The Colorado Family History Expo is coming up June 25-26, 2010 in Loveland. I will be presenting 2 classes:
- Researching Your Colorado Pioneers - Friday at 4:30 pm
- Locating Homestead Land Patents - Saturday 4:00 pm
Central Colorado History - Christison Family Connections
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Colorado Family History Expo
The Colorado Family History Expo is coming up June 25-26, 2010 in Loveland. I will be presenting 2 classes:
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Mapping Colorado History
This month my article, "Mapping Colorado History" appears in the April 2010 issue of Colorado Country Life magazine. I loved researching this article and learning about the map history of Colorado. I learned so many facts about Colorado and its maps that I couldn’t fit all of the information into the article. I’ll be writing blog posts this month about the maps I mentioned in the article and offer more how-to’s on using Colorado maps.
Colorado Country Life is the Colorado Rural Electric Association magazine sent to homes in many of the rural electric coops in the state. “Mapping Colorado History” is my second article in Colorado Country Life. I’ve read the magazine since I was a child, having lived in the Mountain View Electric Association area almost all of my life. My connection to Mountain View became stronger when I married. My husband, John, began working for Mountain View 25 years ago in March. He started as a meter reader, spent twenty years keeping the lights on as a lineman, and now works as an inspector inspecting newly constructed power lines.
I have added a page for Colorado Maps which has a slideshow of Colorado maps, many of which are mentioned in the article. The Colorado Maps page is just below the Colorado Reflections header. I will also add more to the maps page.
I’m excited about interacting with readers of this article. Please leave your comments and questions on this blog. You can also become a fan of Colorado Country Life on Facebook and leave comments on their fan page. I’ll respond to comments and questions there, too.
Colorado Country Life is the Colorado Rural Electric Association magazine sent to homes in many of the rural electric coops in the state. “Mapping Colorado History” is my second article in Colorado Country Life. I’ve read the magazine since I was a child, having lived in the Mountain View Electric Association area almost all of my life. My connection to Mountain View became stronger when I married. My husband, John, began working for Mountain View 25 years ago in March. He started as a meter reader, spent twenty years keeping the lights on as a lineman, and now works as an inspector inspecting newly constructed power lines.
I have added a page for Colorado Maps which has a slideshow of Colorado maps, many of which are mentioned in the article. The Colorado Maps page is just below the Colorado Reflections header. I will also add more to the maps page.
I’m excited about interacting with readers of this article. Please leave your comments and questions on this blog. You can also become a fan of Colorado Country Life on Facebook and leave comments on their fan page. I’ll respond to comments and questions there, too.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Genealogy vs. History
I had no intention of writing a post about Who Do You Think You Are? on NBC.
There has been a lot of hype about it among the geneabloggers and genealogy community in social network. We even received a schedule of the promotional interviews including The Today Show, The View and Oprah. After watching Lisa Kudrow's interview on The View, I decided I wanted to watch the show to see what all of the hype was about. Is it really the new Roots which is going to cause everyone to jump on the genealogy bandwagon like the famous miniseries did in the seventies?
Watching the show, I enjoyed seeing Sarah Jessica Parker's emotions as she was told information about her family. They seemed real to me as I've had many of the same feelings. This, however, is what my husband, John, didn't like about the show. To him, it sensationalized the show. He would have preferred more facts. I also appreciated how the show grounded the genealogy discoveries in the context of history.
At one point, Sarah Jessica Parker was handed a letter detailing her 4th great-grandfather's death in the California goldfields. I must say that letter hooked me. Don't we all wish we had a letter like that to explain events we don't have any information about? The show didn't explain where the letter came from, however, this morning I received an e-mail from Anastasia Tyler, PR Manager of Ancestry explaining the letter. "We found a letter written by someone in Ohio to John S. Hodge, which had been published in a book," says Natalie (ProGenealogist). "One of my colleagues tracked down the original set of letters, which provided more details, including information about John S. Hodge's 1850 death."
After the show, I considered what Sarah Jessica Parker learned about her family history and compared it to my experience. In some ways there wasn't much comparison: Parker didn't spend years tracking down her genealogy the same way I have; instead, thousands of dollars were spent for professional genealogists to do the research. She didn't spend months trying to figure out frustrating details or missing information. But her response to the information was very similar to my response. There is wonder, excitement and sadness in genealogy.
What we have in common is the understanding that each person in our family tree is a thread. All of our ancestors' threads are woven together and create a tapestry of history. History focuses on the strongest, the leaders, the people who made a name for themselves, whether good or bad. Genealogy, however allows us to see history in another light. We see the people, our people, who lived in the times and were a part of history, but nothing much was written about them because, well, they were kind of boring in light of the people who made a name for themselves. As we research and learn about their lives, though, we discover our ties to the history, history that may not have meant much to us until we learn we have a vested interest in that period of time.
Without genealogy, some of the history would be lost forever. Think of the stories we wouldn't know if Alex Haley hadn't become interested in his genealogy. I have two friends, Jane Kirkpatrick and Heidi Thomas, who have written historical novels about their grandmothers. Jane's grandmother was a photographer in the early 1900's and Heidi's grandmother rode steers in rodeos in the 1920's. Neither woman was famous, but because Jane and Heidi have written their stories we have a another perspective of the history, one we would have missed without genealogy.
That's what I've discovered as I write my family's history. You will find Ernest Christison as a sidekick of Ed Watson in the cattle rustling story in the history books. But because I researched Ernest and his involvement, I discovered there was much more to the cattle rustling story than has been told. I've also found the same to be true in Wilburn Christison's story. Sometimes more of the history is revealed through the lesser known people.
I hope Who Do You Think You Are? will draw more people to genealogy. Genealogy can open a door to understanding history. But it can also light a fire for children. I have a friend, Hailey, who is a first-grader. Hailey will tell you three of her ancestors was on the Mayflower. And she can tell you some of the history. Do you think this child will have an interest in history throughout her life? Hailey already knows the secret of each thread creating a tapestry of history.
There has been a lot of hype about it among the geneabloggers and genealogy community in social network. We even received a schedule of the promotional interviews including The Today Show, The View and Oprah. After watching Lisa Kudrow's interview on The View, I decided I wanted to watch the show to see what all of the hype was about. Is it really the new Roots which is going to cause everyone to jump on the genealogy bandwagon like the famous miniseries did in the seventies?
Watching the show, I enjoyed seeing Sarah Jessica Parker's emotions as she was told information about her family. They seemed real to me as I've had many of the same feelings. This, however, is what my husband, John, didn't like about the show. To him, it sensationalized the show. He would have preferred more facts. I also appreciated how the show grounded the genealogy discoveries in the context of history.
At one point, Sarah Jessica Parker was handed a letter detailing her 4th great-grandfather's death in the California goldfields. I must say that letter hooked me. Don't we all wish we had a letter like that to explain events we don't have any information about? The show didn't explain where the letter came from, however, this morning I received an e-mail from Anastasia Tyler, PR Manager of Ancestry explaining the letter. "We found a letter written by someone in Ohio to John S. Hodge, which had been published in a book," says Natalie (ProGenealogist). "One of my colleagues tracked down the original set of letters, which provided more details, including information about John S. Hodge's 1850 death."
After the show, I considered what Sarah Jessica Parker learned about her family history and compared it to my experience. In some ways there wasn't much comparison: Parker didn't spend years tracking down her genealogy the same way I have; instead, thousands of dollars were spent for professional genealogists to do the research. She didn't spend months trying to figure out frustrating details or missing information. But her response to the information was very similar to my response. There is wonder, excitement and sadness in genealogy.
What we have in common is the understanding that each person in our family tree is a thread. All of our ancestors' threads are woven together and create a tapestry of history. History focuses on the strongest, the leaders, the people who made a name for themselves, whether good or bad. Genealogy, however allows us to see history in another light. We see the people, our people, who lived in the times and were a part of history, but nothing much was written about them because, well, they were kind of boring in light of the people who made a name for themselves. As we research and learn about their lives, though, we discover our ties to the history, history that may not have meant much to us until we learn we have a vested interest in that period of time.
Without genealogy, some of the history would be lost forever. Think of the stories we wouldn't know if Alex Haley hadn't become interested in his genealogy. I have two friends, Jane Kirkpatrick and Heidi Thomas, who have written historical novels about their grandmothers. Jane's grandmother was a photographer in the early 1900's and Heidi's grandmother rode steers in rodeos in the 1920's. Neither woman was famous, but because Jane and Heidi have written their stories we have a another perspective of the history, one we would have missed without genealogy.
That's what I've discovered as I write my family's history. You will find Ernest Christison as a sidekick of Ed Watson in the cattle rustling story in the history books. But because I researched Ernest and his involvement, I discovered there was much more to the cattle rustling story than has been told. I've also found the same to be true in Wilburn Christison's story. Sometimes more of the history is revealed through the lesser known people.
I hope Who Do You Think You Are? will draw more people to genealogy. Genealogy can open a door to understanding history. But it can also light a fire for children. I have a friend, Hailey, who is a first-grader. Hailey will tell you three of her ancestors was on the Mayflower. And she can tell you some of the history. Do you think this child will have an interest in history throughout her life? Hailey already knows the secret of each thread creating a tapestry of history.
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Escape
Last week I had the urge to visit Buena Vista again. 126 years ago on January 27, 1884, Ernest Christison, my great-great-uncle, escaped from the Buena Vista Jail along with ten other prisoners. You can read more about the jail break on this Black Sheep Sunday post. After breaking jail, Ernest and Albert Sweeny ran 1/2 a mile to the Arkansas River, crossed it and began climbing the hill on the others side.
The two men hid in the pinions and rocks watching the posse form and the search begin. In the photo below you can see the courthouse in the center of the picture viewed from the hill.
Christison and Sweeny walked south along the hills. Below Nathrop they crossed the river again and continued walking to Thomas Cameron's ranch near Salida, where they were captured early the next morning.
Today the area where Ernest and Albert Sweeny crossed the river is a park. There is a footbridge across the Arkansas and hiking trails up the hill. John and I walked up the trail to experience a little of what Ernest did. Can't imagine crossing the river with the ice and cold. My feet would be blue for a week! It was easy to picture Ernest and Albert scrambling up the hill during their get-away. It was 25 degrees when John and I visited on Friday, the 29th. There was a fresh layer of snow on the ground from the night before. Luckily for Ernest and Albert there wasn't any new snow in 1884!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
2009 - What A Year! 2010 - Bring It ON!
Looking back at 2009, I am amazed by the opportunities that came my way. If you had told me a year ago that I would pan for gold in the place my great-great-grandfather did, find a cousin named Gayle Christison (my maiden name), speak to 200 people at the Pikes Peak Regional History Symposium about my great-great-grandfather and Cash Creek (Cache Creek), and keep finding new developments in the cattle rustling story, I probably would have said, "Yeah, right."
These opportunities would not come without people. I am so grateful to each of you who read my blog and to you whose paths have crossed with mine on Twitter and Facebook. I appreciate librarians, archivists, and regular people who listen to my story and answer my questions, pointing me in the direction I need to go.
New Year's resolutions have never held much interest to me. Oh, I can set them and fail within two weeks, so I tend not to even come up with resolutions. But as I think about the opportunities that have surfaced in the past few years, I realize I do have some attributes I try to live out in genealogy and life. These are beneficial when opportunities arise and I hope to become better at each in the years to come.
In 2010, I resolve to:
Be curious and see where the next computer click, phone call, e-mail, turn in the road will take me.
Be courageous and follow up on what I find. Make the phone call, set the date, make the drive, meet new people.
Be curious and see where the next computer click, phone call, e-mail, turn in the road will take me.
Be courageous and follow up on what I find. Make the phone call, set the date, make the drive, meet new people.
Be faithful and stay on track. Write the book, do the research, enter the data.
Be true to myself. Write the way I write, research the way I research, and don't compare myself to others.
Be open to new opportunities, new people, new ideas.
Be courteous to others and respect their stories. Remember that the pioneers I research and write about have family today who may not know the whole story and who have their own family stories.
Some attributes are easier for me than others: curious is easy, courageous - not so much. But all of them are essential in what I love to do - research and writing. I would love to make a resolution that the book will be written in 2010, but I won't. The book will be done when the time is right.
Here is to the New Year - 2010 - Bring it ON!
(This post was written for the 87th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.)
Here is to the New Year - 2010 - Bring it ON!
(This post was written for the 87th edition of the Carnival of Genealogy, hosted by Jasia at Creative Gene.)
Sunday, November 1, 2009
The Christison Musicians
(poster by fM)Prospecting is in my Christison blood, but there is another talent that runs through the Christison family – musical ability. It seems that those who weren’t bitten by the gold bug honed their musical talent. And, in two cases, without music (and the U.S. Air Force) two marriages may never have happened.
Ernest Christison never seemed to care much about prospecting; he got into cattle ranching at an early age. But he could fiddle a tune! He played for dances and gatherings in Fairplay, Salida and Howard. Ernest’s granddaughter, Betty Regnier, remembers him playing “Devil’s Dream” on the fiddle when she was a little girl.
Ernest wasn’t the only one of Wilburn’s children to play an instrument. His younger brother, John Christison, was a professional musician—a piano player. According to one source, he joined the circus as a musician and married a trapeze artist! John is listed as a musician in the 1885 Colorado Census and was the leader of the Aspen City Orchestra in 1889. By the time of his death in 1890 at the age of 31, John was the leader of the Wheeler Opera House Orchestra.
(United States Air Force photograph)
Unites States Air Force Academy Band - Ken Christison right corner
The music talents of the next generation are unknown to me; however, the Christison musical talent came through loud and clear when my Dad, Kenneth Christison, Jr., began playing the trombone in school in Los Molinos, California. Ken Christison joined the Air Force in 1961 and was stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. He played in the Maxwell Air Force Band. He also met my mother, Connie Revelle, in Montgomery and, after they were married, it’s where I was born. Dad was stationed at the Air Force Academy in 1966, bringing him to the state of Colorado where 3 generations of his family had lived before him.
(United States Air Force photograph)
The Falconaires
As a bandsman of the United States Air Force Academy Band, Dad played trombone in the Marching Band, Symphony and, for a year or two, the Falconaires, a jazz ensemble. Dad played on the Falconaires album, “The Snake Creek Diversion Project,” a respected jazz and funk recording. Here’s a YouTube video I found with the recording of “Memphis Soul Stew.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGqmBqz3UaI
Every day the Air Force Academy Band played breakfast, noon, and supper formations, marching the Air Force Academy cadets to their meals. The band also performed concerts throughout the year at the Academy. My favorites were the Christmas concerts. Dad was stationed at the Air Force Academy for eighteen years. He was also the instrument repairman, which made him indispensable to the band.
Growing up with music, I learned to play the flute, piano, and guitar in elementary school. My brother, Brian, played the trumpet and guitar, too. I played flute in the band through Junior High and one year in High School. That was 1981, the year Douglas County High School Marching Band marched in the Rose Parade. After marching five miles through Pasadena, I really didn’t have any desire to march again!
(Douglas County News, Castle Rock, Colorado)
Every day the Air Force Academy Band played breakfast, noon, and supper formations, marching the Air Force Academy cadets to their meals. The band also performed concerts throughout the year at the Academy. My favorites were the Christmas concerts. Dad was stationed at the Air Force Academy for eighteen years. He was also the instrument repairman, which made him indispensable to the band.
Growing up with music, I learned to play the flute, piano, and guitar in elementary school. My brother, Brian, played the trumpet and guitar, too. I played flute in the band through Junior High and one year in High School. That was 1981, the year Douglas County High School Marching Band marched in the Rose Parade. After marching five miles through Pasadena, I really didn’t have any desire to march again!
(Douglas County News, Castle Rock, Colorado)The Range Riders
My musical interests turned in another direction a couple of weeks after the Rose Parade when a friend asked me to play guitar in a country-western band he was starting with his cousin. Ron Gresham, his cousin John Gresham, and I became The Range Riders. We played for a few community gatherings and a dance or two, but we found we were better as a gospel group than a dance band. And John and I have been making music ever since!
Today we play in a bluegrass gospel group that leads the worship service at church once a month. I’ve added a banjo and hammered dulcimer to my musical instrument collection. I can play both a little. I’m a pretty good rhythm guitar player and a decent harmony singer. John plays mandolin and sings, too. We enjoy playing old country western songs with John’s father, who plays guitar. And the Christison and Gresham music talent hasn’t ended with us—I enjoy playing guitar in the contemporary praise group at church with my daughter, Kate, who plays the bass and my son, Kenny, who plays guitar.
Today we play in a bluegrass gospel group that leads the worship service at church once a month. I’ve added a banjo and hammered dulcimer to my musical instrument collection. I can play both a little. I’m a pretty good rhythm guitar player and a decent harmony singer. John plays mandolin and sings, too. We enjoy playing old country western songs with John’s father, who plays guitar. And the Christison and Gresham music talent hasn’t ended with us—I enjoy playing guitar in the contemporary praise group at church with my daughter, Kate, who plays the bass and my son, Kenny, who plays guitar.
This post was written for the 83rd edition of the Carnival of Genealogy hosted by Janet Iles at Janet the Researcher.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Prospecting and Wild Strawberries: A Childhood Memory
Ken Christison, Sr., Elizabeth Christison, Gayle Christison, Brian ChristisonRandy Seaver, author of the Genea-Musings Blog, has a regular Saturday Night Genealogy Fun challenge for geneabloggers. Tonight's challenge is to write one of your most vivid childhood memories. And tonight I accept the challenge!
My recent gold panning experience brought back memories of my Grandpa Christison. I wish I could say many memories, but I wasn't around him enough to have many memories. Therefore, the ones I do have tend to be pretty vivid to me.
When I was a child, Grandpa Christison lived in Salida. He worked as a deputy sheriff for Chaffee County, but spent his spare time prospecting or working his mining claim up on Poncha Pass. I remember camping at our camping spot on Spring Creek one time when I was seven or eight. My Dad drove the International Scout up the mountain trail until we found Grandpa's old green International pickup. I don't really remember anything about the claim other than Grandpa doing some shoveling. There wasn't a big hole or anything. Another memory is of Grandpa making pancakes and cooking them on the griddle over the open fire. I remember being amazed because I didn't know you could make pancakes when you were camping!
My most vivid memory is of Grandpa taking us hiking up past his claim; following Spring Creek until we found the spring, the very beginnings of the creek. Surrounding the creek were wild strawberries--the tiniest little berries that packed a strawberry punch like I'd never tasted before! We ate strawberries and knelt down by the small creek, cupped our hands and drank water from the cold mountain spring. I can tell you I've never had strawberries that tasted so good.
This memory came back to me when Shirley and Larry Weilnau took John and I hiking at Cache Creek. As we hiked up the mountain a ways, my eyes were on the ground looking at the wild strawberry plants. Even though I knew I wouldn't find any strawberries in September, I still couldn't stop myself from hoping one bright strawberry might reveal itself to me. It dawned on me that prospecting and wild strawberries will forever be entwined in my mind.
Grandpa Christison and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Oregon when I was in the 4th grade in 1974. The above picture was taken in their yard in the trailer park in Salida when we said good-bye before they moved. It's the only picture I have of Grandpa Christison, Elizabeth, my younger brother, Brian, and I together. Actually, it's the only picture I have of Grandpa when I was young. I wish we had pictures of Grandpa at his claim or camping or cooking pancakes.
Grandpa Christison died in 1994. We had a family memorial for him at Spring Creek in 1995 and his four children drove from California, Oregon, and North Carolina to remember him at one of his favorite places.
So, here is to prospecting, wild strawberries, pancakes, Spring Creek, and Grandpa Christison! Thank you for the special memories.
My recent gold panning experience brought back memories of my Grandpa Christison. I wish I could say many memories, but I wasn't around him enough to have many memories. Therefore, the ones I do have tend to be pretty vivid to me.
When I was a child, Grandpa Christison lived in Salida. He worked as a deputy sheriff for Chaffee County, but spent his spare time prospecting or working his mining claim up on Poncha Pass. I remember camping at our camping spot on Spring Creek one time when I was seven or eight. My Dad drove the International Scout up the mountain trail until we found Grandpa's old green International pickup. I don't really remember anything about the claim other than Grandpa doing some shoveling. There wasn't a big hole or anything. Another memory is of Grandpa making pancakes and cooking them on the griddle over the open fire. I remember being amazed because I didn't know you could make pancakes when you were camping!
My most vivid memory is of Grandpa taking us hiking up past his claim; following Spring Creek until we found the spring, the very beginnings of the creek. Surrounding the creek were wild strawberries--the tiniest little berries that packed a strawberry punch like I'd never tasted before! We ate strawberries and knelt down by the small creek, cupped our hands and drank water from the cold mountain spring. I can tell you I've never had strawberries that tasted so good.
This memory came back to me when Shirley and Larry Weilnau took John and I hiking at Cache Creek. As we hiked up the mountain a ways, my eyes were on the ground looking at the wild strawberry plants. Even though I knew I wouldn't find any strawberries in September, I still couldn't stop myself from hoping one bright strawberry might reveal itself to me. It dawned on me that prospecting and wild strawberries will forever be entwined in my mind.
Grandpa Christison and his wife, Elizabeth, moved to Oregon when I was in the 4th grade in 1974. The above picture was taken in their yard in the trailer park in Salida when we said good-bye before they moved. It's the only picture I have of Grandpa Christison, Elizabeth, my younger brother, Brian, and I together. Actually, it's the only picture I have of Grandpa when I was young. I wish we had pictures of Grandpa at his claim or camping or cooking pancakes.
Grandpa Christison died in 1994. We had a family memorial for him at Spring Creek in 1995 and his four children drove from California, Oregon, and North Carolina to remember him at one of his favorite places.
So, here is to prospecting, wild strawberries, pancakes, Spring Creek, and Grandpa Christison! Thank you for the special memories.
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