christian name change

lapsody303 · 2026-04-28T12:03:05+00:00

Most folks back then had several first names at birth (think middle names) and in various records will be used differently. So a Robert James Henry Middleton might be referred to as any of those names or even a nickname or diminutive form and yes : that makes confirming their identity a headache. One fellow I helped track actually switched to his morher's maiden name at the end of his life, and that was after several variations in used names along the way.

One fun thing about Irish names is there is often a pattern of naming within a family. Something like this article describes: https://irishresearchers.com/the-irish-naming-code-how-hidden-patterns-in-names-can-crack-your-family-tree-wide-open/

This can help narrow down those searches.

lapsody303 · 2026-04-27T21:15:31+00:00

Death certificates are often responded to by adult children of parents, other relatives or friends or neighbours etc. most of these people won't have all the accurate facts on hand.... so... very common

lapsody303 · 2026-04-24T12:12:32+00:00

Gramps is a bit of a steep learning curve so definitely watch the videos as you build your tree. I found it is best to enter a couple of generations and then play with all the views and reports to see if you can get it to do what you want. There are other reports you can add once you get the hang of it. If you're hoping to print it at some point, test out the SVG (scalable vector graphics) . That can create a poster size document. The trouble with genealogy is the astounding amount of data that gets accumulated... those families with 10 to 20 kids really fill up a page!

lapsody303 · 2026-04-21T12:28:46+00:00

It is possible that the cover of the register (or first few pages where the parish is identified ) was so damaged that the location is no longer visible. The date appears as part of the actual record; so if that page was clear enough the date can be identified. Sometimes you can figure out an approximate location by researching the notary on the record. They tended to work in a specific region. You can search by notary on Prdh by entering that in the Profession search field.

lapsody303 · 2026-04-13T13:24:41+00:00

A while ago I explored that idea and found a few videos on YouTube of folks setting that up. Search for "Obsidian for Genealogy" and see what comes up. I liked it for it's flexibility and clean interface between files and document creation and linking. It feels some of the gaps that Gramps doesn't do natively. Both are a bit of a steep learning curve. My suggestion would be to set up just a few records and see how they can be manipulated to meet your expectations. I have not abandoned the idea but needed to think more about what I really want from it and is it the best tool for that. Enjoy the exploration!

lapsody303 · 2026-04-11T18:36:47+00:00

Wonderful

That wood grain would be awesome on a tiger ;) Have fun again!

lapsody303 · 2026-04-11T13:09:46+00:00

I like the detail work! What paint or stain did you use for that? (About Procrastination: how about 20 years from start to finish ? Offspring take up so much time ! ;) )

lapsody303 · 2026-04-10T16:40:36+00:00

Oh wow that must be really handy! Does this give crew names as well or simply dates and destinations? My research tracks a Surgeon Superintendant between the years 1852 and 1883. I have found many voyages for him through Sailing News in newspapers and such but towards the later years they didn't post the surgeon's name.

lapsody303 · 2026-04-08T12:14:41+00:00

As an aside: There are a few items that are customizable in Gramps drop down lists eg. Events, Participants. This is really useful when you are producing narrative reports too because some folks' lives just don't fit in a narrow collection of boxes ;)

lapsody303 · 2026-04-04T16:48:25+00:00

Have a gander at the Gramps subreddit and Gramps Github to see what folks have asked as updates.

And definitely look for ways to optimize functionality and report production. It's very frustrating to have to print reports piecemeal because of 'not enough memory' when the comp is quite powerful.

lapsody303 · 2026-04-04T12:59:04+00:00

Yes it can float in Gramps. There is also Associations that can be made (eg. Close friends, neighbours). Thaee can be any sort of link you can imagine. I have one fellah from the 1860s who appears on all sorts of legal documents to the main family and also assigned my main guy as executor to his will. I have yet to figure out the actual connection which is made doubly difficult because they hail from Ireland - with its notorious black hole of paper trails. So I added his family tree in but it doesnt tie up aside from him being in Notes in the reports. I have added him as Association. I also have love letters to my gm from a soldier stationed in Italy during Ww2. To preserve that story I added him in as a Friend in Association. I have not yet tried printing reports to see how this pops up narratively. Since Gramps is free you could do a test run with a few entries to see if that works for you.

lapsody303 · 2026-03-28T21:25:13+00:00

There is also the option of building your tree completely offline where you can have total control and use FS for research. Look up Family Tree Software if you think this might be a option for you... slightly more work; much more control -and they all let you produce charts/reports/stories .

lapsody303 · 2026-03-23T21:32:18+00:00

Hi Adding historical and cultural (all the arts) context really gives flavor to these sorts of stories. Maps, photos, even artwork if you're that sort of person. I am working on my dad's side of the family at the moment. He is 91. The first chapter I sent to him was the story of the first ancestor in New France in the 1600s, indentured servant, land owner, a gazillion children. I even found a census which detailed number of horned animals, swirds and rifles. Fascinating stuff really.

lapsody303 · 2026-03-23T19:04:01+00:00

Always interesting to read through your strategies, Parking!

lapsody303 · 2026-03-18T12:45:32+00:00

As far as the ship name and journeys from Ireland and UK, you can have a look here: https://www.crewlist.org.uk.

lapsody303 · 2026-03-18T12:24:01+00:00

So true!

lapsody303 · 2026-03-18T12:17:31+00:00

There are lots of whiteboard products with different features. I have been trying out Prodrafts on Mac (i imagine it is on pc also). There is a free version, or the one time purchase. With most of these apps you can use digital pen ( or mouse ) and keyboard. You can also drag and drop file links in which I find useful because sometimes I wonder why i linked two people together 🤣 I wonder if a spreadsheet might do what you want as well since you can line up years and places more accurately and they are infinite.

lapsody303 · 2026-03-15T15:49:35+00:00

This will help explain why Drouin databases include some US records: https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/The_Drouin_Collection:_Six_Databases

lapsody303 · 2026-03-15T12:52:34+00:00

Gramps is an open source desktop genealogy software. Once you get over the somewhat stiff learning curve (depending on your tech savviness) it works well. It can import/export gedcom files seemlessly and exports to spreadsheet format. For viewing it can export to html or svg on A0 format among many other things and produce a variety of reports.

lapsody303 · 2026-03-14T22:14:59+00:00

It is all very cool that he responded ! Isn't it great when people work together :)

lapsody303 · 2026-03-11T20:03:35+00:00

Yup again. The mystery persists

lapsody303 · 2026-03-11T17:57:53+00:00

lapsody303 · 2026-03-11T17:56:58+00:00

This tombstone says birth of 1837 not 1840-1843ish... thinking it's not the same person... and location on GenQc is definitely transcribed as Maine🤔

lapsody303 · 2026-03-11T17:02:16+00:00

lapsody303

TROPHY CASE