U. S. Census Records Class Handout FamilySearch

A Personal History Based on Photos

A personal history could be one of the greatest legacies that you can leave your descendants. If you want it to be accurate, then it is best that you write it yourself. If you leave it up to others, all they have is their memories, and they may not be correct. A fantastic way to start writing your personal history is to gather your photos you have collected from your life. These photos will be the foundation of your stories.

There is a story behind each photo. Your descendants will not know that story unless you write about it. It would be sad if your experiences you enjoyed throughout your life became lost even though a photo showed a snapshot of what was going on.

For instance, a gentleman was in World War II, and he had a photo of himself beside a plane. This is a great photo, but the rest of the story is untold. This gentleman had just returned from a major battle where most of his friends had not made it back. What a challenging time in his life, yet you would not know this just by looking at a photo. This experience is also an opportunity for him to share with his descendants how he got through this challenge and went on with life.

Forget about Chronology. You can write your history is any order you want. Sometimes it is best to start with something exciting that will catch your readers attention. Many times, one photo will spark a memory that you have in another photo.

As you go through your photos, let your mind wander back to the good old days. What was life like in those days? Did you have lots of chores or were they carefree? You don’t have to let the photo limit what you tell. Share the feelings and the memories that come from viewing these photos.

Don’t stress about Grammar and spelling. Memories are the goal, and the aim is not perfection. You can even handwrite your story. What a terrific opportunity for you to allow children, grandchildren, or even youth in your neighborhood provide a service for you if you need help with writing your story on a computer. Whichever way you want to put your story together, on the computer or handwritten, make sure you don’t delay your greatest gift.

Pinterest

Genealogy research can take us to some of the most interesting sites. It is amazing how something used for craft ideas, recipes, and many other ways is also a great resource for genealogists. Pinterest is a free social media site that allows you to bookmark favorite websites and organize them onto “boards.”

If you do not already have an account on Pinterest, go to ww.pinterest.com and sign-up. Fill out the information, and you are ready to start “pinning!” Pinterest has a great search engine, and you can search genealogical subjects that interest you. You can create “boards” of different genealogical information and then start searching for “pins” to add to your boards. Once you find something you would like to save, you click save, and it will ask you what board you would like it saved to. Just as simple as that.

Some board ideas are:

Maps. There are lots of maps from all over the world on Pinterest. I created a search in the search bar for “genealogy maps.” Here is a list of just a few maps that came up. “5 Types of Maps Every Genealogist Should Know,” “Historical Maps of the United States,” “Map Your Family Surname,” “Map your Ancestors and bring Genealogy to Life,” “Map of the United States in 1700,” and more than I could count.

Genealogy Research Helps. “Tips for Researching German Genealogy,” “Irish Genealogy,” “5 Fabulous Tip for using Ancestry.com,” “Useful Smartphone Apps for Genealogy Research,” “Genealogy Classes – Genealogy.com,” and again the list goes on and on.

Genealogy Organization. “The FamilyRoots Organizer Color-Coding System,” “Tips: 23 Secrets to Organize Your Genealogy,” “What You Need to Know to Organize Your Genealogy,” “9 Habits of Highly Organized Genealogists,” “The Genealogist’s Organization Cheatsheet,” “How to use Pinterest for Genealogy and Family History,” are some great examples.

Census Records. “The Secret Hiding on the 1840 U.S. Census,” “Irish Census Records,” “How to Calculate Birth Dates from Census Records,” “Clues in Census Records, 1790-1840,” “State-By-State Census Chart,” “Census Forms,” “How to Find a Missing Person on Census records,” and page after page of census information.

The list of boards can go on forever. The number of “pins” you can add to these boards is enormous. It’s great that there is a website with so much information and you are in control of what and how you save it. The ultimate information and organization tool in one stop.

FamilySearch Wiki

Genealogical research can be daunting at best. Are there any resources out there that will make it easier? The answer is yes! FamilySearch Wiki (familysearch.org/wiki/en) is a jewel in the genealogical community as an aid to researchers seasoned and novice alike.

Oh no! You discovered your great-grandfather is from New York state. You know nothing about New York research. Never fear! FamilySearch Wiki will guide and tutor you through your research.

For example, you will find on the New York state wiki research page step-by-step research strategies, interactive maps that link to the county level and the information available there. It has information on where to locate vital records concerning the area you are researching and what state census records are available.

FamilySearch Wiki has 87,802 articles to aid you in your research. The Wiki suggests that when you research their website that you use keywords and not phrases. “New York” is a good example. The Wiki also suggests that you start with broad localities and then click to smaller ones. You would start by searching with the keyword “New York” and go to the New York article and then click on the county or record level.

The Wiki has a great article found on their homepage for those new to research. It takes you through the steps you need to know so that you can do your family history research. It takes you through the research cycle explaining each step of the way. The Wiki also has the blank forms you need to record your information on. There are ideas on how to organize your records. It shows you how to view and search records. The article also teaches you how narrow your research down so that it is not so overwhelming. It has everything a novice needs to know.

This website is ever changing as more information is added. Contributors are great at explaining the idiosyncrasies of researching the locations of their expertise such as record losses, boundary changes, or even information about records found in unusual places. There are letter writing guides to help you if you need to write to repositories in a foreign language. Handwriting guides also help if you are looking at old handwriting or foreign alphabets.

The information available on FamilySearch wiki is vast. Take a look and see if there is information that will aid you in your search for your ancestors.

A Local Treasure

Washington County is rich in pioneer history. The pioneers who settled here are a unique group called to the Cotton Mission. Fortunately, Washington County is also rich in the preservation of their history. There is a local treasure that many overlook, the Pioneer Museum, owned and run by the Daughters of Utah Pioneers.

This museum was built in 1938 through the generous donation of Hortense McQuarrie Odlum. It became apparent that the treasures left behind by the Pioneers were being thrown away and discarded because descendants did not know what to do with them. The museum was built to save these treasures and preserve the history of the area. The museum houses artifacts and pictures of the pioneers who settled here.

Each artifact in the museum has a story behind it, and there are hundreds of pieces on display. There are laminated cards that you can take with you as you tour the museum to learn the history behind the highlighted artifact. Some of the relics include handmade linens with delicate embroidery, clothing made from silk that was grown from silkworms and spun into silk thread or made from the cotton grown here and beautiful china from all over the world brought by the pioneers. A personal favorite is a mustache cup used by men who had mustaches to keep them clean. Artifacts are from the pioneers’ everyday lives. Irons, ice cream makers, butter churns, shoes, clothes, dentists drill, and even pictures made from hair the pioneers collected from their loved ones are just some of the don’t miss relics.

The pictures of the local settlers adorn the walls. You may even find pictures of your own family. Histories are also available to read after which you can locate the picture of the person you just read about on the wall. These activities help make the pioneers more personal to you. There is also scavenger hunts available especially for children (or adults) to locate certain artifacts listed.

The Pioneer Museum is a wonderful place to take your children and grandchildren to appreciate the rich history of this area. The museum is free to the public, but donations are appreciated. The museum, located at 145 North 100 East in St. George, is open every day, except Wednesday and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The museum has a great website dupstgeorge.org with more information.

Land Ownership (Plat) Maps

Beyond knowing the place where your ancestor lived, a good working knowledge of each location can be important when it comes to knowing what records are available and where you can find them. Of the several types of maps, land ownership (plat) maps are a favorite among genealogists.

What sets land ownership (plat) maps apart from most other maps is that they list property owners’ names. Neighbors were often relatives or became relatives through marriage. It’s a terrific way to locate families living in the same location.





I found a land ownership map for Bristol/ Bridgewater, New Hampshire. I was able to locate my Great Grandfather’s family farm. This Great Grandfather moved out west and then went back to New Hampshire to visit his family. He left a detailed journal of his travels and who he visited. Through the land ownership map, found at davidrumsey.com, I was able to track exactly where he went and locate the relatives that lived in that area.

Another land ownership map I found at davidrumsey.com showed an area that had just been settled by the pilgrims. Through the names listed on the map, I was able to locate six direct line ancestors living in that area. This information helped in locating records of births, marriages, and deaths of these direct line ancestors and their children.




Probate records of my 3rd great-grandfather listed his address in Newburyport, Massachusetts. When I Googled “plat maps Newburyport Massachusetts,” I found several maps located in google images. One particular plat map was from 1851. A few years after the death of this grandfather but worth searching. On this map, I found his wife was still living at the address listed in the probate records. I then turned to Google Earth and looked at the address. I was able to determine that the house listed at that address is the same house that my 3rd great-grandfather lived in. The house is still standing and converted into a restaurant.




Land ownership or plat maps are a great resource for genealogical research. Ancestry, FamilySearch, davidrumsey.com, Library of Congress, are a few of the many internet sites that have land ownership (plat) maps. Using Google to find the plat maps for your location is a fantastic way to search through the many sites and find what is available.

Musings from RootsTech 2018

RootsTech has just ended. The hot topic? DNA. RootsTech lasted four days with three of those days sponsored by DNA testing companies.

David Nicholson and Hannah Morden, the cofounders of Living DNA, based out of England, stated that the goal of their company is the put together a “Genetic Family Tree.” They highlighted a lady abandoned at youth and did not know who her parents were. This lady had some letters that she believed belonged to her birth father. Living DNA took the DNA found on the stamps on the envelopes of those letters, and through DNA matching was able to find her birth father.

Aaron Godfrey a spokesman for MyHeritage, based out of Israel, mentioned that there is a shift in the genealogical community to genetic genealogy. Godfrey highlighted his address by announcing a Pro bono initiative, DNAQuest.org, to help adoptees find their families. MyHeritage will be giving away 15,000 DNA test kits to those who qualify, and they also have a professional advisory board that specializes in helping adoptees find their families.

Ken Chahine stated that through Ancestry’s DNA testing, you can determine the migration patterns and the place where your ancestors originated. Those with slave ancestors find this helpful as it pinpoints the place in Africa their ancestors originated. There are seven million people with their DNA in Ancestry’s database, and they have 140 million common ancestors, and these ancestors have been broken down to being from 350 global regions. Chahine predicted that soon they would be able to determine which port your ancestor immigrated to and give you a sketch of your ancestor’s appearance.

The concluding keynote speaker at RootsTech 2018 was Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr. Dr. Gates has a TV series, Finding Your Roots. He uses traditional genealogical research methods with genetics to help people find their ancestors. Dr. Gates stated that from his experience with using family history and genetics that he has found a way to bring people together and help people see their commonalities, rejoice in their difference and become united. Dr. Gates feels this is what our country needs to heal itself from the great division that is occurring. Dr. Gates feels so strong about this that he has created a curriculum for middle schoolers that will combine genealogy with DNA to help students find out who they are and what they have in common.