What is Your Favorite Hobby?

[19Sandy]

What is your favorite hobby?

I used to enjoy reading and embroidery but my eyes can't do it as much now.

But, I found a new hobby in 2010 when the federal census was going on.

It is genealogy/family history, and I will brag and say I am awesome at it!

No one had been able to trace my family trees because the volunteers had the names listed wrong in the basic typed systems.

So, over 6 years, I have traced by looking for first names, ages, locations and such.

I have found stuff that no one else could find.

However, I still have about 3 huge brick walls (that is what genealogists call it we can't find anything more).

Some things that I have learned is that a lot what we have been told about marriages in the past were lies.

People did get divorced in the 1800s (and sometimes before that), especially after the American Civil War because men often got involved with new women in other states while fighting.

Bigamy was not illegal until 1861 because the government was worried about the influence of the Latter Day Saints. So, Abraham Lincoln signed a law making it illegal. However, men were married to several wives and they had kids by those women (we are talking men who were not Latter Day Saints). They had a choice to divorce one or more wives or to break the law. Also, it takes a long time for the news about bigamy being illegal to the backwoods of nowhere so a lot of men kept doing it.

Girls did have babies out-of-wedlock and sometimes there are records of it happening (1500s through 1800s). Women could file a complaint against a man and it was called a b------- bond to collect payment. I am not going to write the word because I find the word despicable. Back when I was a kid, I was told that this never happened.

Many families (or single people) took in orphaned children but there are no records for most of these. Sometimes parents died or just walked off and left a bunch of kids in a cabin alone. All children were considered workers, so boys were desired to do the farm chores. I have noticed that widowed couples or women tended to adopt girls (probably to have someone take care of them in their old age.) If you wanted an orphan, then there wasn't a lot of paperwork to do because no one worried about it.

A large percentage of the population died of consumption/tuberculosis, and many people thought it was an STD similar to syphylis. (people also died from that).

I have notebooks filled with information but can't do on-site research to fill in the missing pieces of the puzzle.

It is weird though because sometimes someone will find new information to help fill in the information and that just leads to more questions.

So, what is your favorite hobby?

[mschrisgo2]

My favorite hobby is quilt piecing. I LOVE fabric and colors and textures and sewing makes me happy! I also enjoy scrapbooking and other paper arts, again, for the colors and textures.

Interesting about the genealogy. I dabbled in it a bit but my sister-in-law is working on my family's history and has made several errors and won't listen to my corrections, so I've given up.
But I noticed occupants listed in the census records who were not family; my mother explained that it was almost expected that a family "take on a boarder" or "home an orphan" in "the old days."

[19Sandy]

My favorite hobby is quilt piecing. I LOVE fabric and colors and textures and sewing makes me happy! I also enjoy scrapbooking and other paper arts, again, for the colors and textures.

Interesting about the genealogy. I dabbled in it a bit but my sister-in-law is working on my family's history and has made several errors and won't listen to my corrections, so I've given up.
But I noticed occupants listed in the census records who were not family; my mother explained that it was almost expected that a family "take on a boarder" or "home an orphan" in "the old days."

My grandmother was a quilter especially baby quilts to earn cash.

Your right about the boarders and orphans - it was their duty because most places didn't have old folks homes or places for disabled or orphans.

I think it many cases, people had lost children and wanted to do the right thing.

I have read of some bad adoption cases but there were good ones too back in those days when they didn't do any screening.

Some of my ancestors had children from the age of 13 to into their 70s - multiple wives.

Then the oldest siblings in their 40s and 50s ended up taking in the youngest half-siblings to raise. I have a 3 times great grandmother who had an early marriage to an old guy - had 10 kids, he dies - she then had a child without a marriage, then got married again and had one child, that husband died, then she got married again and had one more child, then he died. I have read she married again but the records are missing or I haven't found it. Anyway, her older children ended up raising the youngest two. Apparently, she had a bit of a reputation for getting married to old guys who died right away.

[greenclaire]

I make dollhouse and miniature things. I like the research part and learning techniques as you get to do a bit of sewing, painting, designing, modelling, wood carving etc.

I'm in the middle of a 1930s style mock-tudor house of the type which are very popular around here but now I'm back at work progress has definitely slowed!

[Tradd]

Shooting and scuba diving are currently competing for my attention.

[sweetana3]

Another quilter here. In fact, I am in upper Michigan at a retreat. Some amazing women here and many national award winners. (not me.) One woman drives one of the world's biggest trucks at a coal mine in Wyoming.

[razz]

Painting and gardening are my main interests. I love learning about others' interests so thanks for this thread. I do have a quilt started with a horse's head in the centre surrounded by a horseshoe and I was thinking just yesterday that I should take it in to the quilt store nearby to see what I need to do to complete it for my eldest daughter for whom it was intended about 30 years ago

[catherine]

Drawing, genealogy, permaculture, and running.

A couple of years ago I did a lot of blogging, but it just fizzled out.

[Tammy]

Reading fiction. Watching Star Trek from start to finish. Riding my bike. Homeschooling my 9 year old grandson one day a week in math. Going to coffee shops with my two best friends.

[Zoe Girl]

Crochet, just finished the 5 lb afgan for my nephew to have at college. I have a few baby things to finish, and I like to do free form style, not so many patterns and rules. People keep sending me yarn so I keep going,

Is meditating a hobby? I do a lot of that and go on retreats and hang out with Buddhists.