A Treasure-Trove

While we were visiting Bryan and Sandy in Papillion, Nebraska, Bryan got out his Family History books and showed us the many things he has collected. He told us that we could copy anything we wanted to that he had. I told him that I tho’t that I had most of it if not all of it and I would go home and check and see what I had and then let him know what I wanted to copy. Well, we got home August 23. I finally got around to looking in the box I had that I have my genealogy stuff in last Friday. And did I find a treasure trove. (I believe that’s the right word.) I found papers that Aunt Pearl had given me in 1988 when we took our first family history class from Renae Ellis in the 38th ward. I remember going thro’ those papers but didn’t know who they were or how they were related to me. Now I know! I found family group sheets that had Johannes Rufener’s father and mother and their family as well clear back to his great grand father!! I had been looking on a film that I got from the FHC in SLC for hours trying to find them. they weren’t on there. I’ve spent I’m not sure how many hours on it and have come to the conclusion that the things I want aren’t on that particular film. But the important thing is…on the back of all these family group sheets there was a statement: from Billeten notes complied from Parish Records—Blumenstein. I had no idea what that meant….what were Billeten notes? I took the family group sheets with me to the center yesterday and copied everything into my PAF. I now know where they all fit in. I feel like I know personally who Johannes Rufener is altho’ at the time I first received these papers, I had no idea how he was related to me. I also found other things related to family history that I found very interesting and that mean much more to me than when I first received them. I’m so thankful that I kept everything there in that box.

When we took that initial family history class, Karl and I had asked each of our siblings to send us their family group sheets. All of my siblings sent their info except Roy and Mildred. I need updates on those I do have. I have all of the children for Bonnie and Joy and Johnny but not dates of all of their ordinance work. Of Karl’s family we just have Paul and Fred’s family. It would be so nice to get all of the rest of it. We can go to the IGI and get those who have died but not those who are living. Mildred’s last three daughters sent me their information. I hope the others remember to send it to me.

Anyway, yesterday, Sister Teresa Carl gave us a tour of the books, reference counter and many different things there at the center. We had had that tour before but things were so new to us then that not much registered. Anyway, I noticed just how knowledgeable Sister Carl is about all that stuff and I knew from first hand experience that she is also very knowledgeable about the computer as well as the PAF program. So I took one of the family group sheets over to her and showed her the note and asked her if she had any idea what the Billeten notes were. She said she had no idea but she immediately Googled them. And they came up….it seems a man named Julius Bitteten compiled Parish Records there in Blumenstein. After she showed me this, I googled it myself. I found out that altho’ they did have a site with info on them, they referred you to the FHC Library Catalog in SLC. I went there and found the micro film entitled Rufener family of Blumenstein, Bern Switzerland. This was filmed by the Church in 1965. I am so excited about this! It is a book but on microfilm. I will either order it tomorrow or do it Wednesday. He lived from 1869 to 1957. I’m not sure how far back those records go but I have found out that there are three different Rufener lines in my paternal grandmother’s family. I hope this will enable me to go back even further in the family along all three lines. Who knows it may even have information on the families who married into the Rufeners. I’ll have to wait and see.

Yesterday I was able to help a little man who told me he was 80 years old and knew nothing about computers and had no intention of learning but needed someone to help him get a temple submission disk ready for the youth in his ward to do baptisms for the dead. I was able to do that for him. He also had enough information about another whole family that wasn’t on his file for the disk that I was able to do another submission by making a whole new file and then putting it thro’ temple ready. There were five more people who needed their work done. By putting it thro’ temple ready we found that of the two submissions there were about six who had already had their work done for them. He ended up with a total of 53 ordinances that needed to be done. I also printed off the updates (since he didn’t have a computer to do it) and gave them to him so he could add them to his personal file. It took a little extra work to compile that but I couldn’t see the sense in his not being able to get to the information. I had a couple of questions thro’ the whole process but I just went to Brother Sweat and he was able to answer them for me. I’m so thankful that he works there on Saturdays with us.

Bishop John announced today that Brother Conley and Sister Beverly Stucki had received a call to serve 30 months in the FHC. So we will have two couples from our ward serving there. There is only one other woman from our Stake that I know of who works there. It will be good to have more there.

For my birthday, Karl took me to eat lunch at Perkins and then to Pirates of the Caribbean III movie. We found it very fast paced and with a few surprises but very good. I couldn’t help but notice that they left it wide open for a number IV if they wish to do it. I also talked to each of our children for my birthday, except Richard and he called the next evening. It was good to talk to each one of them. On our anniversary on Thursday he took me to Olive Garden for lunch (we’ve found out there is much less waiting at lunch than in the evening.) The rest of the day I took it easy because I started coming down with a bad cold. I had run out of Zicam so it has got a pretty good hold on me.

That is about all of the excitement for this week.