Here is an excellent and clear article by Laurence Harris, Head of Genealogy UK at MyHeritage: http://blog.myheritage.com/2015/01/understanding-dates-five-common-mistakes-to-avoid/.
Henry Alvah Strong and the Eastman Kodak Company
Steve Strong, in researching some correspondence, turned up a nice article with photos about Henry Alvah Strong. Elizabeth Jeffries, a student at the University of Rochester, introduces her article:
I chose to write about the Strong Mausoleum because I am a member of the Strong family. My grandmother is Ann Emerson Strong Garrett, the daughter of Pritchard Hopkins Strong. I knew very little about her parents because they died when she was very young, but through research I have learned a great deal about how they lived. I chose to write about Henry Alvah Strong and Augustus Hopkins Strong as well, because they were large contributors to both Rochester and other communities.
Here is the article online: https://www.lib.rochester.edu/IN/RBSCP/Epitaph/ATTACHMENTS/27_3.pdf
Thanks, Steve, for finding this!
The SFAA Historian’s Genealogy Database
We finally have a working solution to an area I’ve been trying to figure out for years: What do we do with new genealogical information submitted to us? How do we make it available to our members?
Thanks to John Langbehn, our Newsletter Editor, we have an answer. John, over the course of several years, transcribed the entire History of the Strong Family by Benjamin Dwight, into Family Tree Maker.
Let me show you what we have, and then I’ll give some examples of why that’s useful to our membership.
New Strong Family Updates Books
I work for a company InboxDollars that stays completely up-to-date as to various online trends. We understand that in many ways people are moving away from real physical books, but also moving away from traditional desktop Macs and PCs.
The “mobile Web” is taking a larger and larger share of our online interaction. I see this every day, of course, by simply looking around. People are constantly and consistently using their phones and tablets, iPads, etc., for information and entertainment. People would rather use their phones to send a text message than use their phone to make a phone call.
Meanwhile, we have physical books, nicely-bound hardcover books containing the history and genealogy of the Strong Family in America. We have begun to move toward PDF files and Books on CD. However, when is the last time you saw someone load a CD onto their phone or tablet? To be sure, with our current offerings, we have little choice.
I am now able to create true Kindle books of our genealogy. I’m now able to start with our Family Tree Maker database and finish with a Kindle book available on Amazon.com, Nook book for Barnes & Noble, and so on.
That sounds simple. What’s the big deal?
Bob Cihla passed away 19 January 2015
Bob Cihla passed away at 4 am this morning. I’ll pass along more detail as I hear it. Funeral arrangements will be in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Bob Cihla Update
Today Bob was moved to Mercy Hospice House in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Bob Cihla in Hospice Care
Our association President, Bob Cihla, has transitioned to hospice care. He is in end stage COPD with the complication of interstitial lung fibrosis. The doctors tell us that there isn’t anything medically to do to make him better so they are doing palliative care.
Please keep Bob and the Cihla family in your thoughts and prayers.
Continuing to Update the Sarah (Strong) Barnard Genealogy

Sarah (Strong) (Barnard) Wells Headstone
I am continuing to transcribe the Sarah Line into Family Tree Maker, based on The Descendants of Francis Barnard by Dr. Walther Barnard. The updated family tree is here: Sarah (Strong) Barnard.
I am even planning out a real book for the Strong Family Updates series!
Joseph Parsons and Elizabeth Strong
THE BANNS HAD been posted on the Meeting House door. Young Joseph Parsons was to wed Elizabeth Strong. In Northampton, when the eldest son of a wealthy man married the daughter of a church elder, the whole town was invited to the celebration. Because of its nearness to mown meadowland with room enough for townsfolk to ramble, all parties agreed that Joseph Parsons’ house was the best location for the wedding feast, though some in the town planned to stay away in protest.
I was delighted to discover the book My Enemy’s Tears: The Witch of Northampton by Karen Vorbeck Williams includes the wedding of Joseph Parsons and Elizabeth Strong, daughter of Elder John Strong and Abigail Ford. The book goes on to state that the bride’s family was not opposed to a little merry-making, and we continue the wedding through Chapter XVI.
New Book From Brooke Shields
I was walking through Barnes & Noble last week and noticed there is a new book out from Brooke Shields, There Was a Little Girl: The Real Story of My Mother and Me. Brooke has written several book, and her ancestry has been featured on Who Do You Think You Are.
Brooke is a 10th great granddaughter of Elder John Strong and Abigail Ford, through the Thomas line:
1-John Strong ( — ) + Abigail Ford ( — )
2-Thomas Strong ( — ) + Rachel Holton ( — )
3-Joseph Strong ( — ) + Sarah Allen ( — )
4-Phineas Strong ( — ) + Mary Parker ( — )
5-Ozias Strong ( — ) + Susanna West ( — )
6-Susanna Strong ( — ) + John Baker ( — )
7-Thirza Baker ( — ) + George Sheffield ( — )
8-Betsey Sheffield ( — ) + John Keyes Campbell ( — )
9-Mary Campbell ( — ) + Charles Arthur Moore ( — )
10-Mary Elsie Moore ( — ) + Marino Torlonia ( — ), 4th Prince of Civitella-Cesi 11-Marina, Princess Torlonia ( — ) + Francis Xavier Shields ( — )
12-Francis Alexander Shields ( — ) + Teri Schmon ( — )
13-Christa Brooke Camille Shields (1965– )
Here is the book description from Amazon: