Team Missouri Connect-a-thon chat July 2022 [closed]

Question

Where's my "Show me" state folks at?!

Thank you for volunteering to help and for joining our team. This post will create a thread where we can work together to coordinate our efforts. This is the place for the team to ask questions, give advice, see updates, and cheer each other on.

As a reminder, these are the states we cover: Missouri (of course!), Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Of course, if your connections lead you elsewhere, you can certainly follow that trail!

Main sign up page

Main Connect-a-thon page

Team & User scoring

Answer 1

I've signed up!

Comments

Awesome, Michelle! I've got you added to the team.

Answer 2

I'm starting to have some real concerns about the website I use for my sourcing. Family Search.org has literally been having issues for at least a month of searches and records not loading. It's almost enough to make me reactivate my Ancestry membership!

Has anyone else noticed this? Any other free sites that are as good as familysearch.org that you could recommend?

Comments

Yes, I've been having a bit of a problem too, but have a solution, or at least a work around:

I use Firefox as my browser, so this may not apply, but may be worth a try...  When Family Search starts "acting up" I go to the browser settings page, and under Privacy, Cookies & Site Data, I select "Manage Data..."

I then have the option to delete cookies for selected websites.  I only choose Family Search, and delete their cookies.

When I return to editing, I have to log into Family Search again, since deleting cookies logs you out.  Then it all works great!  (Until a few days, or a few weeks later!)

Let me know if this works for you!

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I'm a Chrome girl myself but I'll give it a try! I was really worried this issue would slow me down. Thanks for the suggestion and I'll let you know if it works, cousin.

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Resetting my cookies did work. Thanks cuz!!

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You are ready to rock now, Captain!

Happy it worked!!

Answer 3

I have a slew of Iowa folk ready to be connected. It's going to be a productive weekend!

Comments

That's awesome, David! I made a list a few Connect-a-thons ago and I'm still working from it. lol I think I did the first FIVE the first connect-a-thon that I used it. Having a list to work from is definitely the way to go. I even listed the links from Wikitree and Family Search.org to help make the process faster.

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I will also be primarily working on Iowa people. I've got a good "breeder family" around Monticello Iowa in Jones County, and I haven't done anything with my wife's family yet, a whole mess of them in mostly Eastern and some Central Iowa.

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I will be disappearing down various rabbit holes so hard to say where I'll be but suspect Missouri, Oklahoma and maybe Arkansas. I'm still working on my list from January's Connect-a-thon. lol

Answer 4

Look what Melanie Paul made for us!

Comments

We have a logo!

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Well, gee, heck, Missouri DOES have its own official State Dinosaur!  
While Li'l MO up there is not an exact depiction of Parrosaurus missouriensis, it's cuter than an outline with a skeleton inside.  
(Besides, have you ever looked at your "states covered" image?  It looks just like an open-jawed dinosaur lying down.  Admittedly, a wee bit more like a Stegosaurus, than missouriensis, but you just have to hold your head "just so" and position your tongue correctly to see what I see.)

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I never knew that Missouri had it's own official dino until you told me Melanie. That's really too cool! Another thing to love about Missouri.

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I was looking for the State Bird, or the State Animal (both of which I found), as they're usually "better" than flowers.  I would have used the State Tree (for obvious reasons), but when I saw MO had its own Dino — how could I not‽  (Queensland also has a dino — the Muttaburrasaurus, which I thought was really neat after it was broadly known.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypsibema_missouriensis#State_dinosaur_designation

Also, add these to the list :

Living insignia
Amphibian — American bullfrog
Bird — Eastern bluebird
Fish — Channel catfish
Flower — White hawthorn
Grass — Big bluestem
Horse breed — Missouri Fox Trotter
Insect — Western honey bee
Mammal — Missouri Mule
Tree — Flowering Dogwood

I did briefly consider the mule, because you can have so much fun with long ears, but decided some people might see it as insulting.  That was when I discovered the dinosaur and thought "how incredibly wonderful!"  — and so Li'l MO was "born".  
 

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While I love flowering trees, I love the idea that the team now has an official mascot. Thank you so much for this Melanie!

Answer 5

Hello cousins! Excited to join the team! Lori was right and I appear to be distantly related to most of you. I'm currently in WA but my family and I have lived all over.

Comments

Welcome Cousin!  What do you mean "distantly related"?  We only have to go back to 1297 AD to find a common ancestor!

But the important part is:  We are all cousins!  And I live just north of you: in Alaska.  So we don't have to be physically in the Missouri jurisdiction.

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I'm a former Okie living in Virginia but my Daddy's side came thru Missouri from Kentucky before moving to Oklahoma sometime before 1900. Daviess and Clay have been my main focus in Missouri but I tend to bounce around into other states during these "thons".

It's wonderful to have more cousins joining the group!

Answer 6

Glad to be here!!

Comments

It's great to have you with us Caroline!

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My ancestors came to SW Missouri from Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.  I was born and raised in Jasper County, MO and my family moved to Oklahoma when the company my dad worked for moved us.

It seems like I'm related to most everyone in Stone County, MO and quite a few in Christian County, MO also.

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My ancestors were in NW Missouri in Daviess county then a bunch of them moved to Clay county. My great grandmother ended up settling in the Seminole area of OK before statehood where my Daddy was born in 1930.I actually grew up in Tulsa.

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We moved to Vinita in '63, then on to Bethany in '64 then finally, in '65, to the house they were in when both died a few years back.  I'm still here in Oklahoma but go back to Missouri whenever I am able to.

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My wife grew up in Okmulgee, and worked for years in Tulsa!

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My parents were married in Okmulgee. I lived in Tulsa from 1965 to 1988. Really no one back there I claim any more other than my favorite cousin and she lives in Skiatook. Beautiful country!

Answer 7

I just wanted to mention that I started a page a while back that lists resources for the state of Missouri. Feel free to add any that I may have missed. Sources- Missouri 

Answer 8

Here's the link to the scoring-  Current scores

Answer 9

Good morning to my morning crew of early risers, LaMyra, Jim, Jay, Abby, Bryan, Angela & Caroline!

Little Mo (our mascot) says, let's GO!!

Answer 10

Well, after successfully avoiding it for 2+ years, COVID finally caught up with me this morning. I feel fine except for "the sniffles." Not sure how this will impact my participation this wekend, but I still plan on conributin what I can. Who knows, now that I'm in isolation I may actually accomplish more than I originally planned.

Comments

Sorry to hear that you're sick, David! Don't push yourself too hard. Please rest when you feel tired and take care of yourself. Your health is what's important here.

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David, Hope you get better fast!  I'm recovering along with you!  My sister who is a doctor, reminded me to drink plenty of water.  (along with everything else used to treat it)

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Being quarantined in a room by myself all day gave me lots of time to add my Swedish ancestors uncovered from the Swedish Household Examination records - 80 in all. Tomorrow I'll start working on my immigrant ancestors and their descendants in Iowa (Red Oak area). Can't beleve it's still only Friday. Two full days to go!

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Amazing what you've done sick! I can't wait to see what you do for the rest of the weekend.

Answer 11

Like David, I've avoided it for all this time, but just got it this week.  It will slow me down, but I'll still contribute!

Comments

What are you talking about? Slow you down? You're always my slow and thorough one on the team. lol

Take care of yourself and rest as needed. This illness is nothing to mess around with.

Answer 12

Good morning cousins! I spent a good part of my day adding folks in PA, WI, WA, and VA before finally settling into some MO folks.

I called it an early night so as not to aggravate my carpal tunnel too much. Hopefully, I'll last a bit longer today as I'll make myself take some breaks. Very impressive numbers put up by the group yesterday. Proud to call y'all teammates and cousins.

Let's rock this thing! Go Team MO!!!

Comments

I stumbled down a rabbit hole of large families in Dubuque County Iowa, children of immigrants from Germany, Italy and Ireland so far. And this was only from one of my step-grandfather's sibling's spouse - four more step-grandfather-sibling-spouses to go!

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Must be fun to have so much extended family to work on! At some point yesterday I ended up working on a family from Wales that ended up in Utah. Everything I've worked on this weekend has not been my family but it's someone's family. Maybe next time I'll work on adding all the Becketts that could potentially be my g-g grandfather's family.

Answer 13

Happy Sunday morning y'all! I'm thrilled we held onto 17th overnight. Let's kick some booty today!

Go Team MO!!!

Answer 14

Really proud of y'all! And congrats to LaMyra for taking first place on the team.

Answer 15

Congratulations everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the weekend as much as I did. I am thrilled to have added as many of my Swedish and Iowa ancestors as I did. What initially seemed like an overwhelming task, actually turned out to be rather addictive. I'm thrilled that each of these individuals is now memorialized forever. Now I can go back and begin fleshing out their profiles, adding more sources, etc. Already looking forward to the next Connect-A-Thon!

Comments

Thank you for being a part of Team Missouri, David! It was wonderful to have you join us and I hope you'll be back for the next event.