[Genealogy] What We Realize and More

Wed Mar 11 12:52:18 CDT 2026

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11 March 2026

** What We Realize and What We Don't

** Upcoming Webinars--Discount prices will not be extended

** Webinars: Illinois, Full-Text, and NotebookLM

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What We Realize and What We Don't

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Memories are often made when we don’t realize it. Sometimes later we
realize those are the best memories of all.

It was towards the end of my senior year of high school when my Dad
discovered that I had a day off in school in the middle of May–senior skip
day it was called. It was a day of final exams and seniors didn’t have to
take them and didn’t have to attend school either.

Therefore, according to my Dad, it was the perfect day to clean out the
west side of the barn. It was also the same day as the senior party at some
location that I have either forgotten or never knew in the first place. If
Dad decided it was the day to clean out the barn, then it was the day to
clean out the barn. And so that is what we did.

Grandma Neill was right there in the thick of things. It was several years
before a series of strokes caused Grandma to become less mobile and, at
seventy-five, she had no difficulty helping. So on that warm spring day,
Grandma (in her house dress and knee high rubber boots), my Dad, and I
cleaned out the west side of the barn. After all, the “bnure,” which is how
“manure” always sounded when Grandma said it needed to be dealt with. Dad
used the “H” with a small loader on it to scoop up some of the mess, but
pitchforks were main instrument of getting the manure in the manure
spreader. When the “bnure” spreader was full, Dad would go out and spread
it while Grandma and I remained in the barn and filled up the small loader
on the front end of the H and scraped some manure from the cement wall that
formed the west ends of the barn.

So off Dad went.

My Dad had a handful of phrases he would use that we all had heard many
times. Cliches that spoke of eternal truths one would learn first hand when
they were an adult, “wait til you start paying the bills,” “life ain’t a
bed of roses,” and “you don’t realize it” were three favorites.

Exactly how it started after Dad had left has been lost to time, but
Grandma must have said something and I quipped back “Grandma you don’t
realize it, life ain’t a bed of roses.” She laughed. She knew I was kidding
and that I’d never tell her something like that in any serious way.

And so Grandma replied “Wait til you start paying bills.”

We were working. We weren’t loafing. The scoop on the front of the H got
filled with bnure, and we did the other scraping that we were supposed to
do. But along the way,

“Grandma…wait til you start paying the bills.”

The irony was lost on me then. It’s not lost on me now. I was telling a
seventy-five year old woman that she didn’t know what life was like. This
was a woman who had lived away from home since she was twenty-five, had
(along with her husband) grown up pretty poor, and had worked on the farm
“like a man” (as some used to say). Grandma knew what life was like.

She laughed and replied “Life ain’t a bed of roses.”

I laughed and told Grandma “you don’t realize it.”

We were both laughing as we shoveled cow shit. Work was sometimes difficult
enough. One could have a little fun while doing it. We kept teasing each
other with Dad’s retorts until we heard it.

The tractor was returning. We stopped laughing. I don’t think either one of
had to tell the other that the time for hilarity was temporarily over.
There wasn’t really supposed to be laughing while one was supposed to be
working and we didn’t want to have to explain to Dad what was so darn funny.

Dad returned. We filled up the spreader and Dad went to spread it. As soon
as he was out of earshot, we started again. I don’t remember who was the
instigator and I’m certain it really doesn’t matter. Our laughter subsided
when we heard the tractor return.

I don’t know if my classmates have memories of that senior party. I
certainly don’t. But I do remember helping Dad and Grandma clean out the
west side of the barn.

And I do have one of the fondest memories of Grandma as a result. It just
took me a long time to realize it.

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Genealogy Research in Illinois--new Webinar

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 Genealogy Research in Illinois

This presentation will cover an overview of research in Illinois,
including: state resources, local resources and records (including an
overview of typical courthouse records created in Illinois—land, court,
probate, and vital), and records access. Additionally statewide research
facilities and an overview of their collections and materials will be
discussed.

Also included will be a brief discussion of searching the FamilySearch
catalog and accessing and using various websites of state agencies and
organizations. A general methodology for accessing records in Illinois will
also be included.

The presentation will be approximately 90 minutes in length. Handout with
links to various websites discussed will be included.

Michael John Neill is an Illinois native and the eighth generation in one
family line to have lived in Illinois. He has actively researched his
Illinois ancestors since the early 1980s and is an experienced courthouse
and archives researcher. His presentations are informative yet engaging and
practical.

Pre-order for $22
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=EJVPZWN5HUW2N>.
Delivery date 20 March 2023. Price after delivery will be $28. There will
be no extension of the introductory price.

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FamilySearch Full-Text Problem-Solving

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This presentation will be example-based only and it will be assumed you
have a working knowledge of how to use the full-text search at FamilySearch
(order that presentation for $30
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=246272&method_id=268990>—download
immediate).

We will look at five examples (ones not discussed in the original
presentation) and follow a consistent process and methodology to maximize
the chance that we find what’s available for the individuals in question.
It’s important to leverage all you know about an ancestor combined with the
power of full-text search—we will focus on: family members, migrations, and
known events and relationships. Our approach is systematic—we avoid the
rabbit hole approach that can make full-text searches inefficient.

Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=KTZSEB9A2NNUE>.
Regular price $28.

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NotebookLM for Genealogy Problem-Solving

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Take your use of NotebookLM beyond the basics. In this session, we will
look at ten examples of using NotebookLM for genealogy research. This
presentation assumes you’ve got a working knowledge of NotebookLM either
through experience or our presentation (order that for immediate download
here
<https://michael-john-neill.dpdcart.com/cart/add?product_id=248457&method_id=271366>
for
$25).

We emphasize the responsible use of AI in genealogy and being reasonably
critical of AI-created content. Our approach is to use NotebookLM to assist
in the refinement of ideas and research process not to have AI create
content and call it our own. NotebookLM can be the research assistant you
always wish you had—although an imperfect one.

Release date: 19 March.

Pre-order at $21
<https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=NX3QCCNRYLTSN>.
Regular price $28.
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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
PO Box 17, Henderson, IL 61439
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com

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Michael John Neill
Genealogy Tip of the Day
http://www.genealogytipoftheday.com
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