When is the last time you thought about “why” you are interested in researching your ancestors? Have you run into any ethical dilemmas in your genealogy? Today we’re spotlighting our friend and colleague, Dr. Penny Walters. She teaches at Bristol University and lectures widely on several family history-related topics. Penny has also authored the books: Ethical Dilemmas in Genealogy (2019) and The Psychology of Searching (2020), available on Amazon in paperback or on kindle www.searchmypast.co.uk. As an adoptee who discovered her biological parents through DNA, she has developed many lectures around that topic as well as researching in England and...
Telling our ancestor’s stories requires knowledge of their time. What better way to discover life on the frontier during the Revolutionary War than to read a historical narrative? Author Matthew Pearl tells the tale of a specific era in Daniel Boone’s life that was pivotal for history. The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, and the Kidnap that Shaped America backs up the retelling of this famous story with 231 endnotes, many of them referring to manuscripts from the Draper Collection. Reading good historical narratives can help us write our own stories, so let’s see what we...
RootsTech is a world-wide, free, online family history conference that will be held this week. In addition to over 1500 class sessions, there is a fantastic feature called, “Relatives at RootsTech,” that can help you in your genetic genealogy research. If you’ve ever wanted to connect with like-minded family members who may share your interest in family history, as well as DNA, here is your opportunity! Do you ever wonder who the people in your DNA match list are and how exactly they are related to you? “Relatives at RootsTech,” can help you become acquainted with your relatives, and discover...
As family historians, we often confront the challenge of discovering the truth behind family stories. In Murder in Matera – A True Story of Passion, Family, and Forgiveness in Southern Italy, we follow Helene Stapinski’s journey to unravel stories heard as a child about her great-great-grandmother, Vita. The book takes us along as Helene travels multiple times to her family’s hometown in Southern Italy. Through a series of fortunate events, she locates documents that tell the true story of her ancestors. We’re reading Murder in Matera for our Family Locket Book Club’s winter selection. Join us on Goodreads to see past...
Have you been thinking about writing your life story but procrastinated because of not knowing how to start? What you might need is a beautiful journal with thoughtful prompts to make the recording of your memoirs an enjoyable and fulfilling project. My colleague, Lisa Lisson, has recently published a pair of journals titled My Life Story So Far: A Grandmother’s Journal and My Life Story So Far: A Grandfather’s Journal. Beautifully designed and illustrated, Lisa has created prompts covering your life from birth to the present. Lisa writes: Each prompt is designed to help you reflect on the life you’ve lived....
It is an excellent time of year to think about the things we are thankful for! I’ve been thinking about DNA-specific blessings, and I made a list of my top 5. What are you grateful for in the realms of family history and DNA? I’m thankful for: DNA tests that can help us discover ancestors whose names and lives are lost due to time and memory. Newly discovered family members. Renewed connections with cousins and distant family members who share a love of family history or at least have an interest in it. The opportunity to increase knowledge about genealogy...
Do you have any ancestors who moved to the frontier? What was it like for them to leave their community and create a new home in the wilderness? Historian, David McCullough, provides important insight into the settling of the frontier after the Revolutionary War in his latest book, The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West. We meet five major characters instrumental in constructing the settlement of Marietta, Ohio. Experiencing the inherent challenges through their diaries, letters, and other documents, we can envision our own ancestors and see what it took to settle the...
Have you inherited Grandma’s recipe collection and are looking for a way to share favorite family recipes? Maybe you’d like to create something for your own posterity based on your family’s culture or heritage. Making a family cookbook can bring families together and connect the next generation to their ancestors. In part 1 of this series, Sarah Arnoff Yeomanm, photographer and creator of The Family Cookbook, shared her thoughts and experiences about food and family history. In part 2 of this series, Sarah gives us three tips for making our own family cookbook. You can see more examples and tips...
What food do you identify with as part of your family history? It may be something that connects to a country or culture. Perhaps it is a favorite food your family always made at Christmas. We all speak the universal language of food – so exploring some ways to use it to connect to our heritage is a worthy endeavor. In this guest post series, Sarah Arnoff Yeomanm, photographer and creator of The Family Cookbook, shares her thoughts and experiences about food and family history. In part 2 of this series, Sarah will give us three tips for making our...
If you’ve read Before We Were Yours, the fictional account of a family torn apart by Georgia Tann and her Tennessee Children’s Home Society, you might be interested in learning what happened to some of those children who passed through Tann’s hands. Lisa Wingate, the author of Before We Were Yours, collaborated with journalist, Judy Christie, to bring us Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. We’re reading Before and After for our summer Family Locket Book Club selection on Goodreads. If you share a love of reading and a love of writing your...
