It's snowing out and it likely won't stop until the winter storm watch ends Wednesday night. Just in time for me to work Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I've been wondering what to blog about, since I have still not finished putting up photos from our trip to Spain. I suspect this post will be a bit more hodge podge than normal.
My nose is runny but I've got a cup of constant comment. I'm also trying out the MusicLink which uses the T-coil technology in my hearing aids. Instead of earbuds (useless) or headphones (ouch) they're simply little hooks that go behind my ear alongside the hearing aids. So far, I like the sound and they are pretty nice except for one thing: the connection/volume changes with how the hooks are situated which can get pretty fussy. So I keep wiggling them around but it's hard to keep them planted in preferable positions.
I'm also playing around with TiddlyWiki and its customizations. I'm using it for my genealogical research. For that, it is fairly nice to have a nonlinear way to keep tabs on things and be able to search or quickly click on a link for some more information. Definitely still a learning process and I'll probably need to keep updating with my rules as I make them. It's not crucial to have things done just right since it's really easy to search for keywords but I'm going to have a mass of data on it in no time (it's pretty hefty already with the recent Norwegian genealogical research quest).
I've found a couple new things out - one is a few concrete hints to the different Norwegian roots and where they came from in Norway. The other is about my great-grandpa Wikan. I'd known he was in the first world war but I never saw any documents with evidence. I know I've googled the web looking for clues, mostly based on some conversation I vaguely remember having with my dad about how he fought in a forest in Europe and at the end it was as if it was clear cut because the fighting had been so heavy.
However, it wasn't until I did a search through military records on ancestry.com through the library edition that I found specific information on great-grandpa Ralph J. Wikan. There is no doubt he was a soldier in World War I, that he was in the thicket of it, and that he was just lucky to make it out alive. After copying down the information in the TiddlyWiki file and looking up more information on the movements of the AEF, 4th brigade, 2nd Marine division, 6th regiment (which required looking up how military units are organized - still don't quite get it and I think I might have put the order backwards here), I learned some pretty nifty things.
1) He was with the 6th regiment since its creation in Virginia. He had actually started training beforehand in California when he enlisted May 1917. I haven't found out for sure, but since I can't find a draft registration card for him, it's possible he volunteered as soon as the US joined the war. This obviously needs more research (mostly how many were actually drafted so early on).
2) He was promoted to corporal, sergeant, gunnery sergeant, then second lieutenant. The muster rolls don't seem to keep things completely accurate, although it's possible he kept switching between companies and switched back and forth between titles ... when he was promoted to gunnery sergeant he was then the second highest ranking officer in the 6th regiment. Seems like since he was a fairly prominent member I'd be able to find stuff on him online but there's very little beyond muster roll records.
3) He was given the Citation Star which was later named the Silver Star.
4) The forest has a name: Belleau Woods. He was in a number other battles, including at Verdun, Chateau-Thierry, and St. Mihiel. For nine months after the armistice (November 1918) he was in Germany and then he was done being a soldier. In the 1920 Census, I found him living in his father's house with his stepmother and brother. By the time 1930 Census was taken, he had married and my grandma and great-aunt were born.
My great-aunt, who I had always really liked, passed away on January 20th. She had been having health problems for quite some time and in the last year or so Alzheimer's had quickly taken over her mind. I'll always be glad she did get to meet Colin while she was alive. In my heart, I had felt that she was already gone since her Alzheimer's had been so advanced, but it was still hard to hear that she was suffering from a lot of pain and in a come the last days of her life.
I haven't actually mentioned on my blog another big piece of news: The day I began my job, Colin lost his. It sounds like something that you'd only read in a book, but I swear it's true. The reasons are unclear, but the aftermath has been an exciting ride (mostly the ex-coworkers learning he didn't quit but was fired which leads to a WTF moment every time). We're doing fine and Colin keeps busy tinkering with numerous projects. There's a couple of opportunities for employment that is in the works, but things are much more up in the air than usual (even for me). For the time being, we're sticking around here, he's looking to work from home, and I'm enjoying my job.
Okay, so now you know I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I'm going to go get ready for dinner with one of Colin's ex-coworkers and his wife (who I haven't met before) who lives nearby. Stay safe, warm, and dry, everybody!
My nose is runny but I've got a cup of constant comment. I'm also trying out the MusicLink which uses the T-coil technology in my hearing aids. Instead of earbuds (useless) or headphones (ouch) they're simply little hooks that go behind my ear alongside the hearing aids. So far, I like the sound and they are pretty nice except for one thing: the connection/volume changes with how the hooks are situated which can get pretty fussy. So I keep wiggling them around but it's hard to keep them planted in preferable positions.
I'm also playing around with TiddlyWiki and its customizations. I'm using it for my genealogical research. For that, it is fairly nice to have a nonlinear way to keep tabs on things and be able to search or quickly click on a link for some more information. Definitely still a learning process and I'll probably need to keep updating with my rules as I make them. It's not crucial to have things done just right since it's really easy to search for keywords but I'm going to have a mass of data on it in no time (it's pretty hefty already with the recent Norwegian genealogical research quest).
I've found a couple new things out - one is a few concrete hints to the different Norwegian roots and where they came from in Norway. The other is about my great-grandpa Wikan. I'd known he was in the first world war but I never saw any documents with evidence. I know I've googled the web looking for clues, mostly based on some conversation I vaguely remember having with my dad about how he fought in a forest in Europe and at the end it was as if it was clear cut because the fighting had been so heavy.
However, it wasn't until I did a search through military records on ancestry.com through the library edition that I found specific information on great-grandpa Ralph J. Wikan. There is no doubt he was a soldier in World War I, that he was in the thicket of it, and that he was just lucky to make it out alive. After copying down the information in the TiddlyWiki file and looking up more information on the movements of the AEF, 4th brigade, 2nd Marine division, 6th regiment (which required looking up how military units are organized - still don't quite get it and I think I might have put the order backwards here), I learned some pretty nifty things.
1) He was with the 6th regiment since its creation in Virginia. He had actually started training beforehand in California when he enlisted May 1917. I haven't found out for sure, but since I can't find a draft registration card for him, it's possible he volunteered as soon as the US joined the war. This obviously needs more research (mostly how many were actually drafted so early on).
2) He was promoted to corporal, sergeant, gunnery sergeant, then second lieutenant. The muster rolls don't seem to keep things completely accurate, although it's possible he kept switching between companies and switched back and forth between titles ... when he was promoted to gunnery sergeant he was then the second highest ranking officer in the 6th regiment. Seems like since he was a fairly prominent member I'd be able to find stuff on him online but there's very little beyond muster roll records.
3) He was given the Citation Star which was later named the Silver Star.
4) The forest has a name: Belleau Woods. He was in a number other battles, including at Verdun, Chateau-Thierry, and St. Mihiel. For nine months after the armistice (November 1918) he was in Germany and then he was done being a soldier. In the 1920 Census, I found him living in his father's house with his stepmother and brother. By the time 1930 Census was taken, he had married and my grandma and great-aunt were born.
My great-aunt, who I had always really liked, passed away on January 20th. She had been having health problems for quite some time and in the last year or so Alzheimer's had quickly taken over her mind. I'll always be glad she did get to meet Colin while she was alive. In my heart, I had felt that she was already gone since her Alzheimer's had been so advanced, but it was still hard to hear that she was suffering from a lot of pain and in a come the last days of her life.
I haven't actually mentioned on my blog another big piece of news: The day I began my job, Colin lost his. It sounds like something that you'd only read in a book, but I swear it's true. The reasons are unclear, but the aftermath has been an exciting ride (mostly the ex-coworkers learning he didn't quit but was fired which leads to a WTF moment every time). We're doing fine and Colin keeps busy tinkering with numerous projects. There's a couple of opportunities for employment that is in the works, but things are much more up in the air than usual (even for me). For the time being, we're sticking around here, he's looking to work from home, and I'm enjoying my job.
Okay, so now you know I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth. I'm going to go get ready for dinner with one of Colin's ex-coworkers and his wife (who I haven't met before) who lives nearby. Stay safe, warm, and dry, everybody!
No comments:
Post a Comment