Major Mistake????

I've been working diligently, although not making much progress, on my research and I have made a possible major mistake in my research.  I'm working on my Wheeler line for my Great Great Great Grandparents and I'm unable to find any records that support the information that I have right now.  So here's the scoop, Ira Wheeler married three women, Phebe Wiley in 1846, Hannah Bird in 1852 and Helen Brown (My line) in 1863.  According to family bible pages Ira was the son of Thomas and Experience Wheeler (shared here).

I then have Experience as the daughter of Randall and Experience (Alden) Wheeler.  He's the deal....The information doesn't match up!  The problem is I cannot find where Randall and Experience's daughter named Experience that married Thomas Wheeler.  If this is the wrong Experience Wheeler....which I'm afraid it may be, then my entire line to the Alden's is incorrect and I may not be descended from Pilgrims after all....this would be sad news indeed.  I really loved learning the story of John Alden and Priscilla Mullins as well as John Alden Jr accused of witch craft during the Salem Witch Trials.
So for now I press forward researching my information and determining if it's right or wrong.
I'll keep you updated!!!!
Happy Hunting!

RNA...Royal Neighbors of America

Over the summer I was in a local cemetery with my parents and we came across this marker in the cemetery.  This wasn't one that we were familiar with so we decided to do a little research.  (Thank you smart phone!)  We discovered that this particular symbol stood for Royal Neighbors of America.  (We also decided that discussing these markers would make a good blog series.)

So what is Royal Neighbors of America?  In short it's a life insurance company.    But there's more to it than that.  It was a company founded in 1895 by nine women at a time when women could not vote (which we know didn't come until later) or purchase life insurance.  The company still exists today.  They continue to provide life insurance as well as support communities.  It's still a woman-led company and offers financial education, scholarships, legal support, health and wellness discounts, and fraternal benefits, as well as other services.  So check them out online at their website.

Evernote!

Recently I viewed a webinar on Legacy's website on Evernote presented by Lisa Louise Cooke.  Evernote is a cloud based program which allows you to take notes, capture webpages, photos, etc and organize your research.  It also allows you to tag the notes you take and manage your genealogical projects. I took the challenge that Lisa presented in her webinar and tried Evernote for a week....now I'm hooked!  My favorite feature of Evernote? The fact that I can use it on all my devices or online if I don't have my own devices and it all syncs to my cloud and all the information is available from whatever I access Evernote on.
Here's an example to explain what I mean.
Yesterday I was at the library with my mom.  While I was working I wanted to photocopy a picture of the John Alden house from the Mayflower Silver book.  Instead of going to the copy machine and creating another piece of paper, I snapped a photo with my phone from Evernote and synced my photos from my phone.  I was able to sync the photos and the information f

Happy 2015!

Another New Year is here!  Can you believe how quickly 2014 went by!  I'm taking some time during these few days off from work to reflect on  my genealogy research and what my goals are from here.  I'm continuing to follow up leads from my Fitzgerald research and making the leap "over the pond".  I've also been reading up on Irish history and learning about the events that shaped Ireland in the time that my Fitzgeralds immigrated to the United States and why they may have come here.  During my research an interesting fact that I learned is that the Irish did not have clan tartans.  That is strictly a Scottish thing.  Some clan have registered a tartan with the Scottish office that handles that, but Irish kilts were generally a solid color.  I registered for a website called Fitzgerald Clans.  It's part of the Irish clan network.  There's lot of information as well as a store that clan items, like the clan's Aran sweater pattern, can be purchased.  One project I have planned for this year is to knit myself my own Fitzgerald Aran sweater, maybe as a sweater dress. 

My main goals this year is to work towards some of my brickwalls.  I am also considering application to the Mayflower Society. My one genealogy goal this year is to write for my blog more consistently as well.  2014 brought some major changes to my life and took time that I would have normally devoted to my research and writing.  Now those obstacles no longer exist I have my time again.
I'm off to research!
Happy Hunting!