CMJ Office Blog

If your family is like mine, a pedigree chart was never available. When teachers did an exercise that involved family history, my chart was always half empty. Teachers always seemed shocked.

My family always felt that we knew where we were from and still had contact with relatives living abroad. However, my parents didn’t know anything about their grandparents. My parents were here in America and their grandparents were either dead or living elsewhere.

I’m truly not shocked by this situation or others any longer. There is an abundance of people that cannot trace their lineage backwards to place on a chart. Great grandparents are forgotten. When you think about this fact, the time frame is just over 100 years. It’s a shame for your family history to disappear within such a short span of time.

How can you fix this problem? The first obstacle to conquer when trying to discover your past is to ask the living. Sound simple? It can be. However, it can also feel like you need to carry a sledge hammer when dealing with the living relatives. This feeling is later placed onto your dead relatives that continue to hide.

Living relatives do have the knowledge that you are seeking even if they say anything to the contrary. Sometimes you may need to invoke memories to gain insights and important facts.

You can ask specific questions surrounding important family events.

Examples:

• Weddings/funerals
• Births/events surrounding newborns (christenings, etc.)
• Family reunions
• Sports
• School/church
• Holidays/vacations
• Military involvement

I promise you’ll be amazed what you will uncover with these event geared questions. Once you start to uncover the past, you will be able to build your family tree.

I speak from experience when I say that it’s an accomplishment filled with many surprises. Have you been surprised by a discovery?

Colleen M. Johnson, CMJ Office

CMJ Office is a certified and licensed virtual administrative business supporting business owners, genealogy and history authors, speakers and researchers.

Why would you want a business blog?

Simply put it should generate a buzz around your business.

A business blog should also establish your expertise within your career field. Thus, if someone were to uncover your business upon the internet, they would have proof of your business knowledge through your blog. A blog shares more information about your business than a web site can.

How do you prove your knowledge?

Write business related articles, tips, industry news, testimonials or observations. If you’re not a great writer or just don’t have the time, hire someone (hint, wink – CMJ Office).

How do you create a buzz?

Share this information on social network sites. Social networking has exploded on the internet. Once you start sharing your business knowledge on the internet, those looking for this information will find you. The buzz will generate even more buzz until you have a following.

Just remember that people know other people. One of them might need your business services.

A business blog is a great inexpensive resource for any business. Don’t miss out on the buzz.

Have you had success establishing a business blog?

Colleen M. Johnson, CMJ Office

CMJ Office is a certified and licensed virtual administrative business supporting business owners, genealogy and history authors, speakers and researchers.

Michael Joseph Finnegan (1907-1983)

This photo of my maternal grandfather was taken in the 1930s in Rhode Island. He definitely had quite a head of hair on him!

Colleen M. Johnson, CMJ Office

CMJ Office is a certified and licensed virtual administrative business supporting business owners, genealogy and history authors, speakers and researchers.

Music has always been a comfort to me in my work space. When I worked in the corporate world, music was always floating around in the background. If the music wasn’t provided, employees were permitted to have a radio for their listening enjoyment.

It never mattered whether I was in a shared space, cubicle area or my own office. These work spaces were always filled with music softly drifting around. What new CD or radio station you were listening to was a frequent topic of conversation in the office.

I don’t know why I haven’t had music playing in my home office. I simply hadn’t thought about it until recently joining the Facebook community. This is where I discovered a Facebook group that has a live music feed (Live Ireland). I gave it a try and voila! I am working on my laptop while live music is being played in the background.

The benefit of this live music feed is that the music is always changing. You don’t have to worry about the CD stopping or the same music being played over and over again. You get a worry-free continuous supply of fresh music while you work. It’s fantastic. If you receive a business call, you simply mute your laptop until you’re finished.

The difference in my mood has been remarkable. I’ve begun to turn this feed on at the start of my day. Once the music begins, I’m instantly smiling. I constantly catch myself humming along. What stress? It has been both calming and peaceful for me.

There have been countless studies done regarding music therapy and stress relief. Music is a way to combat the stress in your life. It promotes healing. Heart rates are reduced and tense muscles relax. It has also been found that music increases deep breathing. I had no idea I was being so healthy!

There are several live feed sources on the web. I personally will stay with my Facebook find at Live Ireland.

The Irish Family History Foundation has done it again. They now have the Index to Griffith’s Valuation available as part of its Online Research Service (ORS).The Griffith’s Valuation established the value of land and buildings in Ireland as a basis for levying a local system of taxation under the Irish Poor Law Act of 1838. Richard Griffith, a Dublin geologist, was appointed as the Commissioner of Valuation. The Valuation lists county, barony, poor law union, civil parish, townland, lists every landholder and every householder in Ireland, description of property and acreage.

This survey wasn’t intended as a census; however, it is a great resource and guide to locate people living in Ireland during this timeframe.“The Index to the Surnames in Griffith’s/Primary Valuation of Tenements has been compiled showing the occurrence of surnames in each county on a barony/townland basis and the names of every occupier of land and property in Ireland between 1848 and 1864. This can be a useful indicator of the possible location of a particular family especially if the surname is an uncommon one. The original Valuation manuscripts are held in the National Archives of Ireland, Dublin, Public Record Office of Northern Ireland and the Valuation Office.”

Colleen M. Johnson, CMJ Office CMJ Office is a certified and licensed virtual administrative business supporting business owners, genealogy and history authors, speakers and researchers.