A Doodle a Day Keeps the Brick Walls Away

During childhood, doodling was one of those activities that kept my mind involved.  It is defined as an aimless scribble, design, or sketch.  I prefer the design or sketch definition, but to be honest it was probably the aimless scribble most of the time.  As things would have it, the concept of a "kinesthetic" learner  gave me an understanding of this process. [ Gr. kinesis = motion ]  Genealogy has given me the chance to apply these skills to tree climbing.  The following "sketches" show how one doodle can be used again, and again. (Only three of them are shown here.)

Sketch 1:

Well, it is actually a map sketched using tracing paper.  It outline the major water routes flowing into the Ohio River.  My JONES family came to Kentucky from Virginia, and my HENDERSON family came from North Carolina.

Sketch 2:

This takes sketch 1 and adds a little color to the picture. [Always liked to color!]  Additional information was placed in order to give my mind a visual picture of the geographic orientation.  The "New River" seemed to connect those from VA and NC.

Sketch 3:

A little more color, and a few mountain ranges doodled into the picture.  Physical barriers in place not letting those get to the families' land yet to come.  How did they do it?  A wonder indeed...brick walls...well, a doodle a day will help keep those brick walls away.

BWP (37): Connecting the Dots

There are times when the tree branches get pretty thick. All those names, locations, histories, dates, etc., etc...how do you connect all those dots? This is very common in Welsh genealogy when the family is recorded in various towns with very unusual names. How are they all connected?

It was not until I connected a number town locations that it became evident that the family was really from the same area of Wales! The map to the right shows a drawing of many of the towns and locations that my JONES family resided. The names were taken from records, wills, deeds, etc., and their geographic locations identified. They fell along Wat's Dyke which had been the border between Wales and the Marches since 700 AD. The family located in a geographic area that represented the tribal group from which my JONES surname originated. An explanation that helped connect the dots!

BWP(23): Understanding Terms

Words often change their meanings over time. This presents some difficulties for the genealogist who lives in one generation, and those ancestors who lived in another.

The post entitled : "In The Freshes", discusses this topic. It connects with the posts that describe making maps, since old maps often have terms that are used differently than we expect in out vocabulary today.

The post is:

http://thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com/2011/04/in-freshes.html

Check it out...you can freshen up!

BWP(21): Making Maps

When genealogy becomes geography, it is frequently necessary to make maps of the geographical area that you wish to explore. A post, titled of all things, "Making Maps", is presented on March 31, 2011 at the blog The Jones Genealogist. The official location is:

http://thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com/2011/03/making-maps.html

whew, they get longer every day!

If you have an interest in making maps, check it out. Hopefully, it will help some who like to go exploring!