Blog – Page 112 – Family Locket

Releasing Slave Names Found in Genealogy Research

As African American History month comes to a close, I’m writing my first post releasing the names of enslaved individuals found in my genealogy research. Inspired by other bloggers and my experiences during African Heritage day at RootsTech 2017, I am joining in the effort to help African Americans find their family, taking inspiration from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “The time is always right to do what is right.” ¹ The Slave Name Roll Project began […]

By Diana Elder February 23, 2017 Research Tips

Making Family History in the Kitchen: RootsTech 2017

When did your family last gather in the kitchen to cook a favorite meal? Did you use tried and true recipes? Recipes that have been handed down from previous generations? If so, you preserved a piece of your family’s history. Now you just need to recognize and record your family food traditions. Steve Rockwood kicked off the RootsTech 2017 theme of food and family history with sharing his own family’s tradition of making his grandmother’s […]

By Diana Elder February 20, 2017 Creating and Sharing Family History

Gathering Strength From the Past – Hank Smith at RootsTech 2017

Did you know that when you learn stories about your ancestors, it actually gives them power to reach through the centuries and touch you?! At Family Discovery Day last week, Hank Smith, popular speaker for youth, shared how knowing a story from his family history helped him make a good choice. (See the video of Hank’s address here. And don’t forget to watch the bonus video at the end of this post!) Hank was a teenager […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer February 17, 2017 LDS Family History

Get Your “Rookie Smarts” On: Liz Wiseman and Buddy Valastro at RootsTech 2017

Think of a time when you were a rookie. What happened? How did you operate? What did you do when you didn’t know what to do? What were your aspirations? Liz Wiseman, author of Rookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work, asked us these questions during her keynote address at the Innovator Summit portion of RootsTech 2017. Straight out of business school, Liz found herself a rookie in a fast growing […]

By Diana Elder February 16, 2017 Creating and Sharing Family History

“Those are my people”: LeVar Burton and African Heritage Day at RootsTech 2017

Sitting in the Salt Palace this morning during the keynote address, I shared an incredible moment with thousands of people. Having just listened to LeVar Burton’s masterful words on the importance of storytelling and family, we watched as Thom Reed from FamilySearch presented LeVar with his family history. He cried and we cried when he looked at the marriage document of his grandparents and said, “those are my people.” Thom showed him his grandfather’s signature on the […]

By Diana Elder February 10, 2017 Creating and Sharing Family History

Changes to LDS family history callings discussed at #RootsTech2017

At RootsTech today, leaders of the family history department of the LDS church announced changes to the names of family history consultants. They will now be known as “temple and family history consultants.” The primary objective of temple and family history consultants will be “to assist members with a personalized one-on-one family history experience” which will enable them to perform temple ordinances (Temple and Family History Callings at LDS.org). See also Feb 9, 2017 Letter […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer February 9, 2017 LDS Family History

Giving one-on-one family history help to LDS church members #RootsTech2017

Tamra Stansfield, director of the Family History Library, spoke at RootsTech today about helping LDS church members turn their hearts to their ancestors with one-on-one guidance at the family history center. She encouraged the family history center directors and consultants present to use the Spirit and their experience (or lack thereof) to help people accomplish what they want to do. Her class was titled, “Family at the Center: Making the Family History Center a Sacred […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer February 8, 2017 LDS Family History

Teaching Family History with a Family Map Game

Children love playing games. According to the book Einstein Never Used Flashcards by Roberta Golinkoff and Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, play is how young children learn. I loved this book – the ideas really resonated with me. Of course children learn more when they are playing, not just repeating memorized information to please an adult. To teach my children about world geography and family history at the same time, I made a personalized “where in the world” […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer February 6, 2017 Creating and Sharing Family History

Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem – February Book Club Selection

How do you go about finding an unknown grandfather? What if the only information you have is a name and a country: Samuel Lowe from China. With a combination of hard work and a bit of family history serendipity, Paula Williams Madison finally put to rest the gaping hole in her family’s history. She relates her journey of discovering her Chinese family in her book Finding Samuel Lowe: China, Jamaica, Harlem. It’s a tale any family historian […]

By Diana Elder February 2, 2017 Book Club

The Book Itch: researching our ancestors’ passions

“You are not necessarily a fool because you didn’t go to school.” – Lewis Michaux For February, our children’s book club is The Book Itch: Freedom, Truth & Harlem’s Greatest Bookstore by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson and illustrated by R. Gregory Christie, for grades 4 and up. Nelson is the grand-niece of Lewis Henri Michaux (1895-1976), owner of the National Memorial African Bookstore. She created the story of her great-uncle and his passion for books by researching in […]

By Nicole Elder Dyer February 1, 2017 Creating and Sharing Family History