The Genealogy Gap

Thursday, February 14, 2019

Project Photos - You Have to Start Somewhere

The start of the year — an end to all the holidays and activities and a great time to work on existing projects, or resurrect one that has waited in the wings for years.

Photos — the dreaded organizing and digitizing project that forever gets put off. Okay, maybe not the most dreaded, but from my perspective, at least... overwhelming.

The thought of tackling this project opens up an array of issues.
What scanner do I get? And then, how do we go about organizing photos on the computer with an appropriate file-name? One with some semblance of reasonable order, that once a photo is digitized, it can be located when needed. How do we decide on the best file-name that accurately identifies the photo. And on and on it goes.

So January, I spent researching my options. And, that my friends, is my topic for this month.

Most of us have photos in boxes, stored all over the house, or loose in various drawers. After all, we have been collecting these mementos for a long time, in essence documenting our entire life along the way.

How often has someone asked us about a specific photo.
Or maybe, your grandchild asked what Great-grandma looked like.
Your know that you have a photo to show her, somewhere.. but you can’t get your hands on it at the moment.

Or, worse, yet… you are not even sure where to begin to look.

Maybe, it’s safe to say, that we’ve all been there. Unless, you are the type of person who has everything in their home and life in perfect order.
I don’t doubt, that there may be a few who could actually fall into that category. But, honestly, I have lived long enough to safely say that most of us probably do not.

We all know the importance on prioritizing the preservation of our precious memories.
•In the event of a devastating disaster, as we have seen on the news.
•To simply enjoy those treasured photos of the past with our family and friends in the present.
•Sharing those memories with our children and grandchildren.
•Identifying relatives who are no longer with us and relaying their stories.

We all know the importance of locating a photo when needed. And to accomplish these goals, it must become an imminent priority to set aside time to digitize all the photos we hope to preserve for future generations.

So, with these thoughts and goals in mind, I put together a few steps.

Just Get Started —
Sounds easy.. doesn't it? It is.
One thing that I must continuously remind myself, is that there is not just one way, or one perfect method on how to do this... no perfect plan.

At this point, just thinking about trying to find the best way to accomplish the job, can cause
procrastination to set in -- The easy default. And with our busy lives we could stay stuck for years or decades. Amazing how fast 30 years goes by...

By nature, I am a methodical person who tends to research every point and process before tackling a project.... Researching and planning is great, provided we don’t get stuck in that phase indefinitely and fail to launch the actual project.
I literally could stay at any one of the phases in the project – photo sorting, organizing, scanning, choosing the right scanner, file-naming the photo, how to create digital file folders to organize the digital photos on the computer, etc...

Step 1. Collect all photos —
I actually started a year ago pulling photos from all areas in the house, for a memory book project for my son who was getting married. Thankfully, I had most of the photos already separated in boxes inside larger containers. Bear in mind, that this is more of a general pre-sort. Not in depth like the actual sort stage where you place into categories.

Step 2. Set a Deadline —
Set a practical time limit for each phase of this project. Schedule it into your calendar or Day-timer, etc.
Obviously, some phases will last a lot longer than others.

Step 3. Sort & Categorize —
The Sort stage may take a while. There are many ways to go about this part of the process. I chose to sort by years, months or seasonal if a photo is not labeled and the date is unknown in a particular year. This becomes more obvious as you move further back in years.

Step 4. Scan, Label —
This could take months and months depending in how many photos you have and your choice of a file-naming method. If you think through how you plan to identify each digital file you can also write the file name on the back of the photo to identify and establish a retrievable link between the digital file and the photo. This could also be done after the scanning and file-naming.

Either way, I always say - sure and steady gets you there. In this case, it’s not how fast you do the job, it’s how steadfast you remain on the job until completion.

Step 5. Storage —
Then there is the storage aspect. How are you going to preserve the photos after they have been scanned and labeled.

For all these steps, there is not just one solution.

You just need to pick one that you can work with and stay at it until completion. One thing that I have learned in life — Do not try to reinvent the wheel -- no need to.
In other words, sometimes it’s best to turn to those who specialize in a specific area.

In this case, organize photos, scanning, and digital files. You can always adapt any system to work for you. And remember, there is no perfect way — only the way that works best for you and how you work.

Here are some suggestions that I have run across, by no means an exhaustive or exclusive list. I’m sure there are many other viable options that you may know about.

Again, the focus is not about seeking out every single method, but to find an option that will work for you in a timely manner so you can complete your project in a reasonable time-frame, and facilitate preservation and retrieval of your photos.

Websites :
•Scan Your Entire Life - by Curtis Bisel.
An exceptional resource that I found to be extremely helpful.
•Naming Photo Digital Files - by Denise Levenick:
A Simple 4-Part System For Naming Digital Files.
•The Family Curator

•Legacy FamilyTree Webinars:
If you have a Legacy FamilyTree Membership, there are several webinar recordings on organizing, scanning photos. Here are a few excellent ones-- Geoff Rasmussen, on organizing photos, file- naming, and file structures; Eric Basir, on choosing the right scanner settings and how to better understand the importance of choosing the right format for certain images; and Denise Levenick, who also teaches on a practical level on all these topics, and preservation methods.

•Geoff Rasmussen:
Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: scanning, digitizing, editing, and preserving your photos.
Digital Images for Genealogists and Technologists: Scanning, Organizing, Editing, and Sharing Your Digital Images
•Eric C. M. Basir: Scanning 101: The Epson Way
•Denise Levenick:
How to Scan an Elephant: Digitizing Awkward Artifacts from Artifact to Zombie
Dirty Pictures - Save Your Family Photos from Ruin

Resource Suggestions:
(A short list of resources I used for my project)
•Scanner: Epson Perfection Scanner — V600, (B&H Photo, Amazon, Best Buy)
•Photo Albums/Binders: Century Pioneer Photo Albums: (Amazon/
•Photo Pages: Pioneer Photo -Print File Preservers, (Amazon) (Make sure they are Acid & PVC safe. Emission free)
•Photo Pen: (Archival-Safe, Acid-free).
•ZIP Photo Pen (Amazon)

How about you… have you completed your photo preservation project or are you mid-stream? Maybe you got started at one point and then got busy. Life has a way of just happening, doesn’t it? I know all about that. Or maybe you have just been thinking about it for quite a while not knowing where to begin or how to go about it. I sure have been there, too.

Whatever, the situation is, I hope I have been able to encourage or inspire you to get the ball rolling on your project at whatever pace you are on. Remember time doesn’t stop… but you can stop… reassess..l and direct your time to the things that are important in your life.

Share your thoughts and your experiences along the way.

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Happy New Year and a Few Other Things

Here it is an entire year later — 2019. It has been quite... a year.

A year ago, I started 2018 with such high expectations and the best of intentions to stay the course for a year of writing about my ancestors.

What was to be an ancestor a week quickly hit the ground right out of the starting gate.

By February, I came to the realization that I couldn’t commit to even do an ancestor a month.

So, I had to reassess and prioritize due to family priorities, new grand baby, my son’s wedding and other life happenings... and release what had to go.

I took a mandatory ‘blog’ sabbatical for 2018 in order to attend the things that required my full attention and presence for my family.

Sometimes we need to know the season we are in and just go with it.

As the saying goes... you gotta do, what you gotta do. :)

And with that said, I make no promises but I can say that I will do my best to stay the course as I am able this year. God willing.

I hope you all are doing well in life and making headway with your family research.

May this year bring health, peace and joy to you and yours and above all may God bless each one of you.

Sunday, January 28, 2018

January Ancestor of the Month: Mario Valuja Hernandez

Mario Valuja Hernandez: My Dad

Born in La Habana, Cuba, in La Habana vieja or La Habana, central. The name of the neighborhood is still unclear. Through the years, I’ve been told Bejucal, Vedado, or Marianao, all near Quivican.

It seems to me, that Havana is a pretty large area, yet it seems no matter where in Havana you’re from it is referred to as La Habana. I guess, if you’re from there that makes sense, but to me it sounds rather vague. I don’t have his birth certificate to verify the exact location, but I can only hope to find a way to acquire a copy someday.

A Bit of History...

My grandfather, Juan Valuja, left Cuba around c1908 to go to Tampa, Florida to work as a Cigarmaker. I believe that is his first trip to Tampa, as per a Passenger List Record I found a few years ago, although, I am still piecing together his story.

My Grandfather and Grandmother, Juan Valuja Garcia and Maria Hernandez Luis, met and married in Tampa in 1912, and the following year their first child was born. They left the United States to move back to Cuba in the summer of 1915, where their second child was born.

The Early Years in La Habana.

In La Habana, Cuba, my grandparents lived on Calle Virtudes, which I believe is where my dad, the youngest of 4 children, was born in 1920.

The later moved to Calle Maloja in La Habana Central. It is this location, that my family remembers those years with great love and joy as they relay stories about the great house on Calle Maloja, where my grandparents lived. There were many family gatherings, and happy memories about those wonderful days and numerous accounts of how dearly loved my grandparents were by our family and friends.

Daddy in his teens.

Daddy with his 2 sisters, and Uncle Francisco

From a very young age, my dad, always had a great desire and hope to come to America - the land of great opportunity. It seemed his entire family, all had a great love for America and the American Dream, and most of all, New York, the most wonderful and greatest City of the world. Ok, I am biased, as I was born in New York.

Mario, attained a visa to visit the United States, for the first time in 1946, and absolutely fell in love with New York. He was here for several months and worked in hotel and restaurants as a waiter. When his Visa expired, he had to return home to Havana, but he knew it would not be long before he would, someday, go back to live permanently. .

Grandmother, Maria with Daddy and Uncle Jesse, Grand Uncle Francisco

Off to America.

It was 1954, when he was finally, able to immigrate to the United States. Initially, he stayed with his sister, Mercedes, my Aunt Icha, as everyone called her. She immigrated to the United States, several years earlier, in the late 1940’s. Shortly after she arrived, she landed a job as a seamstress in a Manhattan factory, and was on her way to a new life in a new country with a future of promise.

At work, she met a woman named Mary, who was also a recent immigrant from Cuba. They had a lot in common, a new country far from their homes and everything familiar, so they became fast friends and shared an apartment..

Mario Valuja & Maria del Carmen (Matos) Valuja

In early 1955, Mary’s sister, María Del Carmen Matos, came to this country. and stayed with her in their apartment. She met Mercedes’ brother, Mario, and the rest is history… . they fell in love, married a short time later, and went to live in Brooklyn. I was born in Coney Island, the southern part of Brooklyn, two years later.

Brooklyn, New York, 1959

Brooklyn and Queens.

My daddy was a great, loving father. He was a faithful, hard working family man who took good care of his family. We had many friends, and lots of social gatherings. I remember a lot about Brooklyn… Flatbush, Sheepshead Bay, Junior’s famous New York-style Cheesecakes, Coney Island and the famous Coney Island Amusement Park and Boardwalk, and many visits to Brighton Beach.

By trade, Daddy was proficient in the hotel and restaurant world. He worked for several years as a waiter in upscale hotels, he was well liked and did very well with the public, which he rather enjoyed. He loved to sing and had a great voice.. I think he and his brother, Jesse, must have received the same genes when it came to vocals. They were both great at it, and loved to sing every chance they had. I seem to remember someone had my dad record a demo, many years ago. I remember the Record but, I don't know what happened to it after all these years.

Eventually, he was given the opportunity to work for The Metropolitan Club on 5^th Ave. and 60^th St. In Manhattan. It is next door to the Pierre Club.

The Metropolitan Club is a private social club, in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1891, for men only, by J. P. Morgan, who served as its first president. The rules did eventually change and allowed women into membership. Other original members of the club included William Vanderbilt, Cornelius Vanderbilt and James A. Roosevelt.

I remember visiting as a little girl from time to time, and how fascinating and beautiful it was. He was a professional bartender in this club and served many famous people and he became friends with a few of them over the years. I remember he would tell me about Richard Nixon, and General MacArthur’s widow, Ed Sullivan, Cecily Tyson, and others that I cannot recall. I remember he was friends with the man that was a friend of Judy Garland and a mentor or coach to Liza Minell, Ms Garlands daughter. My dad did very well there and had great favor as people liked him. He was a people person. He always had a great personality, funny and witty

We eventually moved to Queens Village, New York, where we bought our first home, in the 1960’s. I grew up in this house and remember it very well with many great memories. My sister was born in this home, in the late1960’s.

Down South to Fort Lauderdale.

In the early 1970’s, we left New York and moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

That was a huge move and change. Even though, I have been away for a long time now, I am still a New York girl, always and forever, through and through.
Daddy loved New York, but not the cold so much, and since most of our family was now living in Miami, we went south to be closer to family.

1976 - Daddy and Me, as a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, in New York.

I returned to New York, to work at Radio City Music Hall as a Rockette, then married in the late 1970’s. We moved to Mobile, Alabama, and a few years down the road, my mom and dad, also relocated there. A big change for them, both. Daddy never really liked Mobile, although they made many friends and he loved being close to us and his five grandchildren.

I think of those years with such sweet memories of us all together and treasure every moment we had. He was a wonderful, loving father and grandfather.