Wordless Wednesday: Grundy the Mortician

Well I am sitting down to take a quick break. My mind always wonders about my relatives. What do they look like? Are they shy, happy, or the life-of-the-party? I have a small family or my knowledge of 'family' can be counted on ten fingers. I am wondering how can this be? Are they searching or wondering about me? So instead of dream or hoping-- I decided to let Google help me out. I searched Family Search and stumbled across several surnames. Grundy. This is the married name of my grandmother. I haven't been able to find her, but I may have found a distant relative. Perhaps it may even be someone out there whom I am 'shinning' the light on. To honor GeneaBlogger's Wordless Wednesday's theme. The theme is to celebrate an ancestor's occupation or an announcement. I am not saying that I am related to this particular person, but I think he should be honored. His name is Thomas C. Grundy. He was a mortician. It takes a special person to handle the affairs of family members during one of the most sensitive times in ones life. As a mortician, I am sure there were many times he was sought after to handle crisis situations.

I found his death certificate via Family Search and saw who his parents where. There may be a family connection as his parents lived near my relatives who share the same surname and resides in Cass County, Texas in the early 1900s. I found the picture of the headstone from the Find-A-Grave Website. One of his relatives created a digital memorial to honor him. From the death certificate, I was able to find out where he was buried. And I realized that he may have been buried in a family mortuary business. So before I jump through any more hoops, I just wanted to share with everyone that there is so much information that you can find out about a person-- especially from the death certificate. I haven't found my grandmother, however I plan on continuing the effort as I plan to research Cass County, Texas and its early settlers of the 1850s-1930s. Wish me luck.

Family Recipies Friday- Mac N Cheese

Happy New Year everyone!!! In my attempt to re-start my genealogy blog I wanted to participate in the Daily Blogging Prompts by the helpful GeneaBloggers Weblog. Every New Years eve/day it has become a tradition in my family to serve Collard Greens, corn bread, macaroni and cheese, and delicious poultry. My last two years of travel has made it difficult to be with family on NYE so instead I have decided to continue the family traditions by cooking them at my house. I won't give all the family secrets away in one blog post.

One of my pet peeves in any meal is that the Macaroni and Cheese has to be on point or the rest of the meal is going to be a uncomfortable experience. So I called my sister to get the recipe for our family macaroni and cheese.

Ingredients

1 box Elbow Noodles (1lb)- cook until al dente

2 large eggs

1 can evaporated milk (carnation)

1 tsp of butter

8 oz sharp Cheddar cheese block

8 oz Colby cheese block

1 bag of shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

9 X 11 casserole pan

Prepare items

Cut 2- 8 oz cheese block horizontally (once) and then slice vertically in 1 inch.

Boil a large pot of water (6-8 cups) and add 1 tsp of salt. Once the water starts boiling add the noodles and stir periodically.

Prepare Wet Mixture

In a medium size bowl, add the cheese cubes, evaporated milk, 2 eggs, 1 tsp butter.

Watch and stir the boiling noodles for 5-7 minutes. Be sure not to cook all the way done because this will cause the noodles to be mushy. Once noodles are al dente (almost done), drain the water using a colander. Put noodles in the casserole dish. Add the wet mixture on top of the noodles. Cover the entire casserole with the shredded cheese (be sure to cover all noodles). In pre-heat oven at 350, allow casserole to cook for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown.

Genealogy Newbie

Greetings Genealogy Community, For several months, I have flown under the radar- surveying blogs, listening to podcasts, webinars, and participating in chat forums. My interest in genealogy grew earlier this year since my current job is several blocks for the NARA. So putting my words to actions, I am going to start chronicling my journey towards discovering the history behind my namesake. Hence the significance my blog's name. 2 Thoughts for Starting my Journey- Simplicity & Patience: Simplicity is important for me. Starting simple and working carefully on one branch is very important so that you do make mistakes in the beginning. I honesty find that I have to focus on one family member or my head will start to hurt. ACTION PLAN: Attend a local genealogy society in your community. Make connections to members online who are searching in your geographical area. Blogger Spotlight Resource: The Beginner Genealogist Patience is definitely a virtue. I have learned to embrace the fine art of patience because it's a necessary quality to possess while searching records to create a family memory album. A great example of this was shown when I went back to a surname open forum. Several years ago, I left an inquery but did not receive a response. Last week, I stumbled upon the old post and start reading threads. It amazed me that during that time a lot had happened and helped me piece together threads of where to go look next. I went one step further to track down a researcher who has focused on my family surname to ask questions. And luckily I was able to track them down and compare notes. ACTION PLAN: Download a family tree template, start with yourself and work backwards. Become familiar with the U.S. Census. (luckily I used my birth certificate as a guide to find my grandparents. Find out if others in your family are willing to help fill in the family tree). Resources: Family Tree Magazine- free family tree templates