I hobbled down to the dumpster with a small bag of trash–and went to the mailbox. As you can see, it has been a while since I went to the mailbox. I am such a contradiction (“wishy-washy”): My head says “do this” but my body says “DON’T” (and “won’t”). My legs ache (and are rubbed with IcyHot). My derriere is so tired of sitting!! I can’t get interested in TV; I spend too much time at the computer. I’m vacillating between being hungry and not being hungry. I haven’t the energy to prepare a meal but, actually, I’m not hungry. I try to stand outside of myself and give “the old lady” a pep talk. She has a hearing problem!!

Time Has Made a Change in Me by the Oak Ridge Boys.

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This collage is the culmination of several days’ research. Too many subscribers to Ancestry listed my immigrant ancestor, Michael Frantz, as their ancestor. On Ancestry, extensive research did not provide answers as I sought the accurate progenitor. This afternoon, I turned to Wiki Tree and FamilySearch for information. I have no guarantee that FamilySearch has 100% accurate information but appears more substantial than information on Ancestry. This image (this collage) is attached to the many individuals and, hopefully, subscribers to Ancestry will consult this documentation. ~~ Now, some peace of mind (?) as I try to recover from almost one month of undesirable health problems.

A cousin sent this loving message. Oh, how I needed it!! I hate to admit that I’ve been feeling lower than a snake’s belly. (Click “skip ads.”)

Oh, so cold plus pain in my legs (too much sitting?).

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A very good night’s sleep–“naturally.” ~~ Roller-coaster weather won’t interfere with my enthusiasm over “a good night’s sleep” and “feeling better.”

You’ve heard the saying that your life flashes before you when you are dying? My life was dragging before me!! Was I dying; am I dying? Finally, I couldn’t tolerate the negative thoughts for another moment and—here I am—at the computer (my companion). “They” were all such unhappy memories!!

Why is this happening when I’m truly so grateful for “good things” and blessings in my life? Maybe a remnant of the illness that brought my life to a standstill for three weeks? I’m feeling “better” but not back to normal. I don’t even know the name of my illness. Was it a sinus infection? Was it the flu? The test—at the doctor’s office—was negative for the Coronavirus.

I confess to spending “too much time” on the computer. However, it is my escape from my self-imposed isolation from what used to be an active lifestyle.

This is my “journal” and I’m documenting a few of the details of my “bad night.” I deliberately refuse to document the negative memories.

I love clipart and I love to search for images to reinforce my message. This picture captures my opinion that I can sit at the computer and successfully correct a problem—with the precision of a surgeon.

I have a large Ancestry database and almost everyone is related (my Old German Baptist Brethren ancestors and their descendants). I have so many “same name” and “same location” relatives, documentation must be approached skillfully. Frequently, I spend hours researching and documenting one family.

For two days (as I was “feeling better”), I documented families that were unknown to me but I wanted to assist the lady who sent a message with kind words. As is often the case, I find a surprise “just around the corner.” Kathy’s cousin claimed to share my immigrant ancestor Michael Frantz.  I’ve been dealing with “Frantz” information since 1989 and I knew I was looking at misinformation. Day three, from dawn ’til dark, I worked to accurately document the ancestry of Kathy’s cousin. In my humble opinion, “it’s a good thing” to document more Frantz cousins (for the benefit of other researchers). But I get so frustrated (“madder than a wet hen”) when Ancestry subscribers don’t do research. They “copy” from one another and, unfortunately, they aren’t copying from my well-documented “tree.”

Two full days have been devoted to research for “Kathy” (see her message in Just what the old lady needed). I was unable to find even the remotest “cousin connection.” That’s OK with me because some of my extended family may benefit from the additional information in my database. Why am I mad? In a subsequent exchange of messages, Kathy introduced me to her DNA cousin. That cousin claims to be a descendant of (my) Michael Frantz and Magdalena Zug.

It’s a fact: I have more than 64,000 individuals in my database: Frantz 2605, France 590, Franz 36. Kathy’s DNA cousin has a total of 548 individuals in her “tree” with a dozen different surnames. The cousin has very few sources to authenticate her documented ancestry. Why, why, why don’t folks check Frantz Families–Kith & Kin (free on the Internet) or my Ancestry family tree??

Postscript @ 11:00 AM: The longer I work with the information, the madder I get!! I believe the “sources” are accurate: “Why are members ignoring obvious information for unsubstantiated data?”

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Postscript @ 5:00 PM: I couldn’t “let go” until I resolved the conflicting information. I am very intolerant of erroneous information regarding the Frantz family. Repeat: Very intolerant.

“Sick, tired, lonely…”  all describe recent statements in my blog messages. What a joy to read the following message (this morning) in Ancestry messaging. The reader’s attention is drawn to the comment: “I want to thank you so much for making your Ancestry tree public. You have helped me immensely! “

Hi Lorraine, My name is Kathy(Mary) Mach and I have been helping my cousin Patricia Hering with her Ancestry Tree. Her Ancestors include the Frantz family. Michael Frantz ll and Magdalena Zug are her 6th Great Grandparents. Patricia is my 1st cousin. Her Father and my Mother were brother and sister. They were Italian. I am also on 23 & Me and have recently learned that Patricia and I share a DNA match on my Father’s side! I was so excited!!! This match is German & French. He has the surnames of Miller, Bender, and Yoder in his ancestry. Needless to say I have been on a mad search trying to find Patricia’s and our shared match connection. I did find, with the help of your tree, a Frantz & Miller connection with Salome “Sally” Frantz & Abraham Miller (1796-1867). I’ve recently found a Mary Ann M Miller (1807-1878) marring Adam Hochstetler and their daughter Cathrine married Michael Bender & their daughter Barbara (1835-1898) married a Yoder. I also have Miller’s on my Father’s side but so far none of the Millers in Patricia’s tree or the Millers in my tree match. I want to thank you so much for making your Ancestry tree public. You have helped me immensely! I was wondering if you could help me connect the dots with the Frantz’s & Mary Ann M Miller (1897-1878) & Adam Hochstetler(1803-1885)? I am having trouble finding it and if you could help me out in anyway I would greatly appreciate it!!! Hope I made sense and didn’t ramble on too much. Thank you, Kathy