Christmas Ideas

With Christmas just around the corner, it is time to think of some fun genealogy gifts that are treasured for years to come. Even though fifteen weeks may seem like plenty of time to prepare for Christmas, some presents take time to create. The two ideas in today's article will take some time to make but are well worth the enjoyment that they bring.

A great gift is to create a book about your ancestors that your children and grandchildren will want to read. Ancestors at a Glance is a book where you create just one page for the ancestor you wish to highlight. The book I made included all my pioneer ancestors. I added only one favorite story to highlight and kept the story on one page. I also included a photo and birth and death statistics on each ancestor. I put the husband on one side of the page and the wife on the back side and the second page would have a family group record for the family. By doing it this way, it kept the book simple, and your children and grandchildren are more likely to read one page rather than a large book. It may also create an interest in their ancestors where they are more likely to pick up a larger book and read about them.

If you lack stories, a good place to look is FamilySearch. Many are putting their ancestors’ stories, and photos on FamilySearch and these are just perfect for a book like Ancestors at a Glance. Google is another good resource to use to find stories and photos to use.

A twist to a book like this is to group your ancestors’ stories into a book of virtues. “Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Faith. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong.” This is a description of William J. Bennett’s Book of Virtues from Amazon.com and a great example on how you can put together your own virtues book. You can add other virtues such as prayerful. A book like this makes an excellent resource for children to use for talks in Primary, church, and on other occasions. We can learn compassion from Grandpa’s story on how he used compassion to help in a difficult situation.

Books like these make the best Christmas presents!

Changes in FamilySearch’s Family Tree Person Page

If you look at FamilySearch’s Family Tree, you will notice a new look. FamilySearch has given their Person Page a big update. At first glance, it seems the same, but as you study the page, you will notice a lot of changes. FamilySearch states that these changes “will make learning about your ancestors easier than ever before.”

The menu tab across the top of the page now includes buttons that take you to Details, Time Line, Sources, Collaborate, Memories, and Ordinances. These tabs include the number of documents in Sources, Collaborate, and Memories.

The Time Line section is new and is a great tool that gives you a glimpse of your ancestor’s life in context. This timeline helps you to identify missing events. It even adds the record hints that may lead you to sources to help fill in the missing events. There is a map function inside the timeline section too, and this shows where events and the record hints included in the timeline took place.

The Collaborate tab now contains the previous notes and discussions. This is great that they kept these. There can be valuable research information included in these notes and discussions.

There are edit buttons visible next to the information on your ancestor. This makes it easier to edit the information. It also lists the number of sources used to verify the vital information. If there are no sources on the date of birth, this is a good heads-up on where you need to research next. The Data Problems alert not only lets you know if your data is not formatted correctly but will alert you to possible duplicates and includes a number to show you the number of issues with this alert.

Another nice feature is the number included with the Record Hints tab. If you have ever tried to add record hints and the hints seem to go on forever, you can now see the actual number of hints you need to check out.

These changes are a great asset to FamilySearch. They help you to see where research is lacking and what information has no sources. Now at first glance, we can see what information is reliable and what is not. By adding a timeline and map section, we can see our gaps in information on our ancestors in a more visual way.

Spanish Flu

In the autumn of 1918, the deadliest pandemic in human history occurred. The Spanish Flu rocked the world just as World War I ended. This flu infected almost a half a billion people and killed 50-100 million people, more than who died in the war. It hit the young healthy people the hardest. The infected would get horrible nosebleeds, and their skin would turn blue because of lack of oxygen from their fluid-filled lungs. Hospitals were overwhelmed, and coffins were in shortage. This fall we recognize the 100-year anniversary of this deadly flu.

The flu took most of its victims in the prime of their lives. They were not married with a posterity to remember them. I searched to see if any of my ancestors had died in the fall of 1918 and found three people. One was a young woman, age 21, from New Hampshire. She suffered from the flu for ten days before she died. What a tragedy.

Vera Jones Vaughan from Malad, Idaho survived the Spanish Flu, and we are lucky that she recorded her experience for her posterity. Vera was visiting relatives in Pocatello, Idaho when the flu struck that town. From their windows, they would watch the ambulances with sirens going to the flu victims and the hearses taking away the dead.

One day. Vera’s cousin asked her how she felt because she didn’t look well. Vera said she felt fine and went to hang out the laundry when suddenly, her legs gave out on her. She had to crawl to the back door dragging the laundry basket. At least a dozen people watched her crawl to her house from their windows. Vera was put in a tub and given a glass of castor oil mixed with lemon juice sprinkled with pepper. Her fingers went black and stiff, and eventually, her face went black. The man who delivered her groceries got the flu one day and died the next. Eight people in her neighborhood died. Vera was one of the lucky ones to survive, and she remembers being weak for a long time.

What do we know about our ancestors who either perished or survived the Spanish Flu? This autumn is a great time to remember them. We can tell their story and share with our children and grandchildren. These stories would be great to add to FamilySearch. Let us not forget those that are often overlooked.

Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook

The Unofficial Ancestry.com Workbook by Nancy Hendrickson is “A How-to Manual for Tracing Your Family Tree on the #1 Genealogy Website.” Amazon.com sells this book along with other genealogy book retailers. Each chapter in this book focuses on a specific record type in Ancestry and teaches you how to get the most out of your record searches. This book takes you step-by-step through each record set and shows you how to search and includes images of the search results. By learning how to use Ancestry’s massive record collection, you can save time on your searches and feel confident that you have not missed information that may be valuable to your research.

Each chapter starts out with an overview of the collection so that you get a good idea of what is in each group. For instance, the section on census records gives the reader a good impression on what census records are available and how to use them in their research. The chapter also includes exercises to help you get hands-on experience in searching census records. The first exercise has you find a Herschel B. Hendrickson in the 1940 census. It goes through three steps to locate him and includes pictures of the search results. It even includes an exercise in using a mortality schedule, so you feel comfortable using those. At the end of each chapter are blank forms to help you record your findings.

The author starts off with a lesson on how to use the Search form and the card catalog. There are times you will want to use each of these search formats. The author feels that this first chapter is one that you will not want to skip over because this is essential knowledge to know when researching each collection. There is even a chapter on how to use your AncestryDNA test results so that you can include your results in your research.

Whether you would like to understand how to use maps, military records, and even immigration records, this book will help you maximize your search queries to save you time and help you feel confident that you have done an exhaustive search in each record set. The book is set up with exercises with step by step instructions. There are forms in each chapter to help you record your results. An excellent book for those wishing to improve their searches on Ancestry.com.

School Records

The summer is almost over, and it’s time for school to start again.  It is surprising the amount of information schools keep on their students, staff, and teachers.  Many do not realize that the information from school records can be a treasure trove for genealogists. 

Findmypast.com has a great blog article “How School Records Can Help You With Your Genealogy Research.”  This article gives visuals on what the actual records look like and provides a list of information you can find in these records. This list includes:

1.     Child’s age and date of birth. Information such as this can help you find birth records.  You need to keep in mind that this information may not be accurate as some parents fibbed about the age of their child to get them in school sooner or there were errors in the recording of this information.  It is always best to find other sources to verify this information.

2.     Parent’s names.  The records give the name of the parents of the child.  It may not provide the mother’s name or maiden name, but it will give the father’s name.  It will also contain the name of the guardians if they do not live with their parents.

3.     Parent’s occupation. Finding information about how the parents earned a living can help in identifying that you have the right child.

4.     Address of your ancestor and if they moved.  The address of your ancestor can point you to census records, land records, and even newspaper articles.  Be sure and check the “Remarks” column as it may indicate that the child moved, left school, and when.

5.     Death information. Again, check out the “Remarks” column as it may indicate that the child has died.  Listing the death of a child gives a year to look for death information.

6.     Glimpse into your ancestor’s school life.  School logs can provide information about your ancestor especially if they “misbehaved.”  These logs also give you an idea of what day to day school life was for them.

Findmypast has over ten million school records.  Ancestry and FamilySearch have school records too.  State archives and libraries, historical societies, google books, newspapers, and even the school itself are great places to search for school records.

In searching for your ancestors, don’t forget to include school records.  It is in these unexpected places that you may find the information you need!

Family Roots Conference

Need a fun get-away where you can learn, laugh, and meet new people? We are fortunate to have the perfect escape coming to St. George. A family history conference, sponsored by Family Roots, is happening September 28-29, 2018 at the Dixie Convention Center. The Family Roots website (familyrootsconference.com) states that it will be “two days of exploration, education and fun experiences that will connect your family for generations.” Sounds like lots of fun!

Each day starts off at 9:00 am with a keynote speaker. Friday’s keynote speaker will be Lisa Louise Cooke, CEO of Genealogy Gems. Her topic will be “Finding the ‘we’ in your family tree.” Saturday will have two keynote speakers! Todd Hansen from The Story Trek will be the first keynote at 9:00 am and Jason Hewlett, a motivational speaker popular at Rootstech, will follow at 10:00 am kicking off the special Saturday youth event for youth 12-18 years old.

There will be 40 classes each day with something for the novice to the experienced genealogist. The classes range from international research to organizing your photos. There is even a class on how to create a musical biography. Wow! That should be interesting. There is something for everyone at this conference.

If you have attended one of the conferences previously, you will notice something different. The exhibits are now in the halls and Garden Room that is right outside the Ballroom. This change will make it easier to access the exhibits as you go from class to class. There are some fun exhibits for the youth including panning for gold, Pioneer weaving, and candle making.

Saturday not only includes the regular classes but also has a free youth event that includes great speakers and “fun, interactive classes.” Also, on Saturday, attendees will enjoy a Pow Wow presented by the Native American Tribes.

The cost is reasonable. An adult 2-day pass is $49, and the 1-day pass is $29. The youth event is free for all youth. For those wanting to attend the Saturday night Jason Hewlett concert and would like preferred class seating (never miss a class you want to attend) there is a Platinum ticket for $69.

The best news of all is that Family Roots is giving the readers of the Senior Sampler a 15% discount off the ticket price! To get this discount use the discount code VIP15. Thank you so much Family Roots.

Occupations

Have you ever wondered if you descend from farmers, seaman, tailors, or even shoemakers? Studying the lives of your ancestors and how they earned their living can be exciting and rewarding. When I found out that my 4th Great Grandfather served in the British Navy under Admiral Nelson that was all I could talk about to my children or anyone who would listen. This grandfather left a history of the ships he served on and the famous battles such as Battle of the Nile that he fought in. I immediately started studying books on Admiral Nelson and that era of history. I even found a children’s book full of drawings on what life was like serving in the British Navy during the Napoleonic wars. Livelihoods provide a great insight into how your ancestors lived, but they also are essential to your genealogical research.

Knowing your ancestor’s occupation can help you differentiate between two John Smiths that are the same age, living in the same location, and both have a wife named Mary. If one John Smith is a farmer and the other is a blacksmith, it will be easier to keep them separate. Many sons followed the occupation of their fathers so knowing the father’s occupation can help you sort children to the right parents.

Occupations also give us clues to what other records may exist for your ancestor. Farmers would have land records if they owned their land. Those who worked for the railroad could possibly have a pension that could give clues about their family. FamilySearch Wiki has a listing for occupations and will give you a list of records available for the different professions. A Google search for occupations will bring you sites for occupations from different countries and time periods.

FamilySearch also has a great blog about “How to Discover Your Ancestor’s Occupation.” In this blog is a list of records that specify occupations. Some examples the blog gives are:

· Census records

· European parish records

· Obituaries

· City directories

· World War I and II draft registration cards and pension records

· Passenger lists

· Death and probate records

Whether you had an ancestor who ran a flour mill and practiced dentistry on the side (without a license) or was a farmer, understanding your ancestor’s occupation can help bring them to life and can also point you to other records that may help you extend your line further back.