Our Future Rooted in Our Past

Gratitude, Family, Thanksgiving, and Health Histories

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 03:09:00 +0000

In the United States, the fourth Thursday of November is celebrated as Thanksgiving, gathering loved ones, family, and friends to share a meal reflecting upon the past year's events and the challenges and blessings received. Expressing gratitude has become a topic of scholarly study, and they have found that gratitude can improve physical and psychological health, decrease aggression, and enhance empathy, increase mental strength. One may wonder where the tradition began. Most children learn it started with the pilgrims; however, it didn't become a National Holiday until 1863, when President Lincoln made a proclamation commending the citizens of the war-torn nation for asking God to care for all those who were widows, orphans and heal the nation's wounds from the civil war. Thanksgiving was celebrated on the final Thursday in November until 1939, when President Franklin D Roosevelt moved the holiday up a week to assist with sales during the Great depression. The movement of the date by President Roosevelt met significant opposition, and two years later, in 1941, a bill was signed making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving is a time for family gatherings and an excellent opportunity to gather family stories, pictures, traditions, and other information. You may want to interview the older people asking about stories from their lives and the lives of their parents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in your gathering.

You may want to consider creating a medical family history. Your first thought may be, why? Why would I need to create a Medical Family tree? How does this help my ancestor? The simple answer is it really doesn't help your ancestors, but it can help you, your children, grandchildren, and descendants. FamilySearch has a helpful article regarding Family Health History you can access here.

I created a Medical Family Tree you can use for ideas of questions you may want to record. If you are interested in receiving a downloadable file, please feel free to reach out to me through the Contact me page, and I will send it to you directly.

November 11, 2022 - A Day to Reflect on Those Who Served Their Country

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Fri, 11 Nov 2022 18:00:00 +0000

November 11, 2022 - A Day to Reflect on Those Who Served in War and those in our own families who have served to allow us the freedoms we now enjoy! We are grateful for those who have served and continue to serve.

While searching on CWGC, I discovered one of my ancestors by the name of John Trotter Clelland was a private in the East Yorkshire Regiment and died at the age of 40 on the 9th of April 1917, leaving behind his wife Alice Leeson and their little girl Kathleen Clelland. He has been remembered with honor at the Arras Memorial.

If you search the Commonwealth War Graves Commission records and find one of your ancestors, please tell us about them in the comment section of this post. The world owes much to those in the armed services and their families worldwide for their service and sacrifice; they need to be remembered. The philosopher George Santayana (The Life of Reason, 1905) stated: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Thank you!

Findmypast Record Collection

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Thu, 10 Nov 2022 23:49:00 +0000

Findmypast Entire Record Collection is open for free from November 10th - November 14th for researching one's heritage. This is a beautiful opportunity for researching your family and to see what they have to offer and determine if you want to have a subscription. Also, you this opportunity may help you with a brickwall. Check it out at Findmypast

Remember it only lasts from November 10th through November 14th.

Honoring the Navajo Code Talker

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 07 Nov 2022 21:46:00 +0000

I saw this video of Peter MacDonald, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. The following video is an interview of him reminiscing about his time in the service, which begins around the 9-minute mark. We are indebted to them for their service in helping with World War II. Thank you.

If you have grandparents or parents who have served in the military, you may want to ask them about their life and experiences and possibly record it for yourself and your posterity.

The Joiner Marriage Index

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Fri, 04 Nov 2022 17:00:00 +0000

I attended a Zoom genealogy class where the presenter introduced us to a website where one can research the Joiner marriage index, which focuses on records before 1837. The current online searchable marriage records are 3,154,329 from 5,581 parishes in 38 counties in England and Wales.

The search cost begins at Ł2.29 for a single marriage record up to a max of Ł52.19 for 500 marriage records. The site notes the information provided is an index of the marriage records from parish registers and no marriage certificates.

If you are new to genealogy, you may wonder why you want to use an index when you cannot access the marriage certificate. Indexes may provide you directions on where to obtain the marriage certificates.

If you have hit a brick wall in your research, you may want to check out this site to possibly have a breakthrough. You may access the site by clicking The Joiner Marriage Index.

DNA and Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Thu, 03 Nov 2022 01:00:00 +0000

You may think to ask what the Holidays have to do with DNA. As we inch closer to the Holiday season and sales, it's the time of year when most home DNA companies have sales or will have their Black Friday sales on the companies' DNA kits. These kits can be given as a gift for the holiday if you think the recipient would be interested in this type of gift. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid are the genetic building blocks determining what you look like, how your body works, etc. You could consider companies like 23andMe, Ancestry, Family Tree DNA, My Heritage, and Nebula Genomics.

The DNA testing currently available includes Maternal Ancestry, Autosomal, Paternal Ancestry, Health Traits, or a combination of these. Maternal DNA or mtDNA tests are for both biological males and females. It can be used to determine your direct matrilineal ancestors and can provide your maternal haplogroup. Paternal Ancestry or Y-DNA is explicitly tested for biological males to have the Y-DNA tested, which can help verify your direct paternal ancestry. 

The companies and types of DNA testing they provide are below:
23andMe can give both women and men the mtDNA, in addition to the ancestry and traits or Health and Ancestry. 23andMe also has a Premium option which includes premium reports and features throughout the year. The Ancestry + Traits service is $99.00, the Health + Ancestry service is on sale for $129.00, and the 23andMe+ Membership is $129.00 plus $14.99 to provide the one-year prepaid membership. If you are interested in learning more about these tests, click here.
Ancestry uses only the autosomal DNA test contains DNA from both the maternal and paternal lines. However, a maternal or paternal haplogroup is not provided in the reporting you receive once the specimen testing has been completed. The offerings from Ancestry are on sale and include the following: Ancestry DNA at $59.00 (Basic testing); AncestryDNA+, which includes Ancestry DNA and a 3-month Ancestry World Explorer subscription at $60.00, and Ancestry DNA Traits + All Access Membership includes the Ancestry DNA Traits, and a 3-month Ancestry all access including Newspapers.com and Fold3 military records for$149.00. If you are interested in this test, click here.
MyHeritage DNA and Health Test uses an autosomal DNA $89.00 test is on sale at $49. If you are interested in this test, click here.
I recently discovered another DNA testing company Nebula Genomics. The founder of Nebula Genomics is George Church, a Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Health Sciences and Technology professor at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).  The exciting way this company approaches DNA is they claim they do "Whole Genome Sequencing" in comparison to any of the other three companies listed above. If you are interested in checking out this site, they have a fall sale going on at this time. They have 3 types of testing with the costs varying from the Basic Whole Genome Sequencing report at $99.00, Deep Whole Genome Sequencing at $249.00, and Ultra Deep Whole Genome Sequencing at $899.00. If you are interested in learning more about this company's tests, click here

I always suggest you thoroughly review the privacy terms for each company you are considering sending your DNA sample to before purchasing. 

Pioneer Heritage Research

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Fri, 21 Oct 2022 22:42:00 +0000

I have been researching for one of my 4-great grandparents who immigrated in 1854 to Utah and came across this website and thought I would share in hopes it might help someone in their research. The Utah Education Network, in partnership with the Utah State Board of Education, has a unique website focusing on Pioneers coming to Utah in the 1800s and some Modern Pioneers.

The website is titled Heritage Gateways and has searchable stories and journal entries regarding specific pioneers from 1847 to 1868. Daily journals are also readable for a few people. If you have Pioneer Heritage, you might want to check out this site. Everything on it is free to read and has excellent insight into what it was like to be a Pioneer. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything on my ancestor on this site, so my quest continues. If you want to see if you have any of your Pioneer Ancestors or wish to learn more about the Pioneer experiences, click Heritage Gateways.

Genealogy - One Reason Why

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sun, 23 Jan 2022 01:03:00 +0000

What could possibly be the draw of researching in old dusty books for names, dates, and places? Yawn! Boring! Right? I thought this when I was in high school and even in college, learning the history of the United States or the state where I was raised and went to college. I thought memorizing random dates, names, places was pointless. Who is going to remember these names, dates, locations anyways?

As you can see from the previous paragraph, I was young and very short-sighted. I started loving history when researching my family tree and learning about them. Many may say Genealogy is about names, dates, and places; this is true. However, for me, Genealogy is more than the basic facts of name, date, and location. Since beginning the journey of learning about my ancestors, I found that understanding what was going on in their lives (history) helps to put flesh on those bones. I have begun to understand them better. For example, I discovered one of my great, great, great grandmothers in the 1881 Census of the United Kingdom was 81 years old, a widow, and was living in a workhouse. I thought, what is a workhouse? I had no idea, so being inquisitive, I went to google and typed in workhouses. I started learning more about them, their purpose, etc...history. During the last year of her life, she was in a workhouse because she was poor, needed assistance, and passed away when she was eighty-one years old. I had deep compassion for this grandmother, living alone without the comforts of her children and grandchildren in the later part of life.

I have learned to love history as I search census records, birth, marriage, death records as I continue my research. Researching census records can give you a glimpse into their occupation (some of which through research do not exist anymore), whether they owned or rented the residence, and where they lived, among other things. As I continue the genealogical research of my family tree, I love to learn more about their lives and have begun understanding history in a way that is more applicable to my life. Whether this is a function of being older and hopefully wiser is unclear. It may be a combination of both things. Their lives are similar to ours. The more we learn about the history of our ancestors' lives, the better we can understand ourselves and learn from the past.

If you would like to read more about workhouses, click here and it will take you to my review of workhouses.

Come Join the Experiment

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sat, 06 Mar 2021 23:11:00 +0000

The Connections Experiment is a fun way to dip your toe into genealogy or family history. They have come up with a 21-day Experiment where you can choose which experiments in which you would like to participate. This month's Connections Experiment is a Genealogy BootCamp. If you ever wondered how to begin the family search quest, this would be a great opportunity for you. The BootCamp is free and you complete one task each of the 21 days. This is a wonderful step-by-step guideline on how to start, research, family stories. If you would like participate in the challenge, click this link Connections Experiment.

Record Your Family Memories

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Thu, 24 Sep 2020 20:22:00 +0000

We are blessed in this modern age of technology where we can easily record and save our ancestor's oral histories, which will be preserved for your children, children's children, and down through the age.

The Native Americans frequently taught each other their history by telling stories of their past. These stories are valuable in helping the children know who they are from and, as a benefit, allow them to know who they are.

Now is the time for you to record your parent's and grandparents' stories. You will enjoy hearing them tell them in their own words once they have left this life. My family has recordings of my parents talking about memories from their life. They have all passed from this life, and it brings me joy to hear their voices.

Consider talking with the oldest family members and recording them talking about their lives. We are also blessed with the cell phones that cannot only record audio, can also record video. The videos will be a treasure trove for your children, grandchildren, and throughout generations.

Additionally, if you upload the videos or audio recordings using the FamilySearch Memories Mobil App, which can be found in app stores, and they will be preserved for your children, grandchildren, and on down through the generations. The Memories app can be downloaded from the Google App Store using your computer or phone or Apple App Store using your iPhone or iPad.

Trail of Tears Research

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Thu, 03 Sep 2020 19:33:00 +0000

Recently I attended a Family Search where the discussion was regarding female ancestors and how/where to research. In the comment section of the live broadcast was information about the Trail of Tears as someone had inquired how to find information about those people who were part of the 1830 Indian Removal Act. I was interested in learning more because this inquiry and decided to research further online to see what could be found about this atrocity where the Cherokee Nation was forcibly removed from their homelands to Oklahoma and thousands of them perished along the way.

One of the links provided during the Family Search Live Event chat section was Family Search - Trail of Tears. I began here learning a great deal from my reading in Family Search and also checking out the Cherokee Nation link in Family Search.

Further online research discovered information was limited regarding the names of the people driven from their homes in 1830 to Oklahoma. Although I do not personally have any known relation to the Native American Nations, I feel what was done to them in the establishment of the Unite States.

Although I was unable to find any searchable lists of those were on the Trail of Tears, I discovered a website dedicated to Preserving the Cherokee heritage which provided links for Cherokee roles.

The Sequoyah Research Center American Native Press Archives website provide some Family Stories passed down to the descendants of those who traveled the Trail of Tears. If you would like to read the stories, click here.

If you are unfamiliar with the Trail of Tears, this video explains it well. Trail of Tears Movie

What Will You Remember about 2020?

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sat, 29 Aug 2020 23:45:00 +0000

What Will You Remember about 2020? What Did You Learn about COVID-19 and Yourself? I have previously addressed the value and importance of keeping a journal in multiple posts here.

We are currently living during an unprecedented time in the world with the COVID-19 pandemic which effects everyone differently. How has this year with the pandemic changed your life or the life of your family or loved ones? Have you been overwhelmed by all of the information and misinformation? Additionally we are in the midst of an election year which seems to be adding fuel to the fire.

I remember when I first heard about the pandemic I thought it is just like another cold or flu bug, but then life started changing so quickly with new information coming out once or twice a day. I decided to start writing about my experiences during this year in my journal as I knew this was something I would want to remember, share with my family and perhaps help someone in the process. Being in the medical field myself, I have watched how science has evolved regarding the pandemic as more information was learned. Whether or not you believe this is a hoax or whether or not this is really a problem, writing down you thoughts and experiences helps you personally to solidify your feelings and may help one of your descendants down the line in the process.

Writing about your experiences while in lock down or isolation can provide you an outlet and also provide insights to future generations of the reality of this time in the worlds history. Each country will or has been experiencing the pandemic based upon their unique locations, the government recommendations and/or restrictions, the impact of the pandemic on the economy, etc. You may want to consider how your felt when you first heard and felt about the pandemic; how the pandemic has affected your life and the life of your family economically, socially; how did your work life change: did you start a new hobby; and what things have changed in your life since it's beginning.

Using your journal to keep records of your genealogical research by creating a page for each person you are researching, where you have searched, what you have found, what you have proved correct or eliminated.

Benefits of journal writing:

Journaling/writing can help provide prospective and encouragement by noting how the challenges were overcome or dealt with even if the outcome was not what you wished.
Journaling can help you know you can do hard things and be successful despite the hard things.
As you journal you may reflect on what you have learned about yourself, how you have changed and/or how your world has changed
Possibly discover blessings you have been blessed with during this challenging time.
It can help you sort out your priorities and organize your life
Inspire creativity
Help to relieve stress and anxiety
Goal setting

Journals come in various types and sizes including: a study journal, art journal, weight loss journal, scripture study journal, work journal, photo journal, bullet journals, and/or a life experience journal. Journals can be on single or multiple sheets of paper, a bound journal like the example in the picture above, a spiral bound journal, or you can journal with your computer in a Word Doc or something similar, or using an app for journaling. Journaling is for all ages; children can create their journal with their artwork; teenagers and young adults can journal about their experiences with friends, family, teachers.

If you am not sure where to start or need inspiration, all you need to do is to google journal prompts and you will find numerous websites providing you ideas.

The great thing about journaling is there are so many ways to journal and there is no right or wrong way to write. No one will grade you on it; it is just your thoughts and ideas. One word of caution, if you decide to have an electronic journal, remember to always, always, always to back up your writing in case you have hard drive failure. Happy writing!

COVID 19 Pandemic and Genealogy

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sat, 02 May 2020 04:06:00 +0000

It has been a long time since I have posted anything as I started a new job back in 2017 and have been busy learning my new position. You may wonder about the title of this post and it's relationship to COVID 19 and why I am now posting. Let me explain. With everyone staying isolated/quarantined in their homes due to the COVID 19 pandemic, there is a number hours to fill especially if like me, you have been furloughed or laid off from work.

I have done several tasks/chores I wanted to complete within my home that I have put off from doing because of work. Well, I have accomplished many of these things and have been feeling a yearn to do something else. Now what?

A fun option for me and possibly for you would be the 21-day Connection Experiment/Challenge. The challenge was initiated by two women by the name of Olivia and Sydney. They have created various 21-day Challenge calendars based up on what you would like to focus on. The calendars include: Family Plan, Teenage Plan, About me Plan, "My Tree is All Done" Plan, and Build Your Own Plan. The calendars are being shared at no cost to anyone.

Each day provides you ideas on how to focus on your family, yourself or others by completing a simple and not so simple task. I have chosen to Build My Own Plan.

Today, I started by texting my siblings and asking them to participate with me by responding to a question once a week about something simple. My first question to them was: What qualities in your friend do you admire most? My answer was short and sweet: I admire in my friends kindness, thoughtfulness, honesty and integrity.

You could do this challenge through email, texting, Marco Polo, FaceTime, What'sApp. etc. You just make the challenges your own if you are doing the Build My Own Plan.

They have developed a questionaire with questions about how you are feeling when you first start the experiment. Then after 21 days, you complete the questionnaire again to see if there has been a change. The thought behind this experiment is to see how working on genealogy can change your life. The questionnaires are not mandatory to complete the challenge, but it would be fun to see the results. If you would like to join in, click here to get your calendar and to learn more.

Danish Family Search

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sun, 15 Jan 2017 19:45:00 +0000

I don't know about you, but researching for your Danish ancestors can be challenging and finding records and being able to understand what you are seeing can be a daunting task. I have found a website called Danish Family Search, not to be confused with the FamilySearch. From what I have read and looked at online, Danish Family Search is not connected to FamilySearch. The Danish Family Search began as a result of Marianne and Dan Nicolaysen's search for their own family names. The couple has a background in IT and developed the site to make it easier to search for family names. They also have registered users who assist with transcription. The site is wonderful and would be worth taking a look at if you are looking for your Danish Ancestors. The site contains Church records, Census records, Military Levying records, and School protocols. You can use the site in Danish or English. The site has a search tool and also allows you to click on the region your ancestors are from on the map of Denmark on the home page. I found it simple to use and fun. I searched for records of one my ancestors Carl Alexander Albert Christiansen and found him in the 1880 with his family. In the census, I found his name to be Carl Albert Alexander Christiansen. The order of the two middle names has been an unknown for some time and finding a records a little closer to his birth date might give one an idea of the proper order. Either way, it was fun to find the family. If you would like to search the Danish FamilySearch, click this link.

Field of Stones

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sun, 24 Jul 2016 23:00:00 +0000

Have you ever hit a brickwall in your family research in trying to find inforamtion regarding a family member's death. You have searched everywhere you can think of to try and find the inforation, but have come up empty handed. I would suggest looking in some of the cemeteries of the area you know your ancestors have lived to see if they might be buried there. This can be helpful, but at times, there are cemeteries that are located on homesteads and/or private propterty, making it difficult to research. Have you ever wondered about the inaccessible cemeteries located all over the world? Cemeteries which are located on private property, or long lost cemeteries? In my search for new resources for everyone, I came across a website Field of Stones - Homestead and Inaccessible Cemeteries located in Ontario Canada. The site is hosted on roots web, which has always been a favorite place for me while researching my family lines.

The Field of Stone site provides links to various cemeteries in a variety of locations in Ontario Canada and the side administrators encourage you to return frequently as they update the site with new images routinely. The site provides you images of various grave markers located on Homestead and Inaccessible cemeteries. Some of the stones are easily readable as the one noted to the left. Others are more difficult to read, but the people who have posted them to the site provide you information about the stone including the names and dates like the stone to the right. Yet other stones have become damaged through the years are and cracked or broken. If you have Canadian roots, or would like to view some of the grave markers, click Field of Stones - Homestead and Inaccessible Cemeteries.

What Clues Can Your Surname Provide?

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 16:00:00 +0000

What is a name? Way back when, people were given a first name and the last name was typically noted as the son or daugther of the father. For example, John nee Harris, Mary nee Harris, Bertha Marie Pedersdautter or Neils Pederson. All these names have a word that indicate they are the son/daughter of Harris or Peder. The customs of surnames is variable depending upon your heritage; for example, the hispanic culture has in the past included the father and mother's surname in the child's last name.

As the population of the various countreis began to emigrate to new countries world wide, the immigrants would frequently change their surname to mask their origins, or their name could have changed due to the lack of the ability of the person taking down the information to understand the person providing the name, or due to the inability to spell.

We have all been given surnames (last names). Have you ever thought about what/where your last name came from? Surnames could reflect a person's occupation, locality, or origin. You probably are asking, so what is the big deal? We all have last names. How is understanding my surname (last name) going to be of any assistance in researching my family history? The answer is knowing and understanding your surname (last name) can give you clues into where your family may have lived and their occupations. Additionally, you can possibly discover new relatives.

One mistake almost every new genealogist makes, is to assume that the way your last name is presently spelled is the only correct spelling. So for example, if your last name was Harris, the spelling of Haris, Harries, Harris, or any other name, could not be related to you. It is possible the person with the different spelling is not related, but don't write them off to quickly, as they could be related to you and they just spelled their last name differently. Family Search has a brief and to the point article about the spelling of surnames here.

I came across a website titled Forebears. This site provide a search engine for names where you can type in the surname, see a meaning behind the name, origin and distribution map for the name, and possible alternate spellings of the name. If you would like to research the meaning of a surname, click Forebears Surname. Have fun!

Gratitude for Those who Serve

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 15:00:00 +0000

This time of year brings to rememberance all of those brave selfless men and women who served in miliatry throughout time. My grandfather (pictured on the left in his military uniform) fought in World War I, and his task was to drive a mule team up to the front lines with supplies. He left behind his newly married wife, who was expecting their first child and subsequently lost their first born son; with these events occuring during his service abroad. The only way they could communicate was through letters, which took time to receive. I can't begin to imagine the sadness both my grandparents endured with the separation shortly after they were married and loosing their first born son. Although I am sure many people were there to assist my grandmother, she didn't have the support and presence of her loving husband during that challenging time. He wasn't discharged from the military until 8 months after the loss of his son.

My grandfather's service and story is not unique. Many men and women sacrifice time with their family to provide protection and service to those at home. They are a special group of people who deserve our gratitude and respect. I for on am grateful for all those who serve in the military, so that I can enjoy the lifestyle that so many of us take for granted. We are blessed with the freedom of speech, we can criticize our leaders without concerns for retribution, we can be involved or not involved in the democratic process, we have freedom. Our freedom has come at a great sacrifice from many sons, daughters, mothers and fathers. I am grateful for all of those that have served in the past and for those that are presently serving. Thank you for blessing my life.

Fallen Heroes of Normandy - Military Cemetery & Memorial

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 05:20:00 +0000

In honor of those who have served in the military, I wanted to share a website about Normandy. This site allows one to search through the records for free, for those who served and fell at Normandy. There website can be found here. The website provide information including some pictures regarding those who served and fell at Normandy from the following armed forces: American, Austrailian, Belgian, British, Canadian, Czechoslovakian, Dutch, French, German, Indian, New Zealand, Polish, Russian, and South African.

The Dying Art of Letter Writing

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 02 May 2016 03:40:00 +0000

The Art of Letter Writing is quickly being replaced by digitial communications through social media, texting, emails, etc. The ability to hold, read, and re-read letters from the past, is a wonderful thing to be able to pass down to your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Digitizing the letters is a great way to share the letters with everyone, but the actual act of writing letters is quickly being lost.

I was visiting with a family member this weekend about letters they have saved from parents and grandparents demonstrating the beautiful handwriting. Way back when, before the times of computers, Facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, and all the other myriad of ways to instantly communicate, these letters were frequently out of date by the time they were received by the the recipient, but they frequently conveyed the depth of the love one had to another. It reminded me of the time when I was dating my husband and we were attending different schools. We would frequently write to each others, sometimes 2-3 times in one week. We would also call on the telephone, but this way of communciation had to be limited due to the expense and being poor college students. I always looked forwared to receiving letters in the mail from my husband (then boyfriend) and also my parents. It was the highlight of my day to receive them. I have saved those letters and have enjoyed reading through them from time to time even now. They bring back many fond memories.

The video below demonstrates the importance of these letters. Now that we live in the time where there is instant communcation, I am grateful for the opportunity to see and talk with my children and grandchildren live. We are blessed with many great ways to communicate; however, I still enjoy the letters that I have saved over the years from my parents, husband, grandmother, etc. They are a treasure. I hope you enjoy video and maybe think about the letters you have saved.

History of Hallowe'en

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sat, 10 Oct 2015 16:00:00 +0000

You might wonder why I'm writing about the Halloween holiday in a genealogy blog? Well, I have found that while researching our ancestors, it is important to understand the context of their lives in relation to history. This part of the year has several holidays coming up and Hallowe'en is just the beginning. I was at the store yesterday looking for some Halloween decorations, and low and behold, the store already had their Christmas decorations out and the Hallowe'en decoration selection was getting slim. I attached this video for your enjoyment to learn about the history of Hallowe'en. I didn't know it was originally a Celtic holiday, did you? Watch and learn. Have fun!

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 12 May 2014 02:47:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day. Here is a beautiful video by FamilySearch about Mother's and the importance of recording history. You can now upload pictures and stories to FamilySearch.

Genealogy on a Mac

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 00:30:00 +0000

I wanted to share with you all my thoughts about the availability genealogy programs for the mac. My PC died in September of 2013 and as a result I have decided to try and do my genealogy strictly on a Mac. This has provided many challenges including deciding on a program to use and importing the data from a PC to a Mac based environment. Needless to say, I am still working through the change and have not been very happy with the options.

The Mac programs that I have tried included:
Ancestral Quest (Using Cross Over)
MacFamily Tree
Heredis
Reunion

First of all, I attempted to use Cross Over and run Ancestral Quest. I really like Ancestral Quest in the PC environment and was hoping that Cross Over would be the solution to my dilema. The program ran in Cross Over, but I had problems with the program running smoothly and allowing for me to sync with FamilySearch. Ancestral Quest frequently froze using Cross Over resulting in having to close the program or restart my system. I have not tried to use RootsMagic in crossover, so this may be an option for those that have RootsMagic. I would recommend you try the free trial of Cross Over to see if it will work for you.

I also downloaded the trial versions of Heredis and Reunion. Both of these Mac programs have been developed nicely, however, they do not sync to FamilySearch. For many people, this may not be a concern, but for me, I wanted to be able to move my data freely between FamilySearch and my Family file on my computer, therefore, I chose to stick with MacFamily Tree.

I decided to try and learn how to use MacFamily Tree, as I had already purchased the program when I first got my MacBook Pro, but really hadn't spent much time working with it seriously as I was still using my PC for the bulwark of my genealogy research, before my PC crashed. At first I found the updated version to be a little tricky to work with as I was not familiar with the program. There are many intuitive aspects to this program that I liked; however, I wasn't sure about the FamilySearch aspect of this program. I must qualify this statement with the caveat that I usually try to figure out the program without going to the manual. I finally caved and went to the manual on how to have MacFamily Tree work with FamilySearch and have found it works well and I have used it several times and like it's functionality.

Another nice feature of MacFamily Tree is it allows for one to geocode the important events in a person's life. The one drawback that I have found with this, is the fact that names of places and their locations have changed over the years as have the boundaries in which a location may be found. This is the result of changing of country, state, county, and city boundaries and therefore, the accuracy of the locations are not rock solid as the program uses current names, places, and boundaries, which have changed throughout years past.

The bottom line: There are many wonderful Mac genealogy programs for one to choose from, however, the only Mac based program that will sync with FamilySearch is MacFamily Tree. MacFamily Tree also provides a mobile app that you can use, however, I have not attempted to use it at this point, as I have spent that past little while teaching myself the MacFamily Tree program.

Honoring Those Who Served

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 15:30:00 +0000

This past summer, I had the honor and privilege of meeting my cousin, Gilchrist Booth and his lovely wife, Grace, while taking my daughter to school in Utah. My mother had told me a great deal about her cousin Gil, and I finally had the amazing opportunity to visit with him with my brother. He and his wife are delightful, and so very wise. My cousin Gil, was a member of the 743 Tank Battalion, Company B. He shared with me his written memories of his experiences while serving our country and I cherish this written record. As I read through his history, he brought light to things that I would have never considered as being challenges while serving. This could be from my lack of knowledge regarding the workings of a tank. He spoke about how loud it was inside the tank when shells would be fired; I had never thought about that aspect. He shared with us many things about his service and expressed his profound sadness in seeing how the people in the concentration camps had been treated. Before we left to go home, my dear cousin Gil shared with me his written memoirs of his military service. Having read his memoirs has touched me deeply and helped me to better understand and appreciate the opportunities and freedoms I enjoy. I am grateful to Gil for writing down and sharing some of his memories.

This year, my cousin Gil was honored for his service with others in Utah. Thank you cousin Gil for your honorable service!

I would encourage all to take the time to visit with your family members ask them about their lives. We all can learn a great deal from those we love if we will but take the time. I hope that you will come away from reading this post realizing the need to document and/or write down the history of those we love and those who have served in a selfless way to preserve freedom and a cause which is greater than the individual, no matter what country they are serving. I honor everyone who has helped to keep our freedom and express my deepest gratitude to them and their families. Thank you!

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

noreply@blogger.com (Jennifer) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 01:00:00 +0000

In commemoration of all those who have served in the military and laid down their lives for their country, I have decided to revisit the Commonwealth Graves Commission site. This site is user friendly with the search box on the home page. I am grateful to the men and women who have sacrificed that I might live in peace and freedom. If you would like to search for your ancestors who might have served in the First World War from 4 August 1913 to 31 August 1921 and the Second World War from 3 September 1939 to 31 December 1947, click this link Commonwealth Graves Commissionand you will be directed to their site. Please note this site also has many classroom learning activities, events, and even resources for Boy Scouts.

A Treasure Trove Of Information

noreply@blogger.com (Our Future Rooted in Our Past) — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 00:30:00 +0000

I recently found a "Treasure Trove" of information that is available for those researching their ancestors in Australia. This website is user friendly with a search box on the home page. This site allows you to research in digitized newspaper, journals, diaries, and photographs to name a few. Please note the site also provides links to other sites that may have information regarding your query; some of them require payment and others are free to use. From the home page you can select the collection you would like to research within to narrow your search. Thus far, I have noted researching the newspaper collection is free. If you would like to research your Australian ancestors in the newspaper collection, click Trove digitized newspapers. If you prefer to perform a general search click Trove National Libary of Australia Home.