I did it-my first power point presentation!!

Photos from the Family History Expo 2009. It was a fun though stressful experience to teach a class on blogging! Just getting all the software and hardware together was challenging but I did it! There were about 25-30 students in my class and they seemed interested. Maybe they'll visit this blog and leave some comments. I love to teach adults.

Family History Expo

I can't tell you the number of WORKSHOPS and GENEALOGY CONFERENCES I have attended over my 49 years of doing family history research. I've learned something NEW everytime. This year I'm taking on the challenge to TEACH a BLOGGING class at the FAMILY HISTORY EXPO 2009. A perpetual student is what I'd call myself, plus a teacher now of what I've learned. It's been a FUN journey. You certainly learn more by teaching than you do as a student. The KNOWLEDGE gained is one of the few things you can take with you at the end of this life along with your EXPERIENCES and RELATIONSHIPS.

A scripture that impressed me the other day in my daily studies...Whatever principle of intelligence we attain unto in this life, it will rise with us in the resurrection. And if a person gains more knowledge and intelligence in this life through his diligence and obedience than another, he will have so much the advantage in the world to come. (Doctrine and Covenants 130:18-19) That thought gives purpose to my daily life and is an admonition to USE MY TIME WELL.

Need Help?

There are a ton of resources to teach you how to do just about anything connected with family history. Ranging from free TUTORIAL LESSONS to VIDEO INSTRUCTIONS to NEWSLETTERS to help you get started or continue with your genealogy research. One of the best sources is www.cyndislist.org or use a search engine for assistance on any topic. Want to start a website or don't know how to use your PAF or Legacy database? Help is as close as your keyboard or at a LDS family history center where trained volunteers wait to assist you with your genealogy. Better yet find an Internet cousin or family member with more experience than you to teach you or take a CLASS online or at a local library-ask a librarian or join a local historical society. Every community has untapped resources to discover.

A new world of adventure and learning lies ahead of you as you pursue your FAMILY HISTORY and develop a new hobby as a GENEALOGIST. There is even an experienced researcher (me) who is offering a free hour of searching on your line if you will commit to PAY IT FORWARD and help three other people in some way-doesn't have to doing their research. Just send them some blog candy-a surprise gift. So far no one has taken me up on my offer. This could be your lucky day!

Sharing your GENEALOGY

So after you've done all the research to find as many ancestors as you can, what's next? Well, first of all your genealogy is never done-there are always more sets of parents to discover unless you have ALL your lines back to Adam.

Part of FAMILY HISTORY is gathering histories and photos for as many of your ancestors as you can OR writing a history of them. (My first attempt to write a history was of my stepfather who fought in WWII. See cover on the left.)

Compile your PEDIGREE CHARTS and FAMILY GROUP SHEETS into some kind of notebook or scrapbook to look at or publish them online. More and more people are doing that. A WEBPAGE or BLOG is a perfect place to share your findings with others worldwide who could be interested. Depending on how computer literate your family is, you may need to publish online and in a paper format also. When I compile or write family histories I like to print them in paper format and also make a pdf file that I can save on a DVD or CD so others can read it on their computers. These self published collections can be given out at family reunions or family holiday celebrations and events.

Leaving all your research in file cabinets or folders is wasting all the efforts you've put into doing this work. DONATE a copy of your history and photos to local libraries or University libraries. There are many places just waiting for more contributions. The LDS Family History Library in SLC is one. So send them a paper copy and/or digital CD of what you've compiled. Guess what you are becoming a real FAMILY HISTORIAN, preserving your ROOTS and helping others in their searching.

Other creative OPTIONS for sharing your family history research are making a shadow box or photo collage of an ancestor or a decorated pedigree chart. (Above is a sample of a fan pedigree chart framed and decorated by Mary, a friend of mine. Check out her blog if you are interested in her work.) There are so many options-quilts, cross stitch, paintings, calligraphy, etc.

Finding our ROOTS

Many of our ancestors moved from country to country to better their living conditions. Some immigrated to America from Europe, Asia, South Pacific and Africa. Others left their homelands because of wars or to colonize new lands like Australia. Some still live in their native lands. It's fun to find out where your forebears originated. In the case of African Americans, there are few records available after a few generations back because of slavery practices, and that's where the new development of tracing your genealogy by DNA can come in handy.

How far back can you trace your ancestors? It is possible if you connect into royalty lines in England to go back to biblical times and our FIRST PARENTS Adam and Eve. I have one line that my cousin Jerusha traced back that far and it really is mind boggling to consider. My Icelandic line goes back to 800 AD because of their excellent written records. Then there are other ethnic groups like American Indians and Pacific Islanders who kept only ORAL GENEALOGIES and much of that has been lost with time. Without written records, your progenitors are still there to be discovered but it is almost impossible to reconstruct except through DNA.

You may reach what is called a BRICK WALL that stumps you from pushing your lines back further. It takes some time, dedication and skill to get past these obstacles but it can be done especially these days with the Internet making available more worldwide records daily and new Internet cousins to met. Don't give up but just take a break and search another line. Later come back to your brick walls with fresh energy and time and maybe you'll make a breakthrough-see a handout from Jerusha. It takes TIME.

Tip of the ICEBERG

I've now been blogging for 3 weeks or 21 days about Family History Research and guess what? I've only touched the tip of the iceberg on what is available. More material is being added DAILY in the form of personal webpages, blogs, and actual digitized resources to search. You could get lost surfing in the Internet for your ancestors and never be missed (unless your spouse or family noticed your absence.)

What's to be done to prevent wasting your valuable time searching without any results? HAVE A PLAN-don't look for every surname on your family tree, pick just one branch to research. Then be SPECIFIC-what info are you missing? A death date for great grandpa? Well, then don't look for his birth record but focus on obituaries, death certificates and cemeteries just in the area where he possibly died. Always check HOME SOURCES first before turning to the INTERNET. Then try a GOOGLE SEARCH before checking out some of the websites I've suggested previously: www.familysearch.org, www.ancestry.com, www.cyndislist.org, www.usgenweb.com, www.rootsweb.com among others. (Click on links for more info.)

Keep good notes in some kind of a RESEARCH LOG so you know where you've looked and jot down any ideas as you're working on where to check next...a TO DO list. Remember census records can be great clues if you're searching in America as to where your ancestors lived. This is like a mystery to solve. One thing leads to another until you discover the facts needed. Sometimes you'll find you need to write letters to Courthouses or make a visit in person or hire a researcher to find info for you. Maybe you'll get lucky and find an Internet cousin or two. Good luck!

The MISSING LINK

I was thinking today about the MISSING LINK which in most families is our relationship with our great grandparents. We never knew most of them but may have heard ABOUT them from our grandparents. Unless someone writes down their information, it doesn't get passed down to our children and grandchildren. Will our great grandchildren know anything about us IF we don't leave a record, a HISTORY of our life either captured in a journal or compiled in a life story or scrapbook? (Photo of my mom and me above.)

It's not too late to start compiling a record of your life's experiences. What have you learned that you'd like to tell your posterity? Words of wisdom that can help them along their paths. I know some phrases that have guided me in my life came from a grandmother's wise words...if life gives you lemons make lemonade and this too shall pass. During my life and trials that have come, those words have sustained me as well as knowing the love my grandmother continues to have for me. (Photo above standing me and my mom, seated my grandmother holding my first son Frank-her great grandson. Unfortunately, she died soon after his birth but I've written her life story to pass to her great and 2nd great grandchildren.)

Death is just a passageway and we who remain behind for now are RESPONSIBLE to connect the missing links as we learn more about our ancestor's lives and pass that knowledge on to our posterity. For that is why I do family history research, collect old photos and write my ancestor's stories to ...turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the hearts of the children to the fathers.. (Malachi 4:6) So they are not forgotten by us. (Photo of me above as a grandmother holding my first grandchildren twins Heather and Emilee.)