2022 RootsTech #ChooseConnection - Viewing From Home, But Feeling Like I'm There

This year's buildup to #RootsTech2022 was phenomenal! 

First thing that I must mention is THE SONG! "Choose Connnection" is one of the catchiest songs I've heard in a long time. Even as I think of it I can hear it running through my head. 

It is an original song that was written by Jonathan H. Wing, a RootsTech manager who oversees creative aspects of the event. https://www.thechurchnews.com/living-faith/2022-03-03/rootstech-2022-choose-connection-the-story-behind-original-song-music-video-and-social-media-campaign-244684

With the invitation from FamilySearch CEO Steve Rockwood to “Reach out to that person and send him or her a text or give them a call or contact them on social media and bless their day today with simply a kind word or a simple ‘How are you?’”

Before it even began there were opportunities to see just how many people you were connected to using the FamilySearchFamilyTree (FSFT) to enhance those relationships. Were they all correct? Likely not. Was it fun? Absolutely!

Within a couple of days of it going live, this was the screenshot that showed my connection to others registered for RootsTech.

By the time this activity concluded, I had over 100,000 more than what you see here. There were even opportunities to see if you were related to famous people. The excitement was beginning to build, and I couldn't wait for it to begin.

But what to choose? There were over 1500 classes to choose from. I made a playlist that included the keynote speakers, plus many more classes that I wanted to be part of. The great thing is that many of these classes are available for the entire year before the next RootsTech.

Here were some of my favorites, with many many more that will eventually be added to this list:

Sarah Cochran - From a Box in the Closet to a Treasured Family Heirloom: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/series/from-a-box-in-the-closet-to-a-treasured-family-heirloom

Elizabeth Swanay O'Neil - Resources for Researching Your War of 1812 Ancestor Online: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/series/resources-for-researching-your-war-of-1812-ancestor-online

James Beidler - Pennsylvania Predicament! Finding Keystone State Ancestry: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/series/pennsylvania-predicament-finding-keystone-state-ancestry

Diana Elder - Problem Solve with the Pre-1850 Census: Investigate the Tick Marks: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/series/problem-solve-with-the-pre-1850-census-investigate-the-tick-marks

Shannon Combs-Bennett - Research Strategies for Early Colonial Ancestors: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/series/research-strategies-for-early-colonial-ancestors

It may be odd to hear that as one who has been an Accredited Genealogist for the past twenty-five years, and a researcher long before that, that you would would find me listening to "Beginner Classes" during an event of this size. But, I do. I feel that any time we discover a new grandmother's surname, or we have researched our way into a new-to-us locality, we begin again. 

Many of those "Getting Started" classes may be found here: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/search?f.topic=0000017c-ee68-dc5c-a57c-eeecf1790000&f.text=Family%20history%20centers&p.index=0&p.pageCount=10

Probably the one topic I will spend the most time during this next year will be those focused to the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Kerry and I are Family History Center Directors and need to stay current. Non-LDS may also find some great ideas, such as family reunions, working with youth, and emotional difficulties within family. You can find it here: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/search?f.topic=0000017c-ee69-dc5c-a57c-eeedb3970000&f.text=Family%20history%20centers&p.index=0&p.pageCount=10

But the keynote speaker on Family Discovery Day really resonated with my soul. Elder Ulisses Soares and his wife Rosana are from Brazil. He is an Apostle in the leadership of the Church. His address took he and his wife back to their native country as they visited places dear to their hearts. They walked where they met and dated, eventually entering into the temple they were married. Beautiful interior scenes show just how much this visit filled their heart with memories. I would recommend his address to absolutely everyone: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/special-session/elder-and-sister-soares-keynote-family-discovery-day

Though it's been about a month since RootsTech 2022 live has concluded, it will continue through the year to help us with our efforts to become better researcher, and to connect with our families.

2020 - Christmas Beauty of the Day #2

 Christmas Beauty of the Day #2

Today's beauty is a special ornament I found at the Church History Museum found right beside the bookstore in Salt Lake City.

While researching in the Family History Library, I sometimes need a break to rest my eyes and clear my head. Altitude has quite an effect on me, for I am not used to being more than about 1500' (463 meters) above sea level. Sometimes I will go to the Tabernacle and listen to the noon organ concert. 

But one day I happened into the Museum Bookstore and found this precious little ornament that said FamilySearch on it.

And, I've never seen them again.

#ChristmasBeautyoftheDay

Having a Public Tree and a Private Tree

I will have to admit that having a public tree on FamilySearch has sometimes aggravated me.

I've had it set in place with good documentation for quite awhile.  Then, a year or so ago, someone went in and changed it.

I changed it back.

Two weeks later, I checked again.  Sure enough, someone had changed it.  

I changed it back.  Sigh...

So, I wrote a personal note to the person who was changing it, and said, "Please leave this family alone.  Check the page that contains all of the sources and documentation that I and others have added through the years."  

It hasn't been changed again.

Now, was I angry?  No.  Frustrated?  Well, a little bit.  But, I also tend to think in the positive.  Perhaps it was a young person just getting started, or even an older person not real adept at computers yet.  It was an opportunity to teach.  

But now, I have found a reason to love the idea of a public tree.  It's something called "All the Stories".   https://www.familysearch.org/blog/en/family-storiesin-place/

This blog post came out a couple of years ago, and I just hadn't had the opportunity to check it out.  So, today I did.

I learned that it combs through all of the stories attached to people in your tree -- whether it's been you that has added them or someone else.  You simply give it permission to connect to your tree, and watch the fan chart begin to fill in.

See those dots?  Those represent stories added to various people on my pedigree.  There are actually some that I have added to children of my ancestors, and also to my sisters.  They wouldn't show up on a pedigree fan.

A panel will then appear to the left side showing you titles of stories that have been added by you, or by someone else.  Remember, this is one world tree, so you're going to be seeing stories and memories added by others you may have never met.  

But, they are their ancestors, too.

I didn't know this about Adam Gearheart before finding this on his page.

I am beyond excited about this, and may have finally been convinced that this could be a good thing.  

I still maintain my genealogy on a stand-alone program, using both Legacy Family Tree and RootsMagic.  And, I have just added Heredis to the mix, too.  I keep control of my information and documentation using programs that no one can touch.

Then, when I am sure of the information, I put it up onto trees the public can see.

But, the stories!  These are quite exciting to me, for others may have more information about someone's life than I have.  And, they have put it up there to share.

Not much of my family's history will be written in books and volumes, such as is found in the fantastic New England collections, or the Company Journals of the Mormon Pioneers.  

My people were in the hollers of Appalachia where no one wrote much about them, unless it was unfavorable.  Occasionally I will find something really good about their life in a newspaper.  But, it's a rare occasion when I do.

But, the personal parts of the far-extended family members are things I don't know about.  And, I'm sure they don't know very much about our branch of the tree.

Something like this can connect us.

And, I think I like it.

Christmas beauty of the day.

My precious FamilySearch ornament.

I bought this one year when it wasn't even Christmastime. I happened to be meandering in the gift shop at the Church History Museum next door to the Family History Library when this flew into my hand!

I have a tree I keep up all year long with some of my most favored ornaments. This is one of those that is out where I can see it daily, and be grateful for all that I have gleaned from its records.

Tweaking Your Memory Bank

I love "fill in the blank" things.

I have many types of blank books with questions, handouts about doing oral interviews, and personal histories.

And, I love all of the formats.  Every single one of them.

I was speaking at a conference somewhere in the United States this past year.  It always feels good to stop by the FamilySearch booth and get my "fix".  

And, they always have freebies!!!  They have great freebies!  Anywhere I have ever been, they have freebies!

Wherever this conference was that I'm talking about, I noticed that FamilySearch that these cute little packaged cards they were passing out.

The cute little packeted cards from FamilySearch

As much as I wanted to, I waited until I returned home before I opened them up.

Can't you just feel the wheels turning in your head as you begin to recall those memories?  I sure can!

I have recently been posting a lot about our own personal histories. 
Here is one from yesterday:   http://alwaysanxiouslyengaged.blogspot.com/2017/12/i-almost-missed-opportunitybecause-of.html

And, another one from November:  http://alwaysanxiouslyengaged.blogspot.com/2017/11/gratitude-day-20-my-parents-journals-20.html

 There are several reasons why.

1.  My parents' writings and belongings went up in smoke in a house fire after mom's death.  I still have flashbacks of the things that were lost 32 years ago.  I wish I could remember some of them well enough to at least describe them, since I have no photos.

2.  I believe in having several different mediums of our personal history.  Mr. Kerry and I have video and audio recordings of interviews with our fathers, and Kerry has a small amount of his dad's writings.

3.  As a Family History Center Director, I run across many patrons who would give anything to have personal recollections from their ancestors, and particularly their own parents.

Back in 1994, a young couple visited the FHC for a specific reason.  They had an aunt in southern Ohio they felt they should interview, and came to ask me how they should go about it.  This woman was as sharp as a tack, and they wanted to take advantage of her good mind and good physical condition before something happened.

I had some physical suggestions:

• Let's come up with about ten questions so you can send them to her, and let her mind start thinking.
• Ask her if it's alright to record her.
• Have a small cassette recorder off to the side.
• Have a camcorder set up off to the side with perhaps a towel covering part of it so she won't get nervous.
• Try to keep her on task, but also let her ramble.

This was just prior to Thanksgiving, when they planned to make the visit.

They returned after the first of the year, and I was so excited to see them and ask how it went.

Their faces fell, and I thought the worst.  I asked them, "Did she die?"

No, she had suffered a stroke, and could no longer speak.  All of that information was stored in her mind, and she couldn't get it out or even write it down.

She was 94 years old, and lived ten more years.

Ten more years with those memories still inside her.

None of us knows when we may have a similar situation occur with family members, or with our own selves.

So, there's no time like the present!

• Write your memories in a book.
• Buy a fill-in-the-blank book.
• Load the memories up on to FamilySearch.

And, don't wait until next month, next year, or later when I have some time.

Just do it!

Book Review - LifeBio

Sometimes I get a little behind my own self.

And, this is an example of this "behindness".

At RootsTech 2017, I was experiencing some pain from a fall I'd had a few days earlier.

That meant I couldn't go as far or as fast as I would have liked.

It also meant more time in the Vendor Hall talking with sellers about their products.

And, I found one I really like.

I really like "fill in the blank books",

especially when it comes to writing our own history.

We would all love to find the writings of our ancestors,

but are we leaving something behind 

for others to discover us?

I stopped at a booth where I saw a stack of books titled

LifeBio.

Front cover of book.

Introductory page

Some sample headings.

One of the most daunting things that any writer faces

is the blank page.

Where do I even begin?

What should I start with?

Is anyone interesting in the small things?

How will this be preserved?

I have begun to work through this little book.

And, so has Mr. Kerry.

We are not actually filling out the pages within the book,

but are putting them into Microsoft Word,

and preserving them into a computer file,

and on FamilySearch.

Now, I have seen many books similar to this.

But, this is one of the better ones I have seen.

So, perhaps this Christmas season,

when you're thinking of what you can give to your loved ones,

this may be the best gift ever.

It's a gift of your own self so that your posterity

 can get to know you a little better

through you.

And, if your parents are still alive,

or any of your living relatives,

encourage them to write their story in 

this very easy, simple way.

It can certainly help to tweak their memories...

and, ours.

Disclaimer:  As I talked with Beth, she gave me this book as a gift.  I thanked her profusely, and said that I would certainly look through it and tell others if I liked it.

And, I do.

Find her at:  http://www.lifebio.org/

The Faces of Volunteerism

I make frequent trips to the Ohio Genealogical Society. 

Many times I'm there on Monday, when the facility is closed.

Each Monday, for at least the past five years, 

a group of volunteers have met to work on probate files from the Richland County, Ohio courthouse.

Volunteers meet each Monday at OGS to work on probate files.

Past-president of OGS, Sunda Peters (seated in green) has been the fearless leader of this group.

They are unfolding, unstapling, and getting massive amounts of folders ready for digitizing.

t

A small portion of the probate files coming from the Richland County, Ohio courthouse.

These probate files are some of the earliest records in Ohio, beginning in 1813.  That's just ten years after Ohio became a state!

The box in the upper right corner represents the many staples and other items used to attach papers together.

They are currently working on the year 1900, and have about five more years of work to do.

FamilySearch has hired a contractor, who is at the courthouse filming the files that have been taken apart, unstapled, and put into manila folders.

Currently, she is on the year 1847, so Sunda and her staff are trying to keep her from catching up with them.

After they are sent to FamilySearch (weekly, I assume), they will be available for viewing, just like on a microfilm reader.

Then, they will be up for indexing.

That's how this process works.

Eventually, researchers will be able to search for ancestors by name, and bring up the actual image.

The final product will be probate files that cover the years

1813 - 1935.

Then, the project will be finished.

That's how it all comes together.

Every Opportunity Counts

I consider myself to be one of the most fortunate people alive.

I was recently asked about my background, my education, etc.  I took a deep breath and gave my answer.

Other than high school, I have no formal education.  But, I certainly am educated.  Let me tell you why.

The opportunity to go to college was not there for me.  Being the baby of the family is not easy, for I didn't have a line of people encouraging me in that direction.  All of my sisters are educated, with nursing degrees and x-ray technician backgrounds.

But, I am not.  I was generally told college was for smart people.  And, I believed that.

So, I educated myself.

I worked at Bierce Library at the University of Akron for a number of years.  I could have taken classes for college credit for free.  But, I didn't.  I did take one class on how to play the harmonica from a man who used to play with Freddie and the Fendercats.  Now, I don't have the breath to even play the harmonica.

All I ever wanted to be was a wife and mother, and I really didn't think that would ever happen, either.  But, it did.  And, soon I was "stuck at home" with four children under five years old.

This is when I did my greatest amount of learning.  While the kids were napping, I was reading and studying.  I was expanding my musical talent, learning how to go beyond piano and organ and saxophone (from high school).  I acquired six-string and twelve-string guitars, a banjo, autoharp, recorders, and anything else I could get my hands and taught myself.

As the kids grew, we spent hours at the library.  Each were allowed to check out ten books - forty books each week!  Kerry and I would immerse ourselves in the history and reference section.

Our kids began to realize how books could open up the world to them at a very early age.

When my kids were in junior/senior high school, I was asked to be the Family History Director at our local ward.  At this time, I hadn't taken the time to learn to do the things the easy way (microfiche, microfilm).  I had always gone to the actual areas with my parents.

Long story short...that assignment led me to where I am today.  I have traveled the United States and spoken to the world.  

So, when asked about my background, let me give some advice:

1.  Always, always take advantage of every opportunity for learning that comes your way.  There are so many to choose from.  They range from conferences, webinars, and classes to local gatherings at the public libraries, local genealogy societies, and even public television.  Learning about the 1918 influenza epidemic helped me to realize how difficult it was for my grandmother and her sister to lose seven babies between them.  It enhanced the writings in my mother's journal, who happened to live through it and remembered it as a five-year old.

2.  Learn to recognize the opportunity in front of you.  It may come in a casual conversation with someone of advanced age, a class being held, a book at a book sale.  

3.  Make the time to learn.  If you wait for the time to come, you may be waiting a long time.  Set aside the time for your own education.

4.  Some opportunities are free - some may cost money.  We were a single-income family, so I had to be judicial in what I spent money on for myself.  It might mean only one trip per year with my sisters to do research.  It might mean borrowing a book from the library instead of buying it.  One of the best ways is looking through what I already had in my own home.

5.  Conferences and institutes are tremendous, if you can afford them and the travel involved.  I have been fortunate to attend many conferences, but had to sit back on many more.  With modern technology, I can attend some of the streamed sessions.  

The Family History Library is hosting a wonderful United States Research Seminar in August.  I would love to be attending it.  But, I can't.  However, there are at least twenty classes being streamed!  Take a look at it here .  I have registered for as many as I can.

6.  I am an Accredited Genealogist, and have been for the past fifteen years.  I made a choice between becoming Accredited, or going through the Board for Certification of Genealogists.  I chose the first, as it hones you in on a specific area.

I did not need to do this professionally.  But, I wanted to.  Some of my friends and colleagues were proud of my accomplishment, and let me know that.  But, I'm still the same Peggy as before.

My oldest child had left on a mission, and I had three more in various stages of junior/senior high school.  Acquiring this Accreditation was one of the hardest things I had ever done.  I thought I was good, but it polished me.  I am so grateful that I set that as a goal, and that I reached it.

There are many genealogy colleagues who are neither Accredited or Board Certified.  But, they are good.  Very, very good.  Neither of these are needed to do professional research or speaking at different venues.  But, perhaps it helps when the post-nomials are noted, for it shows you have gone a little further.

7.  I learn from my peers.  I have attended classes when I have sat in awe at the tremendous amount of information being shared.  I have learned things I didn't know that I didn't know.

I have also attended classes where the only thing I learned was how not to teach a class.  I am not saying that to insult the presenter.  I have known several whose brains are so full of knowledge that I am coveting them.  But, they didn't quite know how to convey that knowledge to others.  As they spoke, I took note of the attendees around me.  Again, I learned how not to teach.

8.  I am always in research mode.  Always.  When we travel, I am reading.  When we were waiting for children at piano lessons, swim meets, tennis matches, etc., we always had a book.  (We watched our parents do the same thing.)  We never go anywhere without a book to read or a journal to write in.  

9.  I have found that by helping another person, or preparing a new lecture - I learn more than anyone else.  I believe it's called *homework*.  

10.  Belonging to your local or state genealogy society benefits you in so many ways.  I am fortunate to live just a few moments away from the Ohio Genealogical Society.  I have blogged about it several times, and those are tagged in the right column of this blog.

One thing they have begun doing is having a series of summer learning sessions - for free!!!  Please check out what has already been offered, and what is yet to come:  http://www.ogsblog.org/2016/03/2016-summer-learning-sessions.html?spref=tw

If I follow the example of my parents, my in-laws, and Mr. Kerry, my learning will never come to an end.  In today's world, there is no reason to remain uninformed on a subject.  

We choose those things that are the most important to us.  For me, it has been lifelong learning.

So, don't be discouraged if you're not able to go to all of the events you would like to.  Instead, be grateful for the things you may have right in front of you.  Kerry's father counseled his children:

Always keep your mind active and learning.

AND, from one of my previous posts

When you're green, you're still growing.

When you're ripe, you're almost rotten.

STAY GREEN!

Don't Forget Me!

Several years ago, my sister Betty found a death certificate on FamilySearch that she had not been aware of before.  It was a death certificate for her mother-in-law's little sister, who was born at 5 1/2 months into her mother's pregnancy, and died the same day.

"Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-21234-1412-86?cc=1307272 : 21 May 2014), 1911 > 33211-35940 > image 2018 of 3256.

Betty kept asking me to help her get it into the computer and onto FamilySearch, but time kept slipping away.  It turned into a "one of these days things".  I was partly at fault, for this was my brother-in-law's family, and it wasn't at the top of my list of things to do.

Then, my brother-in-law passed away in Oct 2015.  

Sister Betty became immersed in all that is required around the death of a spouse, but continually kept running across this certificate.  One evening, she called me and asked me to help her again.  I responded, "Let's do it right now!"

Me:  Where did you find the certificate?
Betty:  On FamilySearch
Me:  What name is it listed under?
Betty:  Baby Schueneman
Me:  What year did this happen?
Betty:  1911

That was all I needed at the time to arm myself for a search.  And, I found the certificate in no time.

"Ohio Deaths, 1908-1953," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1942-21234-1429-94?cc=1307272 : 21 May 2014), 1911 > 33211-35940 > image 2019 of 3256.

Or, so I thought.  

Because of the advent of modern technology, we have the capability to magnify and enlarge our screen images.  I saw a word after the cause of death that "looked" like it said "twin".  

I quickly called Betty, and told her to get her hard copy of the certificate out, along with her magnifying glass.  I waited while she located them, then told her to look very carefully at the copy that she had.

There was no question that these were two separate and distinct certificates, with Baby Schueneman's certificate numbers being 34908 and 34909.  And, until it was enlarged, I actually thought the word in parenthesis was "Irwin".

These babies had no entry on www.findagrave.com or on www.BillionGraves.com.  Betty contacted the cemetery where the babies' grandparents were buried, and found they were buried in the same plot with the grandparents, but had no headstone.  

Their parents were buried many years later in a cemetery approximately fifteen miles away.  I have since made entries on FindAGrave that connect the babies with their parents.  

Thanks to the persistence of an older sister who was trying to do the best she could with her husband's family, she kept after me until I finally gave in and found the time to help her.  

Otherwise, Baby Schueneman might never have been included in the family records.  

Lessons learned:
1.  When something is pressing on your mind concerning your ancestors, pay attention to it.  This was not pressing on my mind, but it had always been in the back of my sister's mind.

2.  Learn to examine every record carefully.  Use magnification tools to enlarge and enhance.

3.  Make an effort to find a burial site, and connect them on FindAGrave.  In this case, these two babies were buried alongside grandparents.

4.  And, most of all, don't forget them!  One of these babies would have been left out and forgotten if there hadn't been followthrough.

And Yet, Another Reason for Family History Centers!

Can you tell I love Family History Centers?

A few days ago, I wrote a blogpost about the ongoing need for Family History Center.

You may read it here.

Well, there is even a greater opportunity for these centers of which

Mr. Kerry and I are Co-Directors of the one here in Mansfield, Ohio.

It has its own Facebook page:

Friends of the Mansfield Ohio Family Family History Center 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has partnered with many institutions and is digitizing selected books that are housed in their collections.

Just look at all of these fine institutions that are willing to share their collections!

So, how do we use this?

Perhaps we hear that there may be a book written about our family.

Or, about an area our family lived in.

In the above case, you would want to sign in to FamilySearch.

On the top tabs, click "Search".

Then, click on "Books", wither from the drop-down menu, or the above screen.

You will again see the institutions involved, and a blank space where you may fill in 

a family name...

a geographic area...

the name of a church...

You get the idea.  

In this case, I filled in the name "Tinkling Spring"

Tinkling Spring is the name of a Presbyterian Church 

established in 1740 in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

Many of my people lived in the surrounding area.

There is a website for it here.

The first two are the ones I am interested in. 

I clicked on the first one, which included "Cemetery Records".

I love cemeteries!

And, this old book tells me all about the people buried in the graveyard next to the church.

Could it get any better than that?

Well...

yes, and no.

The second book was about Reverend John Craig, who established the church in 1740.

That's right...1740!

When I clicked on the link to that book, this is the message that came up.

Excuse me?

I do not have sufficient rights?

But read it carefully.

It says that it must be viewed at... 

The Family History Library.

A partner library.

Or a Family Center.

So, I simply went to the Family History Center, thumb drive in hand.

I went through the process again, and it appeared right on the computer screen.

Up in the right-hand corner, you can see where you may print it or save it.

I saved portions of it to a thumb drive, and brought it home where I can read it from here.

So, we see yet another reason why Family History Centers 

located throughout the world can still serve us well.

There may be restrictions that were placed there when the initial agreements were drawn up,

or as it says in the "sufficient rights" screen,

only so many at a time can view the object.

Aren't we fortunate to have this available to us?