Monday, March 29, 2010

Ohio Birth and Death Certs in Today's Headlines

One of yesterday's headlines in the Dayton Daily News says "Ohio birth, death data to be more accessible". That's great news! If you look at the article and read it, you may notice that the author mentions several times the Greene Room and the Greene COUNTY Room. The Greene Room is the correct reference. Xenia is a smaller town due east of Dayton, and located in Greene County. The Greene County library system is very nice, efficient and genealogy friendly. The main branch of the library is in Xenia, the Greene County seat that has a fabulous genealogy department. The Greene Room layout is similar to the Allen County Public Library (ACPL) main branch Genealogy Center in that the Greene Room is on the second floor and is a genealogy reference area, meaning no checkouts. Of course it is much smaller than the ACPL but is very much Greene County and Ohio friendly.

Well now, the article was about Ohio birth and death certs. It reminds me of a statement Curt Witcher, director of the ACPL Genealogy Center made in one of the several speeches of his posted on Roots Television. He was discussing the vital records system in the State of Indiana that was not standardized in any way, but needed to be standardized in some way or another. Sounds like from his reference of getting direction from the state about how to manage such a system is just what is being described here. I look forward to see what happens. Dick Eastman is very alert to these kinds of things. I sent him an email. I'd be interested in his view on the topic.

You can read more about the article at the Dayton Daily News website. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/ohio-birth-death-data-to-be-more-accessible-625367.html?cxtype=rss_local-news

As I went to look for the Curt Witcher video, The Future of the Past on Roots Television, I thought, "Ha, maybe some head honcho in Ohio has seen this video, to make sure each of Ohio's 88 counties is not doing it's own little thing. Probably a more plausible thought is that the Ohio Genealogy Society is of some influence. In any case, I highly encourage you to watch all of Mr Witcher's 49 minute video if you have not seen it before. For those of you who have seen it and maybe want to refresh your memory on the specific topic, fast forward to 22:55. Or even better, because you question that maybe Ohio doing this database thing may not be a good idea, try starting at 15:05. In either case, please listen through at least to 30:50. Again, suggesting you watch the entire video, imho, this is one of his best, and those of you who do know Curt Witcher or heard him speak, already know that he is a great speaker.

A final thought to ponder, I wonder why marriage records are not included in the database.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Thursday, March 4, 2010

I Remember Dr Enriquez

The delivering doctor's name on my son's birth certificate is Col. (military abbreviation for Colonel) Buttmiller. When I picked up his birth certificate, I burst out, "Who in the HELL is He?" I specifically remember that Saturday afternoon, Dr. Enriquez is who delivered my baby! (That's pronounced "Enrique" like Enrique Iglesias, but I've verified his name had a Z at the end). I considered to have his birth cert 'corrected'. Turns out that Dr. Enriquez was a resident. On this day at 1:08 pm every year, I think about him. Even though the official papers don't recognize his contribution to my life, I sincerely appreciate it and will never forget him. One thing I specifically remember about him is that he was Hilarious! I guess a sense of humor is not a prerequisite to be an ob/gyn. But then again, it's a requirement isn't it?

I have to tell you this to setup the story of how funny he was. Since this was my first child, I depended a lot on friends to tell me what to expect. Somebody advised my that I wouldn't get anything to eat regardless how many hours I was in labor. So I planned as I packed my bag, I was going to get something to eat before I left home. I was even at my bff Mary's house one day when false labor started and I literally ran home to get something to eat. Well that was a great plan that went out the window when labor awakened me about 3:30 Saturday morning. I paced, laid back down, got back up and paced some more. Back and forth, in and out of bed for about three hours.

Fast forward to the hospital about noon. Dr. Enriquez came to check on me and found I was only (some #) centimeters. He announced that he was going to lunch. I asked him to bring me a ham sandwich. He snickered, "Sure I will". Fast forward again to when Dr. Enriquez came back from lunch. He said that he 'forgot' to bring my sandwich, then he sounded out "Whoa, it's Time to Go!!!". At 1:08, pop pop, it was all over. Then again, that was just the beginning.

Happy Birthday, my son. And thank you Dr. Enriquez.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Lovejoy Company



I found this photo at the Georgia Virtual Vault. This picture is of Main Street, Hawkinsville, Pulaski County, Georgia in 1908. My Great Great Grandmother Ella STEWART, was a domestic servant in the household of Pleasant LOVEJOY in 1880.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

The Generations Project

I sincerely wish I could tell you from where I got the link to go to this page but right now it slips me. I must admit I do a lot of aimless surfing and it could have been any number of other sites or blogs. Anyway...

This is a TV program a lot like Faces Of America but is produced by BYU Broadcasting. It's called The Generations Project and like Faces is also available online. But unlike Faces, this show is about us regular people. LOL I like that expression referring to those of us who are not celebrities. And if you look, right above the screen, you can Apply To Be On The Show.

The end of the current episode (Andrea) where this points gives us a nugget preview of an upcoming episode; Durell(sp) Daniels. You should know that Durell is not the next two upcoming episodes. I already checked the program guide and found that Gloria and Boyd are the next two upcoming. Anyway, I'll be watching out for it and will post here when I see it. For your reference, the show premiers on Mondays with repeats throughout the week and is available online the same day or the next day. Text below is a quote from the end of Andrea's show. And check this out. Andrea goes to Ireland in her episode and learns about digging fodder, aging and burning it.

On an upcoming episode of The Generations Project, entrepreneur Durell Daniels learns about his great grandfather. A post civil war African-American man who was a substantial land owner in the south. And in the process finds inspiration to leave his own legacy for generations to come.