For all of you who write a genealogy blog, how often have you had to question what your goals were? When I first started this blog I had a clear course in mind – write about how my research is going and try to highlight some of the better finds. Somewhere along the way I think my focus changed. I started trying to add this and add that. I wanted to take part in the Carnivals and in Memes and other various challenges. I think I lost my focus a while back. It really hit the fan when I lost focus so much that I let my website and blog fall by the wayside because I had forgotten to pay my hosting bill!

It happens! That’s life! I just have to pick up and move on, right?

However, I have started my blog out pretty much the same way I left it! I do my memes and an occasional post about this or that but I really don’t focus on what this blog is supposed to be about. It’s supposed to be about my research! In the last two weeks I have given it a lot of thought. I even thought about just giving it all up! I mean, why pay to run a website and blog that I don’t really have the time to do right now? I have to renew my hosting again on September 5. Should I or shouldn’t I?

Along the way, in the last 2 weeks, I have read a few blogs about what folks would do if they could start all over again. Well, I’ve got that chance. I don’t want to quit doing this! It’s what I really enjoy doing, even if it does really get to you sometimes. I mean, it’s not like I am trying to ruin people’s lives here. I am just trying to chronicle my family history and leave something, not just for my children but for my nieces, nephews, cousins and all their children also! I know plenty of dirt about a lot of things but I will never publish that! Why should I? I try my best to really watch what I write, even if it is about something that happened 200 years ago! It can still impact the lives of those who are still alive.

So, rest easy if you enjoy reading my blog. I’m not going anywhere. I will try to refocus my attention in the near future. I enjoy the memes, blogging prompts, and carnivals but I want to try to focus on my research more. I want to be thorough about everything I have and share my knowledge (or lack of knowledge) about my ancestors. I will continue to post the Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday and Tell Me Thursday posts along with Monday Musings as often as I can. I will also revisit my previous posts on my Stevenson ancestors, adding more info to them to let everyone see what I have to support what I believe. Who knows what will happen if I share more info?

Once again, I apologize for my lack of posting  the last two weeks. I still have a lot going on in my life but I will try to make time to do more on my site and blog. I just realized the other day that I have had a pretty unsettling life the last year and a half. We are planning another move, just to the next town so we can be closer to our jobs. That move will put us at 6 moves in the last 15 months! Can you see why I am having problems getting settled in?

Life continues to improve for me and my family. I want to share it all with my friends, relatives and faithful readers!

Have a wonderful week!

Ken

First off, I don’t think I really explained what my “Monday Musings” posts are all about. Well, quite simply, they are about just about everything. Whatever is on my mind will be what I talk about. I’ll try to keep it related to genealogy but sometimes I will just have to wander off topic!

Today, I’d like to talk to you about what is happening in my life that will have a great impact upon my posts in the near future. I think it would be good to let you all know that there are some things that actually take a precedent over my genealogy research! That’s not always a good thing.

In the last 10 months or so, I have been burdened by a strange little game on Facebook called FarmVille! Yep, that’s right. I’m not quite ready to call myself an addict but I did let it get the best of me for a good while. Heck, at one point I had almost 22 accounts just so I could be sure to get the gifts I wanted and such! However, I had scaled it back to two accounts in the last few months and in the last week I have finally made the move to get rid of that last account! It’s not completely over yet though. That account has over 200 really good friends I made and I am in the process of moving a lot of those friends to my permanent account on Facebook.

What does this mean for my genealogy research and why am I sharing this with you all? Simple, I feel that by doing the things I have done in the last week, I will be able to save myself a ton of time. That will give me time to do my genealogy research again and in turn will allow me time to post more on my blog and on my web site.

Will this mean that you will be bombarded with Farmville posts on my Facebook feed? No, this will actually make it easier for me to manage my feeds. I had come to a point where I didn’t know which account I was on and just got in the habit of posting everything I came across on FarmVille. Now, I have a setup on my Facebook profile that allows me to filter out those requests as I post them. I’m sure I will occasionally post something I shouldn’t but I believe that the number of FarmVille posts you will see on my account will go down dramatically. Now, if you are a FarmVille friend you will see just as much as always, if not more.

How will I accomplish this? I’ve set up a number of “Friends Lists” on my account. I’ve added all those who play FarmVille on one list, all my genealogy contacts on another, and even divided my family into surname lists. This will allow me to target messages at specific groups of friends. Of course, there are certain messages that will be sent to “Everyone” just by clicking on who I want to send it to before sending it!

So, I’m back to having just one Facebook account and I have just about got that account under control once again! I ask for your patience while I do what I have to do to bring it ALL under control.

On another front, I have started to write some posts concerning my Stevenson relatives. If you’ve kept up with my posts in the last week then you will know that I made several discoveries on my Stevenson line and that helped to guide me to start with my Stevensons when it came to entering information into my new genealogy database. The first post was to feature my maternal grandmother, Winnie Ida Stevenson, and I have another post ready that will feature my maternal great-grandfather, Emmit Johnson Stevenson. I will try to stay focused on the Stevenson aspect so the spouses will be addressed later. For now, I will just mention the marriage details and will list children but the main focus will be on the one in the Stevenson bloodline!

So, things are starting to look up! I should be having more time in the near future and I plan on using that time to do a little more research and writing!

Stay tuned for more!

Ken

Summertime is coming to an end soon and school will be starting up again. Does that mean that my life will start to slow down soon?

I’ve taken a very small step in getting things going again. It seems I’ve been saying that for 2 months but things have been so busy lately. We are finally starting to get settled in again and getting back on our feet. It seems like that won’t be for long as my wife is wanting to move closer to my job in New Bern. It’s only 20 miles down the road so it’s not a major move but it’s still a move. I’ve moved way to much in the last year! I’m getting too old for this stuff!

Whatever the future holds for me, I’m confident that things will start turning around for me soon. Life doesn’t always go as we plan it but I am learning to adapt as needed!

Back to that one small step I’ve made, I’ve actually started typing up a new genealogy file in my Family Tree Maker. I’ve only added my wife and I and my three children. Not much I know but I’ve sourced them and added my scans to the correct folders on my computer. I’ve also gotten a basic directory structure down so that as I start to add my parents, siblings and so on, things should be easy to file and sort!

As far as my web site goes, well, it’s hard to actually post everything to my website as I haven’t even added it into my database yet! As soon as I get a bit more in my file I will print up a few pages and post them on my site. Until then, my blog is the only real working area of my site!

I’ve noticed a lot of really neat memes and such going around and have thought about participating but haven’t had the time. I may still snatch them up and do a late version of them!

There was a pretty neat article in my local paper this weekend and I would like to post some of it on the blog but I want to write the publisher and see if it is alright. If so, I will share it with you all soon. Perhaps it is already on-line and I can just provide a link.

Rambling! Seems that is something I am pretty good at! Oh well, it’s 3:23 in the morning here and I guess it is alright to ramble at that time, right?

I’ll try to post more often but I can’t make any promises. Hang in there, I’ll get that urge back yet!

Ken

So, what’s on my mind now? Well, there’s a lot on my mind but I believe the main thing I am wondering about when it comes to genealogy is what is going to happen with everything I have researched and found in the last 10 years? Will it just fall into the wrong hands and become trash or will it be picked up by someone and carried on?

I’ve thought about this before but with my recent misfortunes with my website and with the realization that I had been so lax when it came to backing up my files, I had to rethink it! What if, instead of losing everything from my website, I had just had a massive heart-attack and my time was over? I know, I don’t want to think about that stuff but, what if? Have I documented everything so that others can pick up where I left off? Would everyone look at my pile of paperwork and jumbled up mess of files on my hard drive and just trash it?

I know that my oldest daughter has said she would love to carry on my research but she hasn’t had any interest lately either. So, who would pick it up, if anyone?

I believe I should take the time to treat my genealogy research as I would a child. I would want someone to raise that child in the event something happened to me. I’d also want to make sure there was proper provisions so that the child would get the raising it should. I would pick someone I trusted, make a bank account and save money so that the child wouldn’t want for anything, and I’d probably take the time to make sure everything was legal!

So, how would I do this with my research? First off, I’d have to get everything in order. No one would want to inherit what I have now with the way it is all boxed up and not sorted in any way! I need to take the time to take the paperwork out of the boxes, put it back into folders or binders and then make sure it is organized in a logical way! I also need to take the time to sort out the scanned papers on my hard drive and the photos also. I need to make backups on DVD so that I can send some off to my family members and let them have them to either help now or at least have a good backup in many different places. I also need to take the time to start questioning some of my siblings, children, and other relatives to see if they would be interested in inheriting my research. Maybe have more than one person to pass it to so that it would have a better chance of surviving!

So today, which is actually now July 27, 2010, I pledge that I will take the time to make a plan, devise a method of carrying out that plan and then implementing that plan. Will this happen overnight? I doubt it! If I take the time to make the first step, then perhaps the journey will not be quite as hard as I thought.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions to pass my way?

Ken

The good thing about being late writing this is that I have had a little time while at work to mull over what I wanted to write. Tonight I want to preview a few of the things  I am tossing around in my head right now! I’ve got lots of ideas for future posts.

First off, I’m in a strange new place. I’ve recently moved back to North Carollina, you know, the place I moved to last year but it didn’t work out. Well, this time is gonna work, whether anyone likes it or not!   Anyway, what I was thinking today is that I am surrounded by so much history here. Why not write about that history and, in the process, I will educate my readers and myself at the same time!

First off, I plan on writing about the place I now live, Havelock, North Carolina. Did you know it is home to the largest Marine Corps air station on the East Coast?

I also plan on writing about New Bern, North Carolina. That’s the place I now work and will probably eventually move to. It’s only about 18 miles away. Did you know it was the first capital of North Carolina? How about that it is the birthplace of Pepsi Cola?

Then there is Beaufort, North Carolina. It’s only about 18 miles the other way. It’s the 3rd oldest city in North Carolina. It was founded in 1709.

How about the fact that I was used to farmland and fields but now I am living in a National Forest?

There is a lot to write about just by sharing about my current location and the surrounding areas. I look forward to not only researching the area I now live in but also sharing it with my readers!

I hope you all have a wonderful week!

Ken

Not much has changed in the last week. I’ve rarely had time to do anything with my site or post much. Work, medical problems and family have kept me busy enough for the past week. Of course, that’s pretty much the way it is everyday, isn’t it?

I have renewed my subscription to Ancestry so I hope to start gathering my info once again. I’ve got my boxes of paperwork located and I’m ready to start unpacking. I’m hoping that the mice haven’t gotten to any of my vital records. (I’ve been battling mice for the last 2 weeks at this new apartment)

I feel that everything is starting to fall into place so that I can get things rolling again. I guess it’s just up to me to find the time to start putting all these pieces together. I’ve got plenty of ideas and I hope to start getting them started soon.

One of those ideas is to chronicle my local history. I am pretty sure that it was the footnoteMaven who wrote about this a couple of years ago. Write about the sites and history of your city and surrounding cities. I now live in a very history-rich region and it would be quite nice writing about it all. It would also be a good way for me to learn my new surroundings.

I also was encouraged by a post from Randy Seaver today. I really enjoyed him talking about how he has been trying to get his family tree under control. It gave me a lot of ideas and reminded me that I am not alone in my struggles to get things in some sort of order! Thanks for the encouraging post Randy!

So, I hope to start seeing some changes soon. Stick around and grow with me, won’t you?

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Ken

Seriously, I’m sorry about being late with this post but I’ve been pretty busy lately. This was a busy Monday. I woke up at 6:30 AM, which I am not used to since I work nights now! I ran my wife to work and then drove back and stayed up until now! Tomorrow we will both be working at night.

So, on to the business at hand. I’d like to talk about my website progress today. I’ve been getting a little more comfortable with Joomla and I have now created a small welcome page to my site and have created 2 sections on the site, one for my maternal genealogy and one for my paternal genealogy. These 2 sections have a small intro as well. It’s not much but it does represent some progress. I’ve also taken the “Down for Maintenance” portion off and you have access to these 3 small pages. Small steps! We have to start with small steps!

On the genealogy side, I’ve finally installed my Family Tree Maker on my new computer and have started a small family tree. It’s basically a starter file for everything that will follow. It’s my parents and siblings and all their descendants. From there we only have to start working back for each line! Once again, small steps!

So, there’s not a whole lot to talk about today but I am still very excited about the small progress I made this past few days. It’s a lot more than what I was doing previously!

Thanks for stopping by to check the blog and have a wonderful week everyone!

Ken

I just wanted to start off by saying that not much has changed since last week. This past week was very busy for me so I didn’t get much of anything done, except for getting my Facebook under control and also eliminating most of my Farmville friends! Hopefully I will be able to get back to using my Facebook for what it was originally meant to be.

I’m still playing around with Content Management System software. As of this moment it looks like Joomla is winning out. I’ve still got some learning to do with it but I like the way it looks and feel it might be what I need to get the job done. Has anyone out there had any experience with Joomla or does anyone feel like offering some tips on this matter?

On the genealogy front, all my research is still buried in boxes! What I had on my computer is very unorganized. I feel quite ashamed at the mess that I have right now. I thought I was beginning to get things organized but I guess a big move changes everything.

Oh yes, I forgot to tell you all that I have moved BACK to North Carolina. I guess my heart was set on relocating and when we moved back to Texas last year we never really felt at home. So, we have been back in Havelock since the middle of April and things are starting to get a little better. I’ve got a job, albeit a temporary job. If things work out it could become full-time in 6 months so I only have about 4 and 1/2 months left to go! My wife is supposed to be starting a job just down the road from where I work with almost the same schedule as mine so that will be cool. It will also help us get back to some sort of normalcy!

I have plans to try to continue to learn Joomla this week and hopefully get at least a shell of something up on my site for everyone to see. I’ll continue with the blogging prompt posts, such as Tombstone Tuesday etc…  In time, I’ll be able to get my blog back going as I would like.

I continue to ask for your patience as things are in the construction stage. I hope to have a good bit to offer once I get everything going. Until then, have a great week everyone and best of luck in your research!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ken

There are quite a few things on my mind today but I will try to stay focused on the main items that need to be addressed. The most important things would be those that relate to my web site and blog and how I plan on getting things started again. So, let’s see what we can come up with!

First off, my blog is probably going to be the most active thing right now. Why? Well, simply because it is already up and running and it only takes a few minutes to write down what is on my mind. That being said, I will try to maintain a schedule of posts that will keep everyone updated on what is going on with my research and the development of my web site. There may not be many posts at first but I will try to at least keep my genealogy prompts going. By prompts I am referring to those things such as Monday Musings, Tombstone Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, and Tell Me Thursday. These are the main ones I have always tried to do. Those posts of the past will be just that now. I will have to start all over so you may see something posted that you have seen before but you have to realize that everything else was lost so I am starting completely over. There will be quite a few posts that you have seen before but that is just the nature of starting over!

So, on to my ideas for the website. First off, even though it is at kenspangler.com I will no longer call it KenSpangler.com! Instead I have decided to call it Ken’s Gen. The subtitle will be “The Genealogy Research and Writings of Kenneth W. Spangler”. Is that original? Heck, I don’t know. I doubt there is much of anything that is original anymore. I did do a search for any other sites that would be called Ken’s Gen and did not find any so I am hoping that I won’t face any copyright suits soon!

I hope that you all will understand that the website will take a little longer to get going. There is a lot more going in to the website than there is the blog. The beauty of WordPress is that I simply had to install it and then start posting! The website requires a little more attention. I have to decide on a layout, a navigational scheme, colors and such and then I have to start implementing that scheme. It requires a lot of coding, even if I use some sort of program to help me write some of the pages, I still have to edit them to make them fit my site! In other words, my website will not be up overnight! I’m hoping to at least get the shell up within a week or so. We will have to see how things go in my life.

Writing all of this makes me think that a good post topic would be “Back Up Your Website and Blog” but that is something for another day!

I’ll cut this message short today. I think I have covered what I wanted to. Be patient with my website progress and be sure to keep up with my blog as it will be the most active part of my site and will keep you updated on my progress!

Until next time, I wish you good luck in your research!

Ken