also made it into the finished production. Watch out James Cameron!

Now Flipside readers will see first hand why I just love traveling with my brother. There is always a new adventure around the bend.....

P.S. Video was made by Ken for his 2nd graders for fun viewing on Groundhog Day. They LOVED it!

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY the Punxsutawney Way

Yes, last summer found us in Punxsutawney for a day!


A thrill....remember I AM a Pennsylvania gal!

My brother, Ken, filming a video for his students.Teachers may be on vacation in the summer;however, teaching is always in their hearts.




Ken in front of the Groundhog Zoo at the Library


Phil's digs when he is not out on February 2 predicting the weather. His permanent home is inside the Punxsutawney Library.


The REAL Phil having a bite to eat.

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Tombstone Tuesday--William Morlan Orr

William Morlan Orr, son of Joseph and Jane Orr, is my maternal great great grandfather. He was born in Columbiana County, Ohio on April 28, 1813. William married Nancy Cannon on October 15, 1835 in Columbiana County, Ohio. She was the daughter of Lindsay Cannon and Elizabeth Fife.

William and Nancy raised a family of five children, their youngest, a daughter, Lucinda, was my great grandmother. The family lived on a farm in Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio on land probably owned by William's or Nancy's father as both owned property in Elkrun.

William died at the young age of thirty-five, on February 11, 1849 and is buried with the Orr family in Carlisle Cemetery, Elkrun Township, Columbiana County, Ohio.

WILLIAM M. ORRDiedFeb 11 1849 Aged 35y 9m 14d

© 2010, copyright Linda Hughes Hiser

Monday Miracle--Pounders Unleashed

I know we all have success stories to share of folks finding our blogs and those surnames we have mentioned. Last month I shared information on my Pounder line from Hartlepool, England and another researcher from the UK sent me a comment on my blog that she, too, has my family in her database out on ancestry.

One of my shortcomings was following the Pounder surname. First, I have no UK information at my disposal here in Ohio and second, as I mentioned in the blog, there are hundreds of Pounders, all with similar first names living in Hartlepool.

She made me a guest to her ancestry information and there I found many generations of my family listed. It was all very exciting and gives me something to begin building my research upon.

Genealogy blogging comes up aces again. YEEE HAWW