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Hi! I am new here and am glad to be in the compny of people with this same interest who have found a way to find the answers. I am dealing with two distinct problems. One is that I have only recently found out I am half Hawaiian (I do not have the coloring etc.) and there is very little information out there about so much of it. The other problem is that my mother's side of the family is extremely secretive. It is like they are hiding something. Those who have been working on this project on their own and separate from me are very closed mouth about it all. They do not share information. So apparently we are all looking for the same answers and are all in various stages of finding them but each of us is starting with nothing (are nearly nothing) and for me this is hard to do as I can not leave my home to get answers. So I feel like my hands are tied. Also those most of my previous generations are gone now (when they were still here they would not talk about it with me) and they left little to no clues to their pasts.
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Re: New Here
Mon, June 12, 2006 - 8:58 PMWelcome Robin.
This tribe doesn't seem to be too active. There is a LOT you can do with your situation. I guess it depends on WHAT you want to figure out. Of course Hawaii being such a recent state, it may create an issue with official records.
You'll find that even people that are TRYING to tell the truth don't always get the facts right.
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Re: New Here
Tue, June 13, 2006 - 12:12 AMTrue. But I am going to have to work around my family. They are uncooperative. It's like they are hiding something. I think it is just the way they were all raised. But it is frustrating. -
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Unsu...
Re: New Here
Tue, June 13, 2006 - 7:17 AMYes I know what you mean. I have an uncle who has done loads of research on one branch of the family with all kinds of historical photos, douments, etc. and he won't share them. It's ridiculous. I don't understand what the point of doing research is if you're not going to share it. He won't scan and send me old photos because he says it destroys them - like one time is going to make a difference. Grrrrrr. -
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Re: New Here
Tue, June 13, 2006 - 1:55 PMHe can simply take it to a photo place and have it put on disc. This neither damages it nor make it hard to get to.
What is it about uncles? My uncle is doing it too. It is frustrating and makes no sense to me. Like you said, what is the point? Uncles can be a pain...
I have some stuff. Not much but some. So atleast I have a place to start. Thing is my uncle is like yours. He has tons of the stuff I would like to have. For my son and my grandchildren as well as the rest of my family.
Something else I am doing, hoping it will gvie me clues to my family history is writing down old memories and sorting through old pictures. Something may spark there (although my family was notorious for not labelling photos). -
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Uncles
Tue, June 13, 2006 - 8:32 PMneiner, neiner
My uncle is GREAT. He's doing ALL the genealogical research from his side of the family... more than what I could ever use.
My wife's uncle is doing all the research he can on his surname, whether it's his family or not.
OK Robin, Let's start.
If you don't have a genealogy program to organize your stuff, get one. I think there are several that are shareware or very cheap.
Check out the gazzillion websites, like Cyndi's List. Ask here if you need help.
Collect official records. YOUR birth certificate. Death records list a LOT of information; get to know who and where the County Clerk is for the COUNTY that you are interested in. Get the facts ma'am, just the facts.
Google everyone in your family.
We all leave records.
Birth records, marriage records, divorce records. Voting registration, car registration. School records, employment records. Insurance, driver's license, social security.
There are also a lot of places online you can go to ask for help.
Oh, and don't forget the Mormons. The LDS church is wonderful in collecting records. It would be a BIG MISTAKE to bypass their research. Find out the location of the nearest Family History Library.
Oh, and while your at it... I had this great-great uncle in Michigan..... -
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Re: Uncles
Wed, June 14, 2006 - 10:05 PMI'm also relatively new here myself, though I did want to second some of the earlier comments.
I have an uncle who did a lot of research a while back and gave me a rough family tree and a lot of other helpful information, and I also have a cousin who is interested in the family history. But that's it. Noone else seems to care about the family line. So, I understand that it can seem frustrating when so few people out of your whole extended family appear interested in the genealogy research you're trying to do.
On the subject of cheap genealogy resources, "Family Tree Magazine", which I have found in a few local public libraries, recently ran an article on "Family History Freebies":
www.familytreemagazine.com/jun0...s.asp
I also agree with Duane on the great genealogy resources offered by the Mormon church. I found several generations of my paternal family line already plotted out in considerable detail on the Family Search site (www.familysearch.org), and I also just dug up some helpful Civil War records at a nearby Family History Center.
One other resource I would suggest at least considering is DNA testing, which is what really drew me into genealogy research just within the past year. Granted, the testing is not cheap, but especially if there's already a surname project going (say on www.familytreedna.com), the testing is authoritative and if you get a few matches, can quickly put you in touch with some other researchers with whom to compare notes.
If that uncle won't provide any other information, perhaps he could be convined to donate some of his DNA ... =)
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Re: Uncles
Wed, June 14, 2006 - 10:21 PMThank you for including the links for these sites. I appreciate it.
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Re: New Here
Fri, June 16, 2006 - 6:05 PMhey, i'm an uncle who would love to share info with nephews and neices but they're not too interested...
be careful with the LDS site there is a lot of useful information but also a lot of sketchy info. i think in their zeal to get their ancestors into heaven they sometimes go with very sketchy info and estimate on a lot of things. i found a line done by a LDS researcher that takes me all the way back to the garden of eden. it uses the bible as source. -
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Re: New Here
Sat, June 17, 2006 - 1:02 AMThank you. I will keep that in mind. There are some things I know from family stories and hopefully those things will help to keep me on the right track. -
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Re: New Here
Thu, July 6, 2006 - 3:32 PMAnyone who doesn't already use some gen. magazine or website, should consider doing so. You get a gentle (monthly) nudge to do some work on your family tree, and some nifty links or resources, on a regular basis. I just got my "Family Tree Magazine" monthly newsletter. Contains this set of links, some of which are free:
www.familytreemagazine.com/aug0...asp#2 -
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Good Tip
Fri, July 7, 2006 - 11:05 PMPhil,
Good tip... many of us NEED that nudge (including me, especially); a monthly 'notice' to get back in the game is a great way to get it.
Thanks -
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Re: Good Tip
Tue, July 18, 2006 - 8:45 PMI also recently subscribed to (and can recommend) a free email newsletter that provides a little nudge every weekday to keep plugging away at the genealogy research:
Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter
blog.eogn.com/
A lot of the brief articles in the Eastman's mailing I just scan over at first and maybe flag to review further on the weekend when I have more time. Still, every now and then, the Newsletter contains a very helpful suggestion or a pertinent note about a new genealogy book, software update, or online database. -
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Re: Good Tip
Thu, July 20, 2006 - 10:06 AMDick Eastman has been into genealogy for a very long time... anyone remember computer bulletin boards before we used the internet? Remember when CompuServe was the only game in town? Dick was there helping us with genealogy then.
I got to meet Dick on a trip to Massachusetts in late 1991; he graciously met my wife and I for dinner. Glad to see he's still out there helping.
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Re: New Here
Wed, June 14, 2006 - 10:20 PMThank you both for all the valuable information. I will check it all out.
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Links
Thu, June 15, 2006 - 8:24 AMWhenever I'm looking for family, I start here:
searches.rootsweb.com/
To find local resources, especially real people who I can ask questions of, I go here:
www.usgenweb.org/
There are TONS of other other sites, so I may not be using the best. One of the most popular is:
www.cyndislist.com/
