Scanning versus photography

Always a bit of a debate with me, scanning or photography. Since I do not take particularly good pictures then scanning is generally my route that I use most often to digitize. 

Woke up in the night with a voice telling me to scan the images that had been repaired. Weird really so I did scan them but I think I may also photograph them as the scanning did not work well on one of the images. 

Rechecking Edward's backup I did not find new scans/images of these repaired images. I will be giving all of these items to his cousin. 

Newsletter progressing nicely

It is good to be back at the Newsletters actually. Didn't have a lot of time today to spend on it as we are doing small collections of  Edward's genealogical material to give to his various cousins. Accomplished that today so a great step forward. 

I also did some work on the Newsletter. This will have an interesting Chart in it as I had not noticed before that Abraham Pincombe whose will I transcribed in the First volume of the journal was on this particular chart. It rather helps to link things together which is always handy. 

Pincombe-Pinkham Newsletter progressing

Working away on the newsletter yesterday but still quite a bit to do today. Perhaps ready by Thursday.  

I can see what Edward meant when he said I became completely swallowed up by the Newsletters when I was working on them. But then he did as well when he was working on his research. For that reason we always scheduled ourselves to go shopping in the morning at a particular time and then go to the Mall for a walk (or outside) at a particular time. Worked very well and then we always had a movie time as well or whatever. I just let him set the pace; worked well that way. I will do the same scheduling in Edward's research to get that published on his blog and work on getting what I have scanned and transcribed out there in the newsletters.

Working on the newsletter has been good for me. My interest in genealogy is somewhat different from Edward's approach. I am not really interested in finding so many cousins. I do more of a straight line back approach only deviating when I can not easily find that path and then I bring in siblings etc etc. 

My one name studies do interest me but I am in the process of winding them down as I publish all the information that I have found. I expect it will take me another five years to get all of that done. 

My biggest interest is in the y DNA of the Blake line and the mt DNA of the Buller line. Both of them are relatively speaking (probably there are several million holders of the mtDNA but considerably less of the yDNA) somewhat smaller than other groupings. Both were in the British Isles 8000 to 12000 years ago just after the last glacial maximum ended. One in the south likely around the Andover-Stonehenge plain and the other in Scotland likely in Ayrshire/Argyllshire. So quite fascinating really given the stories that my grandfather told of his Blake line always being in the Andover area but no fascinating stories for the other side unfortunately. But the Blood of the Isles database lists two individuals who match quite well to our results as being of Ayrshire. 

So gradually I will move to looking at the DNA in a very intensive fashion and my daughters find that to be equally fascinating. So  it is possible that in the future there will be some looking at this fascinating subject. The yDNA ended with my brothers in our line (and in total I had four brothers). The mtDNA ends in this generation as my mother does not have any great granddaughters who carry her mtDNA. So collecting information will ensure that this line may have disappeared but not forgotten plus there are many descendants out there who do carry this exact signature they just do not come down from my mother but there are other descendants of her female line going backwards through time. 

That was probably always going to happen that I would move away from genealogy looking at cousins (my sister does that and is doing a great job). I just do not have that strong an interest. But DNA fascinated me from the first days of Watson and Crick's double-stranded helix with the assistance of  Rosalind Franklin.

Newsletters

I am going to start with the furtherest back Newsletter that I did not produce - Pincombe/Pinkham Newsletter for 1st of December. I have a rough outline and will try to get started at that today.

Rain came and hopefully more. When the sun just came out I was saddened! The rain makes it possible to start newsletters for sure. My mind is starting to come around again to thinking about these projects that are mine. Probably I need to get some semblance of my life before back again to really begin to accept the loss of Edward from my life. It is hard; though it is actually easier to just sit there and think about what was and the plans that we had in the works so to speak although I did realize that his traveling was not a really likely scenario but he had gotten better after the pacemaker insertion. I just didn't want to accept that this health issue was different and not one from which you recover; it is a serious chronic condition. I remember the doctor saying that back in July 2017 that it could flare up with serious consequences and unexpectedly. Probably I did not want to hear that and but let it guide me mostly to be careful of where we traveled. We made fewer and fewer trips into the United States or even for that matter out of province. Edward would have liked to have done more that is for sure but he too realized that if he became ill then I was on my own and as I aged with him that became more and more problematic for me to manage. He requested a lot more material by scanning which was actually cheaper than going there but less interesting. Our style changed for sure those last four years. 

 So Pincombe it is. I noticed that I had this very negative comment on one of my newsletters. Did not agree with me at all. Said they had the right to use the Pincombe coat of arms. I actually didn't say anyone in the present has or has not the right. You can pay for it at the College of Arms and have the right I believe so long as you can trace back although they might make you change the original one. From a historical point of view one can show the Pincombe Coat of Arms as it was in 1600 but actually using it as your own better minds than mine know the truth of that for sure. 

I love the Coat of Arms for the Blake family of Calne and have it as a watermark on the Blake Newsletter but would never use it as a personal coat of arms. That wouldn't be my thing at any time for sure. I like the anonymity of my life and I am surely not going to start using a Coat of Arms from the 1500s as my own without requesting permission from the College of Arms. Plus the rules seem to indicate that so long as there are males in the line one doesn't use that Coat of Arms as a female. Anyway probably a lot for me to learn on that subject and not likely going to happen as it doesn't interest me that much.

I can feel anonymity swirling around me and I am holding it close. The Ottawa Branch suggested a Memorial Lecture for Edward but we suggested a nice plaque to commemorate his work with the Branch. I think that is a nice way to remember a person. He wanted to do all the things that he did and didn't do it for award but rather as something that meant a lot to him. He was even quite quiet about his Queen Elizabeth II Medal although he loved receiving it but his first comment to me was there are so many people who deserve to have this Medal too bad only 60,000 were available. That was Edward. 

Will I attend any more meetings? That is very unlikely that I will do so. Ed was the one to do all those things. I am really just a Church person and a home person my life doesn't extend beyond that now that I am retired. Will I go to Church again?  That is also unlikely although time will tell on that. I really like going to my Church using You-Tube.The last service had some still images inserted and I found myself in tears as I looked at a picture of the pew where we normally sat at Church. But it was also a good memory of our times together and Edward loved the choir singing and organ music at the Cathedral.

On to the day.

Sunday; the perfect day

For me, Sunday is always the perfect day. Although it is cloudy out there we desperately need rain; so cloud is a good thing. On Sunday my day is ordered for me. I wake up and read my Bible Reading which helps to prepare my mind for Morning Service at 10:30 on You-Tube. I am loving the You-Tube service even when there are technical difficulties because I have the Bulletin and can just complete the service myself. Not quite what God intended but it is fitting when man can not control the elements that they have created. God is still with us whether there is electricity or You-Tube is functioning or the camera that is being used is managing. 

Yesterday I completed the older Research Blog. It was an interesting trip down memory lane. Ed, for a couple of years recorded a diary of his day. It reminded me of the Edward that I knew for most of our marriage. A healthy busy person who went from project to project as the day passed seamlessly and with great joy. He had an inner strength that took him through each day enjoying everything around him. He had so many hobbies and we are still sorting through all of them trying to respectfully make sure that all of the things that he did are remembered and lovingly redistributed to those who will also enjoy them. 

Yesterday I found the four Family Bibles I have been looking for and we have already redistributed them in theory as people who want them will have them. Our interests do not include owning so many family artifacts; they should be where they will be part of a collection honouring one ancestor or another and they all have a new home to go to. Now we are in the process of collecting up two lots of items - one for his niece and a second for a Link half cousin. There are two chests to fill and we are slowly filling them up on the one hand his mother's things and the niece is her oldest grand daughter and she lived with her as a child so much desired and wanted and on the other hand the Link family memorabilia. There is a great deal of it because Ed received it all directly from his grandfather who had many treasured items. His half cousin already has memorabilia and is happy to have the rest. We have scanned everything so will also have that memory but others can see it where it is going. 

Another beautiful Sunday; God bless.