Wednesday, July 7, 2010

History Repeats Itself



Title: Free ice in New York
Creator(s):
Byron (Firm : New York, N.Y.), photographer
Detroit Publishing Co. , publisher
Date Created/Published: [ca. 1900]
Reproduction Number: LC-D401-13643 (b&w film copy neg.)
Call Number: LC-D4-13643 [P&P]
Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA

Thursday, June 24, 2010

1911 Census: How to find the full reference numbers

After the blitz of free Findmypast.co.uk fun this past week for the World Cup, I was faced with a dilemma.

I had this for each entry:



But a real reference number looks like this:

"For example, the full reference given for the 8 year-old Yeo-Thomas is:
RG14PN5076 RG78PN225 RD78 SD1 ED5 SN313"
-quoted from the excellent Lost Cousins tutorial on Mastering the 1911 Census.

So what was I to do? I, like many others, were trying to hurry and get as many copies of documents needed from the 1911 census as possible, so I just downloaded and went on my way.

The secret is actually inside the Lost Cousins tutorial:

Go to the Findmypast Census Reference Search.

But wait - you have to have a piece number!



Ah hah! But where's the schedule number?

That's on your census, silly! Look at the upper right corner and it will give you the number.



Click search.

And in the results, you will see:



And that is the full reference number needed to record your census entry. Do yourself a favor and save that number - write it in your tree and add it to the file name.

Monday, June 14, 2010

ConcettaPhillippsResume051010

Concetta Phillipps

concettaphillipps@gmail.com Multiple Forward Phone (630) 286-9413

 

Summary of Qualifications

With 8 years of experience in architectural and engineering administration and marketing, I can provide your company with strong organizational skills and an in-depth knowledge of the unique processes behind such companies. My marketing coordinator knowledge makes me an ideal candidate for helping a professional services firm grow, and my administrative knowledge makes me ideal to help your office stay organized, and focused on the primary goal of making it easier for your architects and engineers to build their buildings in an organized and profit-motivated environment.

 



Computer Skills

Office Skills

Research Skills

Adobe Illustrator CS2

Copier Maintenance

Internet Research

Adobe Photoshop CS2 & CS3

Editing

Social Media Research

Adobe InDesign CS2 & CS3

Reception Experience

Contact Management

Novell GroupWise

MS Office Troubleshooting

Maps & Directions

MS PowerPoint 2003 & 2007

Professional Communications

Schedule Tracking

MS Word 2003 & 2007

Proofreading

Vendor Research & Proposals

MS Access 2007

Customer Service Experience

 

MS Excel 2003 & 2007

 

 

MS Outlook 2007

 

 

 



Relevant Work Experience

Stivers Staffing/Client: Lions Club International              Oak Brook, IL                                                       2010 – Present

Administrative Coordination for the Language Services Department which receives upwards of 150 translations requests per month in up to 10 languages. Responsibilities include coordination, TRADOS project management, project tracking, proofreading, filing, reporting, and invoicing.

 

SPAAN Tech, Inc. (STI)                                                        Chicago, IL                                                      2008 – 2010

·       Marketing Coordinator: Prepared Responses to RFQs and RFPs.  Updated and maintained all marketing records associated with each RFQ and RFP.  Used databases to maintain client proposal results, sort project descriptions, and test generation capabilities. Performed market research using databases, websites and new media, such as Twitter, to find information about competitors, clients and interview participants.  Reviewed and updated SPAAN Tech listing on websites useful to the A/E/C community and ensured information accuracy. Led effort to update client marketing materials including resumes and project experience description pages. Attended local business development expositions hosted by various local entities.

o      Coordinated CDB 255 project that won a Prime Civil Engineering contract with the State of Illinois Capital Development Board

o      Coordinated RFQs that won multiple City of Chicago Target Market and Non-Target Market Blanket Contracts.

o      Coordinated effort that won STI’s first Veterans Administration contract in Danville.

o      Served as sub-consultant marketing coordinator for STI’s first US Navy contract.

o      Led other winning marketing coordination efforts for US GSA, Kane County, Cook County, and the State of Illinois Central Management Services.

o      Led update effort of client project proposal response database.  Started with over 300 open proposal lists and narrowed the open list to less than 100 entries.

BLDD Architects, Inc.                                                   Chicago, IL                                                           2002 – 2008

·       Business Development Assistant - Prepared marketing submittals using Adobe InDesign at discretion of the Marketing Director. Prepared PowerPoint presentations for use in interviews and public events. Conducted research for the Business Development Director. Analyzed data for marketing executives. Utilized WebEx services to liaison with clients. Made development calls and consultant calls as needed.

o      Relied upon as the “cool under pressure” person for tight deadlines.

·       Administrative Assistant/Executive Assistant – used MS Office products for databases, logs, cost estimates, reports, letters and transmittals; acted as a liaison with clients, engineers and consultants; answered, managed and coordinated conference calls for 5 phone lines on a Intertel system; purchased all office supplies; shipped materials; edited architectural specification documents, coordinated all bidding documents.

o      Sole administrative assistant for an office that grew from 4 people to 12.

o      Impressed company Principals with quick turnaround and dedication to my executives.

South Suburban YMCA                                                Harvey, IL                                                                    2000 – 2002

·       Annual Campaign Administrator – managed and publicized YMCA’s Annual and Capital Support Campaign effort to raise $40,000; performed donor tracking including creation of donor files; developed and managed databases and invoicing; designed donation “bid” presentation.

·       Interim Business Manager - Prepared and entered budget; communicated with current vendors; monitored bank drafting and membership statistics; assisted in payroll.

o      Filled the role “on demand” to keep systems running over 3 month period without a system failure.

 

Applicable Non-Profit Experience

GenWeb, US & Canada                                                                                                                                                2004-Present

·       County Coordinator – manages websites, mailing lists, and message boards of genealogical content for use of genealogists in the following counties: Iroquois County, IL; Alpena Co., MI; Bay of Quinte Region, ON; Prince Edward Co., ON; Lennox & Addington Co., ON; Hastings Co., ON.

·       Former North East North Central Regional County Coordinator Representative – for National Board on behalf of 13 states of Coordinators. Researched and guided the Region through such events as a mass website migration and delicate negotiations with vendors and potential project partnerships.

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees)                                   Berwyn, IL                                                             2003 - Present

·       Member –active contributor, project manager, and fundraiser for such charities as the American Cancer Society, ASPCA, and Habitat for Humanity.

·       President – managed Board of Directors, motivated chapter, recruited new members and wrote award nominations, ran projects as necessary and worked as a "problem solver"

o      Declared The Outstanding President of 2005 for the Northeast Region

o      Held monthly membership meetings that attracted an avg. of 30 people,

·       Membership Vice President –

o      Planned all membership recruiting events attended by an average of 30 people

o      Held call nights in which over 2000 calls were made per night

·       Public Relations Chair

o      Designed all public relations materials for chapter and coordinated public relations activities.

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees)                                                State of Illinois                                                        2007

·       Public Relations State Chair – Train members across the State in how to use PR resources, write PR materials for the Illinois Jaycees and act as a personal press agent for the State President

US Junior Chamber (Jaycees)                                                Northeast Region (Chicagoland), IL               2006- 2009

·       Webmaster – maintained the Region website and made changes as requested

·       Management Program Director – promoted the use of Planning Guides throughout Region, edited and updated the Region website, trained all members on management practices, promoted documentation of Region projects

 

Education

Keller Graduate School of Management                           Chicago, IL                                                    2009 – 2011

Currently pursuing Masters of Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing Management

St. Xavier University                                                          Chicago, IL                                                                 2000 – 2007

Bachelors Degree in Business Administration/International Business             


Wednesday, April 28, 2010

American Animal Rescue Society Raffle!

You guys all know how much I love animals :-)

Karin (Ravelry: knittypitty) of the blog Shouting Quietly is doing a great raffle for the animals of the Chicagoland area. Seriously - how cute is this?


Just one of the adorable items available!

All of the money helps the AARS pay their veterinarian bills and open a shelter at some point. Its a great cause and I like their philosopy - there's no discrimination against breeds, ages, or disabilities.

So - how do you help?

Go to this blog post.

Drool, oogle, and otherwise envy the awesome stuff for raffle.

See at the bottom the brown box labeled "AARSociety Spring 2010" and "ChipIn!" at the bottom? That's what you have to do - and she's posted the rules of the raffle just under that.

Good luck! That spindle lot is seriously calling my name - I may have to donate for a ticket or two!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Knitting, Blogging, Swap Sending!



To start, I'm extremely happy that my latest project is blocking and drying right now. I'm hoping to take it to the knitting group tonight and show it off before I have to mail it as the swap package. Sorry for the lack of pictures of it but I do want her to have some surprise!

I've been catching up on emails. Its hard to believe in 3 years I'd accumulate 6000 emails, even if they are all neatly labeled and sorted.

Amber Naslund is a great writer. Rarely do I find blogs that make me think as much as hers. Her insight is valuable to me and yet I am certainly not a "social media expert" of any kind. LOL - I have a micro-business but that's as close as it gets.

Crafting in Yoohooville is a great micro-company for me. I build it when I can, and it rewards me by keeping my brain active. It also feeds my need for control of at least a small part of my own destiny. What does the company do? Well, not much yet, but its slowly but surely building. I'd rather not release a product until I know its of a quality that I value, and I know my work isn't there yet. I've given myself a deadline to get this product out into the marketplace, and so far, my development schedule is being met.

Anyway, check out the post that I linked to of Amber's. Its awesome. I cracked up when I read #5, because so many of the knitting and designer blogs I see have that exact problem - if you read the same thing 6 times, and that pattern is repeated over and over, you're certainly not going to want to come back for more. My blog's not a moneymaker, it doesn't do much, but I'd like to think that I'm pointing out something different than the pack each time I write something.

So here's what I have.

#1 - if you want to write your own knitting or design blog, keep the ideas in your designer notebook. Start posting your mood boards. Start posting your inspirational photos. Do whatever it takes, but make it yours. Don't make your blog the same as the Yarn Harlot. I really don't think anyone cares about any interpretation of what she writes outside her blog. I'm sure I'll get some hate mail for that, but its what I think.

#2 - I would love it if I saw more sketches in a blog. Come on, if we're knitting and crochet designers (even amateurs), we should be able to show off some sort of design skill to the public. How many sketches do people have that will never see the light of day because the idea just won't work in real life? I know I have notebooks full.

#3 - Just because I said it, doesn't mean you have to do it. ::grins:: I know that sounds contradictory, but its true. Follow your own ideas for your blog and don't worry about whether its perfect, boring, or nonsensical to anyone but yourself. As long as you write with feeling and knowledge, people *will* keep coming back for more.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Helping Bunnies


Creative Commons Licensed Image by SusanG2 on Flickr.

I saw this in my inbox today and just had to share.

The Animal Rescue Site, that normally just gives bowls of food to needy animals is running a special for Easter. Anything purchased from their store gives help to needy bunnies in addition to the normal food funding. Or you can send a free e-card to help the bunnies.

I'm not normally a bunny lover - the darn things are killers for pretty flowers, get run over all the time, and in general, multiply way too fast. However, I know this time of year people get it in their heads that a bunny would be a fabulous gift for their kids for Easter, and when the kids don't take care of it, thousands of bunnies end up being "set free" or dropped off at the nearest shelter. So the shelters are going to need all the help they can get.

And seriously - you need to check out SusanG2's photostream on Flickr. She has a great eye for photos! Her pictures of the Canadian Geese even made me ooh and aah over the close view and great shots and I have a serious problem with most of those animals - hissing, biting sky rats that they are.

Anyway, I hope you all have a happy Easter, if you're inclined that way, and a good weekend if you're not.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

New Loom Knitting Videos: Double Knit Stockinette Stitch Bindoffs/Castoffs

I haven't done one of these in a couple years, but multiple questions have been raised by people, so I thought it was time to do some explaining. They're very simple, conversational videos about the two styles of stitch bind-offs I like to do. I also refer to http://www.knittingboard.com - they have great videos and demonstrate yet another technique to use. The choices are endless!

Single Sided Bind-Off



What I call the Box Bindoff

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Dumpster Diving

I used to have an interest in this topic as a super eco-friendly person. I had actually forgot about it until I saw a video on WalletPop (with my fave columnist Bargain Babe).

Allison Burtch has a great blog of what is actually being thrown away each night from grocery stores in her area. I have to say, I'm in agreement with her - that has to stop. Why on earth can there not be a "Good Samaritan" law to protect retailers from lawsuits from giving away their food? Expiration dates are set as a precaution - there's tons of food out there that you can eat way beyond the expiration date. Sometimes they're set as a marketing gimmick, too - if I convince you that your food is bad by X date, I'll get you to buy more of it at X date + one day.

Check out this find from one night in a dumpster!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Anthropologie: Green, Crafty, Cool!



Just awesome. For those of you who don't realize quite how to do them, Happiness Is... has some great closeups and the official tutorial.

The City Cradle gives a more detailed tutorial and shows how they redid the craft. I so cannot wait to try this myself! I must have fifteen photos or so saved of the display.

Anthropologie is great - its nice to see that someone still values the true selling power of a good quality window display. So often I see clothes jumbled into something "arty" with no theme at the local stores, and it makes me sad, having seen the wonderful displays of Dayton's in Minneapolis, Barney's in New York, and countless windows in Italy (especially Venice). Stores so often forget that it is the power of the visual that catches their attention, and brings them in a door...I know I'll be heading to the Chicago store to see what their windows look like!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Followup to the Daniel Graves Dilemma

So I've been trading correspondence across multiple mediums about this issue. The main question has been:

"What exactly do you know about the other "Daniel Graves" in the area? There has to be more than 3!"

Well, that's absolutely right - there definitely is more than 3, however, I look at 3 as being the main contenders. Here's what I know about the "other" Daniel Graveses.

Daniel Graves and Polly Allen - (no) - kids were born at the same time as mine in New Hampshire

Daniel Graves and Mary Buxton / Caroline Wellington - (no) - kids born much later (1849) in North Reading, Massachusetts

Daniel Graves (born in Ira, Rutland, VT) and Almira Loomis Rogers - (no) - is in Marengo, IL by 1850.

Daniel Graves and Harriet, son of Abraham Graves - (no) - settles in Rochester but is well-documented enough there with only two kids with nowhere near the names I have. The family is quite prestigious and a painting of Daniel is at the local historical society.

Daniel Graves and Hellen Hyde (in Gouverneur in 1870) - also no, they’re well-documented in the town newspapers as being much younger

Daniel Graves and Ann - no - In 1851, Daniel and Ann are in Salisbury, Westmorland County, New Brunswick with children Adaline Graves 19, Valantine Graves 30, Oliver Graves 25, Xenophon Graves 13, Burlin Graves 10 at ages Daniel Graves 58 and Ann Graves 52. I feel they are an unlikely candidate and with names like those, they would not likely be part of this family, since they were apt to repeat family names frequently (Daniel, James, Lewis, Enoch, Hezekiah, Hazleton, Sheldon, Hawley).

Daniel Graves and Rebecca - hmm - In 1851/2, Daniel Graves, b. 1813 in Vermont is listed in the Malahide, Elgin County, Ontario census with wife Rebecca, daughter Nancy and son James. In 1861, the family is listed in Middlesex, Ontario. In 1871, Daniel is listed as a widow in Mosa, Middlesex West, Ontario. In 1881 he is also listed as a widow in Newbury, Middlesex West, Ontario.

This family troubles me some as I do have two kids who are born in Middlesex. Could they wrongly be attributed to the family I have when they should belong to this family? I don't think so. However, I need to do more research on this family as I believe they could be related to my family of people. Why? The names bring to mind two pieces of information: 1. The mysterious Rebecca listed on my family sheet. She's also listed as "marrying Lakeson" which I have never been able to find. 2. The names, excepting Nancy, are all heavy repeats in my own family. Could this be a child of my Daniel Graves' siblings?

The only one I keep coming back to is:
“Daniel Graves (44) may have been born about 1770 (probably 1765-1775), probably in Kensington or Andover, NH. He married ‑‑‑‑‑‑, and lived in Barton, Vt. (R‑200)
Children - Graves
123. Daniel Graves
124. William Graves
125. John Graves
126. daughter”

Not the father, the son. The GFA has absolutely no data on those kids and so far, I haven’t been able to prove one way or another. All I’m pretty sure is that its not the Capt. Daniel Graves from Barton as his line is well proved not to be the case.

According to the Brown Cemetery transcriptions from Barton, Daniel Graves (44) was born about 1775, and married Jane. They are both buried in Brown Cemetery.

At the same time, it gives more information from a Town report on that website:

"the Children of Daniel Graves and his wife Jenny"
Births:
Daniel Graves Junr., born in Andover, NH, Nov 8th, 1802.
William Graves, born Sept 14th, 1811
John Graves, born April 4, 1815
Recorded 22d April 1826 attest: John Kimball, Town Clerk

Deaths:
Daniel Graves died 25 January 1836, Aged 61 years
Jane Graves died 6th October 1844, aged 63 years
Daniel Graves Jr., died at Northfield, VT March 25th, 1879
William Graves died 1st December 1882

In the 1870 census, Daniel is listed in the household of his brother John Graves as 68 years old and a jeweler, no spouse listed.

In the 1860 census, Daniel is listed in the household of Ebenezer Wilson, a carpenter and joiner, as 49 years old and a harnessmaker.

In 1850, I have not been able to locate this Daniel Graves. Could he have been in Canada during this time?

Friday, January 29, 2010

The Daniel Graves Dilemma

I've cross posted this in one group on Ravelry, the Knitting Genealogists, as well as here. I'll add a little more detail here to help out.

Okay, so I decided to start a topic as I’ve alluded to this situation enough and you guys give pretty good advice ;-)

Here’s what I know:

Daniel Graves was born in 1794 (according to the 1850 census) in New York, or in Vermont (if you ask his kids on their data forms).

He married Mary “Polly” Ferguson in 1813 in Bennington, Bennington Co, Vermont. A Ferguson researcher and I are determining and so far proving that she is originally from Bennington, a descendant of the relatives of the Hezekiah Ferguson family.

Between 1813 and 1815, they somehow manage to get to New York, where their first child is born. I don’t know this for sure, since its info from census/death certs, but its what I have to go on.

After having some more kids in NY (again, census info, biography info, death certs info), they show up in Middlesex County Ontario for the birth of 2 kids, and they’re back in New York by 1830, and have their last four kids concluding in 1838.

In 1850, I have a for sure census entry in Gouverneur, New York. (One of their kids is named Hazelton and another is nicknamed Hawley. Needless to say, its a bit unusual and makes them a little easier to find).

Then they vanish again. Nothing. I have two more kids assigned to them based off of family information, but no years for their birth and I haven’t been able to find them yet.

The problem is, there are three Daniel Graves in roughly the same area with roughly the same age range. One is in Vermont, still another one in Walpole, NH, one is in Middlesex Co, Ontario, and there’s another one that even shows up in Gouverneur about ten years later (luckily, not the same age so I could spot him).

These guys are driving me batty! I have no idea where else to look to find anything about him. The Graves Family Association has no idea other than he might be the Captain Daniel Graves that lived in Barton, VT for a time, since they don’t know the Captain’s wife’s name, there’s no telling. So I’m stuck. I’ve gone over this and over it, and I don’t know where their information could be hiding.

I have to be missing something here, it just doesn’t seem to make sense to me.

Children:
Pittman Graves
Son
b. ?

Rebecca Graves
Daughter
b. ?
New York

John Graves
Son
b. 29 Jan 1815 (also postulated to be 1826)
New York, United States
d. 7 Aug 1866
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Hezekiah Graves (m. Harriet Hart)
Son
b. 29 Nov 1818
New York, United States
d. 22 Sep 1892
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Enoch Graves (m. Rachel Sipes)
Son
b. 2 March 1826
New York
d. 22 May 1904
Oxford, Oakland, Michigan, USA

Sheldon Hall "Hawley" Graves (m. Hannah Jeffrey) - this nickname is carried down so it is confirmed.
Son
b. 26 Aug 1828
Delaware, Middlesex Bay County, Ontario, Canada
d. 1 Jul 1895
Sanilac, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Hazelton Graves (m. Lovila Green)
Son
b. 17 Apr 1830
Ontario, Canada
d. 18 Dec 1907
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Elizabeth Ann Graves (m. David Daniel Ingerson)
Daughter
b. 8 April 1831
New York
d. 4 September 1903
Bridgehampton, Sanilac, Michigan, United States

Justus "Jess" Graves
Son
b. 1837
New York

Lewis Graves
Son
b. 1838
New York, United States

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Snakes, Tacos, and Crafting

I haven't posted here for about a month, so I wanted to assure everyone that I am

a)still alive
b)still crafting
c)still interested in blogging.

:-D

However, my time isn't always as well planned as it should be and I forget to make the posts that I had wanted to make. However, I am hoping that will change with the advent of planned blogging.

Its a concept I read on another person's blog (yes, I do read many blogs, usually via email since I can always download my email and read it offline). Instead of blogging "when you think about it", you set up a series of blogs in one day, and delay their posting until they meet set intervals. Interesting concept...

Then when you want to blog, you can also post "whenever", but once a month you plan the programming for the next month. That's where the word "genius" comes to mind!

So I'll try that in February. We'll see how it goes :-)

But back to the topic at hand....

The Sea Snake

Doesn't that look like what a glamorous Sea Snake should look like? Its a wonderful pattern by Nancy Nagle of Nangelli.com called "Delicious Diamond".

If you're interested, its a free Ravelry download, too. I found it to be quite fun to work and really worked to the advantage of the short fur style yarn.

Chicken Tacos

Doesn't that look good? Sarahpark on Ravelry wrote up this nifty recipe which included those AND a pattern for a cast iron skillet pot handle.

new double layer pot handle cover happy :-)

Isn't that cute? It kind of reminds me of a fish, but it also makes Shawn happy and keeps his hand cool while cooking. A very fun test crochet project - I highly encourage you to to try it when she releases the pattern!

I've been working on some other things, but I'll save some stuff for this weekend to post.