Book of Me 2018 Series Reflections

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Julie Goucher

© 2017 Julie Goucher

In this post we are going to reflect on the 2018 series and kick off by revisiting the very first prompt from January.

  • Who Am I? List 20 things that describe you

Answer that question again and then go back and look at the answers you gave in January. Compare them; are there any changes? or surprises?

If you did an earlier series why not compare against those answers too.

This year’s series has been about getting to know yourself.  Not just for the benefit of future generations but so you can get to know you too. So often we simply get swamped with “life” and the demands made upon us that we don’t take the time to reflect on ourselves.

I hope you have enjoyed the series.

  • What has been your favourite prompt and why?
  • What was your least favourite prompt and why?
  • What were your challenges of the 2018 series?
  • What have you learnt about yourself?

If you have any questions or want to share thoughts or a blog link, if you decide to share via a blog (remember to, that you don’t have to share to take part in the series) then please leave a comment. Further discussion is also happening in the closed Facebook Group.

Stay tuned for the 2019 series!

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Book of Me Prompts – December 2018

Posted on December 1, 2018 by Julie Goucher
Book of Me2018

© 2017 Julie Goucher

Welcome to the final set of prompts for the 2018 Series of the Book of Me. You can read when the prompts are published and about the few changes at my earlier post HERE

There are five prompts each month and you can undertake as many or as few as you wish to.

  • What is your favourite Christmas song or carol?
  • What is your favourite festive film or play and why?
  • Where is your favourite Christmas setting and why?
  • Describe your favourite Christmas memory and why is it your favourite?
  • What does Christmas candles mean to you?

If you have any questions or want to share thoughts or a blog link, if you decide to share via a blog (remember to, that you don’t have to share to take part in the series) then please leave a comment. Further discussion is also happening in the closed Facebook Group.

 

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Family Tree Magazine 2019 – Surname Research Series

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Julie Goucher

FTM Christmas 2018My 2019 Series in Family Tree Magazine (UK), which is available as both a published copy and a digital magazine, has started in the 2018 Christmas issue (published 20 November)

The entire forthcoming year will focus on Surnames and the concept of researching and focusing on Surnames & Surname Research.

This first instalment is called Why Study Surnames?

 

Posted in Family Tree Magazine (UK) Surname Series (2019), Genealogy, Introduction to One-Name Studies (Pharos course 901), One-Name Studies | 3 Comments

Book of Me Prompts – November 2018

Posted on November 1, 2018 by Julie Goucher
Book of Me2018

© 2017 Julie Goucher

Welcome to the eleventh set of prompts for the 2018 Series of the Book of Me. You can read when the prompts are published and about the few changes at my earlier post HERE

There are five prompts each month and you can undertake as many or as few as you wish to.

  • Share three questions you have?
  • What do you have on your bucket list?
  • Where do you want to go?
  • Of all the places you have been to where is your favourite and why?
  • What are your biggest accomplishments? And why do you think that?

If you have any questions or want to share thoughts or a blog link, if you decide to share via a blog (remember to, that you don’t have to share to take part in the series) then please leave a comment. Further discussion is also happening in the closed Facebook Group.

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National Library Week – B is for Bodleian Library

Posted on October 2, 2018 by Julie Goucher

Capture3The Bodleian Library is part of the Oxford University estate.

It is a fascinating site, bringing together a great number of resources. The one draw back is that not all the catalogue material cannot be freely accessed, but in my experience. You can use the Ask a Librarian feature and the staff will do what they can to assist. Alternatively you maybe able to access the resources either via a public library or University library.

A quick search of the catalogue for the name Butcher revealed some rather interesting features for a company in Birmingham, England as part of the John Johnson Pictorial Archive and like yesterday, this is something that I had not come across previously.

We do not touch upon all these resources within the duration of the Introduction to One-Name Studies course, but what I do hope, is that students are inspired to locate unusual resources and to see if there are references to their particular surname and then to follow the research path, documenting all the details and citations, along with the date accessed.

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National Library Week – A is for Institute of Archaeology

Posted on October 1, 2018 by Julie Goucher

Capture3Some time ago, whilst working on something else I stumbled across this website, the Institute of Archaeology based at UCL (University College London).

Scrolling to the bottom of the home page reveals the links for the Library as well as Museums and Collections.

As anyone with a One-Name Study or Surname Project will tell you, there is nothing more fascinating in locating a search box and inserting your study surname just to see what it reveals.

I did a quick search for the word Butcher and within the first page there was a reference to a book about a Mary Butcher who was confined to Worcester goal for murdering her male bastard son. At this present time, I have no idea who Mary was, but even that slither of a nugget of information does mean that this Mary Butcher potentially left a paper trail and who knows what I will discover in the coming weeks. One thing is clear though, this quick search provided me with a clue to an individual whose story does deserve to be told within my Butcher One-Name Study.

Key to undertaking a One-Name Study, is to search every catalogue & database you come across, even if you do not follow up on the material. Capture the information and the citation and leave it for the future and add to your to do list. Using Evernote, which has a web clipper for your browser means that you can capture either the entire page or the relevant bit -be sure to note the citation too and the date you checked the site.

 

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Book of Me Prompts – October 2018

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Julie Goucher
Book of Me2018

© 2017 Julie Goucher

Welcome to the tenth set of prompts for the 2018 Series of the Book of Me. You can read when the prompts are published and about the few changes at my earlier post HERE

There are five prompts each month and you can undertake as many or as few as you wish to.

  • What and who do you trust?
  • Select a living relative and describe them?
  • Do you spend or save?
  • What is your favourite holiday and why?
  • Nature or Nurture? or both?

If you have any questions or want to share thoughts or a blog link, if you decide to share via a blog (remember to, that you don’t have to share to take part in the series) then please leave a comment. Further discussion is also happening in the closed Facebook Group.

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Introduction to National Library Week 8-13 Oct 2018

Posted on September 30, 2018 by Julie Goucher
Capture3

Created by Julie Goucher using wordclouds.com

National Library week (#librariesweek) in the UK is from the 8th – 13th October 2018 and given how much I enjoyed the A-Z Challenge in April, I thought I would write a post every day through October linked to libraries and archives with a emphasis on those that might assist genealogical and surname research and One-Name Studies. Some days the post will be a specific library and others might be a selection linked by a theme.

We begin the posts with A on 1st October and end the series of posts with Z on 30th October with a bonus post on 31st October!

Just as with the posts during April I have been a little creative and hope you enjoy the series. You can read about the Pharos Introduction to One Name Studies course HERE and you will find all the posts written about One-Name Studies and surname research HERE.

 

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Examining Migration & Researching Migrants in the British Isles Webinar

Posted on September 11, 2018 by Julie Goucher

This webinar will be broadcast live at 8pm US Eastern time (or 1 am UK time) on 12/13th September. The presentation will be available to all for one week before being made available to Legacy Webinar subscribers only. A comprehensive syllabus is available to subscribers. You can still register for the live event and to receive reminders HERE

Examining Migration & Researching Migrants in the British Isles

Posted in DNA & Surname Projects, Genealogy, One-Name Studies, One-Place Studies, Presentations | 4 Comments

Favourite Book(s) #36 – The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon

Posted on September 6, 2018 by Julie Goucher

Outlander SeriesAs a rule of thumb I do not enjoy fantasy novels, but I do enjoy historical fiction and this series is set between the two genres. Some years ago, a friend introduced me to the author, Diana Gabaldon who writes the Outlander Series.

The first book is set in Scotland which see’s Clare, the protagonist, meet up with her husband in Scotland. They have been separate by the Second World War and are as good as strangers, discovering themselves again, yet joined as a couple, by marriage.

One day, Clare encounters a set of stones and upon touching them, she is plunged back in time from 1946 to the period of time in Scotland, prior to the Battle of Culloden. I won’t go into the rest of the story line, except to say that these books are phenomenal. The amount of research undertaken by the author is fabulous and despite these not being my usual read, I was hooked. When the series was televised, I was in second heaven!

The author has an excellent website which details the books and the order in which they are written and whilst you can read out of order, I would advise against doing so, as that damages the story line and the understanding of what happens to the characters and when.

If you have not read any of the series, I would encourage you to, they are an amazing read and thoroughly enjoyable.

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