2015 Year-In-Review

The end of 2015 and beginning of 2016 have not been good times for my blog. I got busy...I got sick...I have taken on too many projects...

However, I am going to attempt to get going again. Let's start by reviewing 2015. I participated in the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge and managed to get to 49. With that said, I did post the most stories ever - 109! My previous three years included 79, 76, and 77 stories so I'm declaring 2015 a success. The 52 Ancestors theme has been retired so I will need to find new inspiration. I am working on Dear Myrtle's Finally Get Organized and a modified version of Thomas MacEntee's Genealogy Do-Over. Both of those things involve more tasks related to becoming a better researcher and fewer blogging tasks. I'll need to work on balancing the behind the scenes research and organization with the blogging about ancestors.

Let's look back on 2015:

My Top Ten Stories based on number of views:

1. Petition of the Poor, Distressed Widow 
2. Pigs and Bacon 
3. The Crime of Fornication 
4. Jane Walford: Accused Witch 
5. Drummer Eleazer Cole 
6. Passion over Perfection
7. Five Daughters Suddenly Gone 
8. A Horrible Crime
9. Everyone Has A Story
10. The Balch House 

The 3 most shared stories turned into 6 as they all had the same number of shares. 

1. So Close Yet So Far Away
2. The Carter Homestead
3. First Chief Justice of Maine's Supreme Court
4. He Died Easy and Happy
5. Stormy Weather
6. Embarking on a Journey of Discovery

2014 Blog Recap - Happy New Year!

These stories received the most views: 
#1 - 09/14/14 - 470 Views - Humphrey Atherton's Quaker Curse

#2 - 05/10/14 - 361 Views - James Cole & the Horse in the Parlor

#3 - 11/30/14 - 235 Views - Happy St. Andrew's Day

#4 - 09/21/14 - 210 Views - Revolutionary War Surgeon

#5 - 03/29/14 - 154 Views - James Gibbons

#6 - 06/18/14 - 153 Views - Religion in Schools & Spanking Other People's Kids

#7 - 06/10/14 - 145 Views - Family History Project 2014

#8 - 03/29/14 - 118 Views - Thomas Lewis

#9 - 03/29/14 - 111 Views - Samuel Andrews

#10 - 02/21/14 - 102 Views - Christopher Grant

The three stories that were the most memorable or meaningful to me 

#1 - Five Generations Times Two!
#2 - The Importance of Family
#3 - Family History Project 2014








The stories that were the most interesting for me to research and write

#1 - Butcher Pirate and Ghost or Respected Fisherman?
#2 - The Original Bachelor
#3 - The Interesting Deaths of Thomas & Mary (Parker) Totman
#4 - She Wore the Pants in the Family
#5 - Squire of the Little Village
#6 - Love Letter to a Future Wife
#7 - The Homefront
#8 - Even the Drunkards Thank Us!
#9 - Two Murderers, One Gallows
#10 - A Pirate's Life and Ironic Death

One Lovely Blog

I am excited to be included in this award. I was nominated by Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of Nutfield Genealogy, one of my favorite bloggers. Thank you for thinking of me, Heather! 

The rules for the "One Lovely Blog Award":

1. Thank the person who nominated you and link to that blog. 
2. Share seven things about yourself
3. Nominate 15 bloggers you admire (or as many as you can think of!)
4. Let your bloggers know that you've tagged them for the One Lovely Blog Award

Seven things about myself:

1. I credit my Carter and Cotton family lines for helping me grow up with a sense of history. The farm settled by my 4th great-grandfather, Dr. Timothy Carter, has been in my family for seven generations. I grew up surrounded by my family's history. I could wander around the house and meetinghouse he built and see the names of my ancestors on stones in the cemetery behind the meetinghouse. My Cotton line is linked into the Ellingwood surname. There was a book about the genealogy of the Ellingwoods that was updated after I was born so I could peruse a book of ancestors while visiting my grandparents. I thought it was fascinating. 
2. I teach U.S. History and psychology at Windham High School and this is my twenty-first year of teaching. I love the teaching part but could do without the work that comes before and after my classes. I've even found some cousins amongst my students as they work on family history projects. 
3. I have four sons from my first marriage and my husband has two daughters from his first marriage. Together we have children spanning the ages of 22 to 32 - one every two years. Nick 22, Katie 24, Rachel 26, Ben 28, Josh 30, and Steve 32. The middle names of my sons are all in honor of family members: Stephen (for my favorite uncle), Thomas (for my father and grandfather), John (for my only male Carter cousin and my former brother-in-law), and Carter (my maiden name). 
4. I was lucky enough to know three of my great-grandparents and many great-aunts and great-uncles. 
5. I love horses and learned to ride using the saddle that my 2nd great-grandfather, Augustus Carter, used in the Civil War. My family still has his uniform, spurs, and sword too. 
6. I love to travel. I'd love to be able to go more often. England is my favorite and I'd like to see more of Scotland. I've never been to Ireland or Wales and I'd love to go there too. 
7. I really like to cook and I credit my grandmothers. My dad's mom made the best rolls, biscuits, baked beans, and molasses cookies! My mom's mom worked as a pastry chef at resorts in Florida and New Hampshire. Her cakes were amazing! 

Many of my favorite bloggers have already been tagged but figuring that some of my readers may not have seen them, I will list some of them again. Here are a baker's dozen to check out. 

1. Shakespeare's Mom by Kate Parlin is not a genealogy blog but a parenting blog written by a good friend and amazing writer! She has three girls under the age of 5, including a set of twins! She's starting to gain national attention for her writing and I have no doubt that someday she will write a great American novel. 
2. Some Pig by my friend Caroline is another parenting/teaching/modern woman blog written by one of the best writer's I've ever met. If you like snarky, wise-cracking, wit, this is a blog for you. 
3. Life from the Roots by Barbara Poole is a great blog with awesome photography. 
4. Digging Down East by Pam Schaffner
5. Boston 1775 by J. L. Bell is a great place to dig around and learn more about the American Revolution. I've found several ancestor stories here. 
6. Jana's Genealogy and Family History Blog by Jana Last in awesome in many ways but it's one of my favorite sites to check out for her Fab Finds posted every Friday with great topics I might have missed. 
7. Acadian Ancestral Home by Lucie Constantino is not only and interesting blogger but a great speaker. Check out her blog to see if she is speaking in your area. 
8. Granite In My Blood by Midge Frazel is a great collection of all things genealogy and Midge is a great inspiration to always keep learning. Some day I might be half as organized as she is! 
9. One Rhode Island Family by Diane Boumenot. I especially enjoy the posts where she elaborates on her process as she searches for information about her ancestors. 
10. Of Loons and Lady Slippers by T. K. Eldridge is a blog I discovered through the 52 ancestors challenge. I love the name too! 
11. Maine Genealogy by Chris Dunham has been a great resource for me. Not only the blog but the entire site with many features. 
12. West in New England by Bill West has already been nominated but Bill is my inspiration and the person most responsible for starting my blog so I can't leave him out. 
13. Genea-Musings by Randy Seaver is a blog I always check out and a previous nominee. 

I will be contacting the bloggers above but don't expect those who have already done the challenge once to do it again. 

One Year Blog Anniversary

First I want to thank the awesome community of genealogy bloggers! You have been so welcoming, encouraging, and helpful. I have learned a lot about genealogy in general and my family specifically because of your kindness. By joining this community I have learned more in one year than in all the previous seven years of researching. I have to give some extra credit to Bill West of West in New England and Heather Wilkinson Rojo of Nutfield Genealogy as my earliest sources of inspiration and two of my biggest supporters. If you want to take your genealogy to the next level and see your ancestors as more than names and dates on a page, start blogging. Finding stories is easier than you think.

Some stats from my first year of blogging - 95 Posts:

Total pageviews - 10, 115

Top referring sites - Google, Facebook, Google UK, and Geneabloggers

Audience - Primarily U.S. but almost 1000 pageviews from Russia, other countries represented include: UK, Germany, Canada, France, Australia, Ukraine, Latvia, and China

Browsers - 41% Firefox, 26% Internet Explorer, 18% Chrome, 8% Safari, various mobile applications

Operating Systems - 61% Windows, 21% Mac, 11% Linux, the rest are mobile systems

Most viewed posts
Happy St. George's Day
Romance in Rockport
Slaves in the Family
Aroostoock War
A Truelove Connection

A Sense of Community

This morning, as I was checking Facebook, I noticed a post by one of my favorite bloggers and promptly clicked on it to read. It was a follow-up story about an award she had received and I was surprised to see my name listed as one of the blogs she was recognizing. My first award! 

YAY! 

I am coming up on my one year anniversary of blogging and it has been the best thing I've ever done in the realm of genealogy.  I love genealogy and like most I am self-taught. I'd been plugging away on gathering names and dates without focus or clear purpose for almost 10 years. Blogging has given me a community of like-minded people who are interesting, fun, and most of all helpful! I learn research techniques which greatly enhance my skill level. I'm inspired and get ideas that take the names and dates to the next level. I now study my ancestors in the context of history and find out the stories of their lives. Most of all, I've made new friends who are as passionate about genealogy and history as I am. They are supportive and incredibly helpful. If you love working on genealogy, I cannot encourage you strongly enough to start blogging. I was so worried that I couldn't do it...I'd run out of ideas....I didn't have the time...No one would want to read what I wrote...

But once you start, it will just blossom. Come join the community! 

Apparently, there is a bit of controversy right now regarding the chain letter aspect of a blog award and the new Google algorithms, including the possibility of negative consequences when linking blogs together. All of this is covered in the links on Heather's post. However, everyone acknowledges the excitement and sincere appreciation felt when your blog is promoted. It is in this spirit that I nominate the following blogs - with the hope they appreciate the recognition and feel no obligation to participate. 


1. Bill West's - West in New England - Bill is my inspiration. He is a cousin I met through the Ellingwood Reunion Facebook group and the Maine Genealogy Network. We were fortunate to meet in person at the reunion in 2011. His support and encouragement got me started and he continues to lead in sharing my posts on social networks. 

2. Heather Wilkinson Rojo's - Nutfield Genalogy - Heather is another cousin and we keep finding more connections as we write about our ancestors. Her blog is a favorite because her posts are so varied - from Weathervane Wednesdays and upcoming genealogy events to the connections of her New England ancestors to Hawaii. She frequently comments on my posts and has been very generous and helpful - most recently sharing a letter, written to Queen Liliuokalani, that I can use in my classroom when teaching about Hawaiian annexation. 

3. Pam Seavey Schaffner's - Digging Down East - Pam is a new friend who has similar research interests in Maine. She makes great use of pictures on her posts and I like the way her posts describe her research so I can learn how she found out about the topic. I am especially grateful for her 'Where I Dig' page that lists wonderful resources. 

4. Chris Dunham's - The Genealogue and Maine Genealogy Network - Chris has been a great help to me on several occasions this year. He doesn't blog often but I really enjoy his wit. His 2012 posts on using DNA were great reads. He invests a lot of time and energy on the Maine Genealogy Network. It is an important site for those with Maine ancestry. 

5. Cindy Freed's - Genealogy Circle - Cindy is another one who makes great use of visuals with descriptions of her research. Her site has fresh, clean look and her posts are interesting and easy to read. She is a contributing author to the In-Depth Genealogist, a twice-monthly publication that is invaluable to genealogists of all skill levels. 

6. Jill Ball's - Geniaus - I haven't discovered any common relatives with Jill but that doesn't make her Australian genealogy blog any less interesting. She writes about doing genealogy and much of it applies to everyone. I am most grateful for stumbling across her New Year's post about accentuating the positive. I took her challenge and sent her a link to my post. She sent a very nice reply that exemplifies the sense of community and the warm welcome to the world of blogging that I spoke of at the start of this post. 


If my beneficiaries choose to participate, here are the rules and a link to the original post.
The originator of the award and the rules
1. Select the blogs you think deserve the Blog of the Year 2012 Award
2. Write a blog post and tell us about the blogs you have chosen - no minimum or maximum number
3. Please include a link back to this page at http://thethoughtpalette.co.uk/our-awards/blog-of-the-year-2012-award/ and include the rules in your post (please don't alter the rules or the badges!)
4. Let the blogs you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the rules with them.
5. You can now join the Facebook group - click 'like' on this page 'Blog of the Year 2012' Award Facebook group and you can share your blog with an even wider audience.
6. As a winner of the award - please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award - and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar - and start collecting stars.

Accentuate the Positive!

After reading some postings about what genealogy bloggers had not accomplished in the past year, an Australian geneablogger, Geniaus, issued the following challenge: Respond to the following prompts to document the year's accomplishments. Since I didn't set any genealogy goals for last year, I have nothing to lament. I am intrigued to see what I accomplished. The original post includes more than I've included here because not everything applies to me. Here are my positive accomplishments to accentuate! 

1. An elusive ancestor I found was:
• My great-great-grandmother, Lizzie Philbrick - My great-great-grandfather was married three times and figuring out the identity of the mother of my great-grandfather was challenging until I found a record of his marriage with his parents listed on the reverse. Now I know who Grammie Philbrick was! 
2. A precious family photo I found was:
• I'm taking some liberties with this, my precious photos were taken by my Grandmother Carter. She loved flowers and I love these pictures of she took of the flowers around her house. 
3. An ancestor's grave I found was:
• The grave of Cyrus Buck with an unusual epitaph referring to Deism.
4. An important vital record I found was:
• A Revolutionary War pension file that detailed the service of my 5th great-grandfather, Dominicus Smith, including the fact that he was with George Washington when he crossed the Delaware. 
5. A newly found family member who shared: 
• Bill West - a cousin and fellow geneablogger is responsible for inspiring me to start my blog and he's been one of my biggest supporters. I am so grateful! 
• Also a big thank you to Chris Dunham of Maine Genealogy Network for his help with several challenges this year. 
6. A geneasurprise I received was:
• Being included in Heather Wilkinson Rojo's blog post on Follow Friday. Heather and I have several ancestor connections and I love her blog Nutfield Genealogy. 
7. My 2012 blog post that I was particularly proud of was:
• Actually two posts about strong female influences in my life. 
• My two great-aunts
• My Grandmother Blake
8. My 2012 blog post that received a large number of hits or comments was:
• The most hits have been on this post about St. George's Day. I wrote it because it's also my mom's birthday and her ancestry is very British so it seemed fitting. 
• The most shared was this post titled When Your Family Tree Doesn't Fork.
9. A social media tool I enjoyed using for genealogy was:
• I have to say Facebook because I connect with cousins, enjoy pages by genealogical, historical, and family associations and get updates when new content is published on some of my favorite blogs and web sites. It is also the greatest source of readers according to my Blogger stats. 
10. I taught a friend how to:
• I'm going to modify this one too, I taught my students to appreciate family history and the joy of tracking down ancestors. 
11. A new genealogy/history book I enjoyed was:
• The Devil of Great Island - I have ancestors who lived nearby and interacted with some of the principle players in this story. 
12. Another positive I would like to share is:
• A big thank you to the genealogists who share their stories, tips, techniques, and research with others. I have learned so much from you. 

Blog Caroling

Footnote Maven is a genealogy blogger I discovered last spring. While following her blog and her Facebook posts, I have become a huge fan of her indomitable spirit, sharp wit, and wicked sense of humor. This has been a very tough year for her dealing with complications from knee replacement surgery and I wish her a Merry Christmas and a healthy 2013. One of her traditions is blog caroling. Writers post the lyrics to their favorite Christmas carol and she links them to her site. It's a fun way to share some holiday spirit and discover some wonderful genealogy bloggers.

I chose to share "Away in a Manger" in part because it's one of my favorites but it also links to my family history. Jingle Bells and Away in a Manger were the first two Christmas songs I remember learning as a child. Growing up in Bethel, Maine, a highlight of the holiday season was the living nativity put on each year -  featuring a real family with a newborn, real animals, costumed shepherds, angels, and a choir singing Away in a Manger (and other carols). It was impressive and it's something I miss. If you're in the Bethel area on December 23rd, you should check it out.

Away in a manger

No crib for His bed

The little Lord Jesus 

Lay down His sweet head

The stars in the sky

Look down where He lay

The little Lord Jesus

Asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing

The poor Baby wakes

But little Lord Jesus

No crying He makes

I love Thee, Lord Jesus

Look down from the sky

And stay by my side 

'Til morning is nigh

Be near me, Lord Jesus

I ask Thee to stay

Close by me forever

And love me, I pray

Bless all the dear children

In Thy tender care

And take us to heaven

To live with Thee there

\

On the Ledge by Lucy Larcom

ON THE LEDGE

Restored unto life by the sun and the breeze!

Rich balsams float down from the resinous trees, 

Stirring into quick health every pulse of the air;

Released once again from imprisoning care, 

At the gate of green pastures my soul lieth free,

And to go in or out is refreshment to me.

Lo, yonder is Paradise! Softly below, 

The river that watereth Eden doth flow!

I behold, through blue gaps in the mountainous west, 

Height ascending on height, the abodes of the blest;

And I cannot tell whether to climb were more sweet

Than to lap me in beauty spread out at my feet.

There sways a white cloud on yon loftiest peak, 

A wind from beyond it is fanning my cheek;

Through the oak and the birch glides a musical shiver, 

A ripple just silvers the dusk of the river.

-- Though I may not know how, each is part of the whole

Perfect flood-tide of peace that is brimming my soul.

Here is shelter and outlook, deep rest and wide room;

The pine woods behind, breathing balm out of gloom;

Before, the great hills over vast levels lean, --

A glory of purple, a splendor of green.

As a new earth and heaven, ye are mine once again.

Ye beautiful meadows and mountains of Maine!

Bethel, ME., September 1879.

Lucy Larcom was born in Beverly, Massachusetts in 1824. Her father died while she was young and her mother moved the family to Lowell. Starting at age 11, she worked in the textile mills of Lowell to help support her family. She started writing and her poems caught the attention of John Greenleaf Whittier. This poem describes the natural beauty of my hometown. Bethel is where all my lines converge and where my interest in family history began.

Thank you to cousin Bill West for hosting the Fourth Annual Genealogy Poetry Challenge. Check out his blog at westinnewengland.blogspot.com.

Sources:
http://books.google.com/books?id=Iq7TAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA86&lpg=PA86&dq=on+the+ledge+lucy+larcom&source=bl&ots=40Mn9arXQz&sig=5KrbHhyCM-3kz5ZNoudKrl8ufIM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=OAV-UJbLIZDU0gHH7oDIBA&ved=0CCAQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=on%20the%20ledge%20lucy%20larcom&f=false

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Larcom

http://www.bethelhistorical.org/Lucy_Larcom's_Bethel.html

It's All Relative

I was absent from blogging for about a month - from mid-May to mid-June. I was, however, heavily involved in research. I had a group of students who wanted to find out about their families and I was helping them rather than doing my own research and writing. I have done this with students before but this time I tried to give emphasis to the story aspect of family history.

Some of my observations:

• Nothing warms my heart more than to see a student whip out his cell phone and call grandma to find out information and observe an extended meaningful conversation between them. This is an approved use of a cell phone in my class!
• In today's mobile society, families are often spread out and don't have (or take) the time to talk about their lives and pass on family stories. I'm certain many of my students have not had more than a superficial conversation with their grandparents. It makes me sad because I know a lot of stories from my grandparents' lives. 
• Everyone can find information and stories. It was great to see students who thought there was nothing interesting in their family, find something special. Even ordinary people have interesting stories. The internet makes it easy to find information if you have some basic information on ancestors who lived in the early 20th century. Almost everyone can get that information on at least one branch of their family. 

Some things my students found out

• My father was raised as a Mormon
• There were two Pillsbury families: "One brother founded the baking company and I'm descended from the other one"
• There's a historic house in Topsham that belonged to one of my ancestors
• My (how ever many) times great-grandfather designed the logo for Humpty Dumpty potato chips
• My mother's ancestor and my father's ancestor both fought for the Union at the same battle in the Civil War in different regiments and from different states.
• My Civil War ancestor survived one of the bloodiest battles of the war and then got a land grant in Maine where he broke his back in a fall while building his home. 
• Hey, I'm related to Ms. Carter! 

They discovered accused witches, artists, inventors, politicians and writers. Their origins were very diverse: Canada, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Italy, England, Ireland, Scotland and more that I can't remember. 

Follow Friday - My Inspiration

Some have asked me how I find enough to write about. Well, one thing I have just started using is the writing prompts on the geneabloggers web site. Every day they post a few ideas for topics and if you write on one of them and include it in the title of your blog, it goes on their site and increases your chances of being read by a wider audience. One of today's writing prompts at www.geneabloggers.com is Follow Friday. Bloggers are asked to highlight a blog they follow or a particular post they read recently.

I feel compelled to share the blog that gave me the inspiration for my own. West in New England is written by Bill West, my 3rd cousin, once removed. I connected with Bill on the Maine Genealogy Network when he commented on a post I made. Then we connected on Facebook and he let me know about the annual reunion for our mutual ancestors and the fact that the family has a Facebook Ellingwood reunion group. I had attended the reunion as a child but didn't know it was still being held every year. I attended the reunion and got to meet Bill and a bunch of other cousins I didn't know I had. I found out this family line adds to the existing research on the family each year with updates and a family newsletter. The Facebook page has drawn in many scattered Ellingwoods and it has been fun for them to see where they connect with those in Maine.

Sharing information & updates at the 2009 Ellingwood reunion

Through Bill's blog, I've connected with other distant cousins and fellow geneabloggers who have helped me in my research so many ways. If you're interested in learning how to research, finding new clues on your ancestors, or connecting with others who are researching the same lines, I cannot tell you how helpful it is to start blogging about your family. Then share your blog on geneabloggers, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. I get inspiration for posts from other blogs I read and they motivate me to keep digging for stories that tell not only who my ancestors are but what their lives were like. The internet and social media have been invaluable to my research. So get inspired and get blogging!! 

Why You Should Be a Geneablogger Too

I have always been interested in my family's history. I started researching my genealogy when I had a hip replacement and had limited mobility during the summer of 2004 (or 2005 - I'm not exactly sure). I was not very good at it when I started, went down more than a few false trails and gathered a lot of undocumented and extraneous information. I've been pecking away at documentation and attempting to clean up my family tree and break through brick walls ever since. 

Last summer I found a Facebook page dedicated to the descendants of Asa Freeman and Florilla (Dunham) Ellingwood - my 3rd great-grandparents on my father's side. I connected with a third cousin, Bill West, a retired bookseller from Abington, Massachusetts who writes a blog called West in New England. After reading his posts and seeing how others were sharing their genealogy through blogs, I became inspired to create my own. So in late February, I took the plunge and created my first post. It's not always easy to find the time to write but I have found a few things that have helped. Most importantly when I don't have time to write an entire post, I put down my ideas and save it as a draft and come back to it later. I have at least as many drafts as I have posts so I always have something to write about. My goal is at least 2 posts a week and in March I was able to post 16 times! I can't guarantee that pace will sustain itself so I'm keeping my goal at 2 posts a week for the rest of 2012. 


So why should you give blogging a try?

• In six weeks, I have made more connections with people who can help me than I've made in six years. 
• I've found stories about my ancestors and the places they lived. These make family history more meaningful than mere names on a page.  
• As someone who loves history, I've expanded and enriched my knowledge - giving me more to share with my students and hopefully making my teaching more relevant and interesting. 
• I am learning more about where and how to research. 
• And...I've gotten a little ego boost from those who have commented on the blog or to me in person and told me how much they enjoy the stories I've shared. 

There is a great community out there of geneabloggers. Head on over to www.geneabloggers.com for some inspiration and tips on how to get started. It is a great resource with links to a wide variety of blogs that can be searched by category. Several sites linked there provide daily or weekly writing prompts for those times you have writer's block. So what are you waiting for? Start telling the story of your family and reap the rewards! 

My Genealogy Time Capsule

A cousin of mine, Bill West writes a blog called West in New England and he is running this genealogy challenge. The deadline for submissions is March 15th. 

What I would put in my time capsule and why: I would use multiple formats for these items where possible - USB drive, DVD and hard copies. 

1. A letter to my descendants about the importance of family and genealogy in my life - Just because I wish I had one from my ancestors. 
2. A copy of my genealogy research so far. This way future family members could find new leads based on my research or compare (and maybe laugh at my mistakes).  My husband found a book on his ancestors that ended with a 3 times great-grandfather's name and said "nothing further is known about this line." It was fun to then fill in the rest of the story. 
3. I would include a narrative of my memories of my life, my parents, grandparents, and the three great-grandparents I got to know. I have been so fortunate to have so much time with grandparents and I know many people never get to make memories with their grandparents. I have a book about my Yates ancestry and the author included his own observations about the character of the people he personally knew. I love finding stories that give insight into the personalities of my ancestors rather than just having dry vital statistics. 
4. I would include copies of pictures (clearly labeled) of important people, places and moments in my life. I love finding pictures to go with my genealogy and it's so frustrating when there is no information to identify the people, places or events describing the picture. 
5. Favorites - songs and recipes including Cooking Downeast by Marjorie Standish (my grandmother's favorite cookbook). 
6. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - My great aunt, Rebecca Williamson Carter, gave me this book with a note that her mother read this to my grandfather and his siblings. 
7. Anne of Green Gables - My grandmother, F. Lyndell Cotton Carter, gave this book to me after she went to visit her relatives on Prince Edward Island. Her grandfather, George Gibbs, came from PEI. 
8. Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel by Virginia Lee Burton and Harry the Dirty Dog by Gene Zion - My favorite books from childhood. 
9. Pink Dove soap - My grandmother always used it and I use it too. It smells like her...
10. Lindor truffles, Nesquik, Wint-o-green Life Savers and Diet Coke with Lime - some of my favorites things.

What would I put it all in and where would I keep it? 

• This is much more difficult...I think the answer is to make multiple copies of the original time capsule (at least the stuff on DVD and USB drives) - Maybe get a safety deposit box at a bank and seal the USB drive & DVD in an envelope with instructions written on the outside, definitely leave info about the time capsule in my will and tell my sons to put it in their wills too to keep the information available for whoever is interested 100 years from now. 
• I would get a sturdy box from Sentry for the time capsule. I would bury the original time capsule just outside the Middle Intervale Cemetery in Bethel, Maine. This cemetery started with my ancestor, Dr. Timothy Carter. The farm he started is across the street and still in the family. The meetinghouse in front of the cemetery belonged to my family until it was made a nonprofit in 1978. This spot has deep personal connections for me.