I read several articles this week about how children and teens benefit from family history in some form: teaching others family history, interviewing grandparents and great grandparents, school projects, and close relationships with grandparents.
Two articles I enjoyed were about Chinese roots – the ancestor devotion aspect of Confucianism and the benefits Chinese college aged youth gained from doing a genealogy project and documentary contest.
I also thought the article about the future of wearable tech and genealogy was fascinating.
Here are all my favorite reads!
News
Unlocking the past: How wearable tech could help get us back to our roots
Imagine if you could snap on a DNA-matching wristband that connects you with long lost cousins, or pick up a personalised VR headset game that could immerse you in the lives of your ancestors? “It’s simply a matter of time before we could see this sort of technology,” says genealogy expert Thomas MacEntee.
Sacramento’s Mexican genealogists trace their roots to Aztec empire
Maria Cortez dug deep into Catholic Church records and family histories and struck gold. The retired state-worker-turned-genealogist managed to trace her roots back to two of the most famous figures in Mexican history: Miguel Hidalgo, who declared independence from Spain in 1810 with “el grito de Dolores,” and the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II.
A Catechism of Ruism (Confucianism): Ancestor Devotion (祭祖)
Bin Song (宋斌） philosopher, religious scholar, and Ruist (Confucian) practitioner According to China’s Lunar Calendar, the Clear and Bright Day (清明節) will be on April 4 this year (2016). Traditionally, this is the time for families to visit their ancestors’ tombs to perform a ritual of ‘ancestor devotion’ (祭祖).
Creating and Sharing
Love this idea to find, research, and deliver unique old photos/postcards to descendants:
H F G Seargeant: 12 Churchill Street Leicester – Xmas 1909
On my way back from the Who Do You Think You Are? Exhibition in Birmingham this weekend I took a more leisurely journey home enjoying the sunshine and stopping at a few antiques fairs and centres en route, to see if I could find any interesting old postcards to research or that may be linked…
Amy Choate-Nielsen: 30 questions to get started recording family history
I’ve always been inquisitive – so I’m putting my propensity to question everything to good use. Here are some ideas of questions you can ask yourself, your parents and your grandparents to begin recording your family history.
Join the April 2016 Genealogy Blog Party!
Wow, thank you for the awesome response to my suggestion of having a Genealogy Blog Party! I am happy to see so much support for the idea, and I really look forward to reading your posts! I had a lot of fun coming up with the theme for this month.
So, Which Immigrant Ancestor Photo Would You Like to Recreate?
This is a FABULOUS video from Buzzfeed Video where people recreated photos of their immigrant ancestors and also tell a little bit about their stories. So, which immigrant ancestor photo, if you have one of them, would you like to recreate?
Why You Need To Save Your Photos Now! – Lisa Lisson
Hi everyone! I’m so excited to be guest blogging for my fellow colleague Lisa! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Caroline Guntur and I am a Certified Photo Organizer. Yes, that is actually a real job!
Your-Life-Your-Story – My Life Story Writing Blog
In a world where people are too often building walls it is important to recognize that life stories can build bridges that connect us. A family history or life story can connect younger generations with their elders. It can connect people who share similar values.
Daughters of Utah Pioneers & A Funny Story
On my genealogy bucket list there are two organizations that I want to join – DAR & DUP. The DAR is the Daughters of the American Revolution. I have several Revolutionary War participants in my tree that qualify me for this organization. Also a few Loyalists but I think I’ll leave those off my application.
Remembrance: Keeping Memories of Loved Ones Alive
Bestselling author Jonathan Safran Foer convinced me a while ago that our relationship with food is important to understand because it represents so much more than sustenance. His grandmother’s chicken with carrots wasn’t delicious simply because she prepared it a certain way it was delicious because what the dish represented (continuity between generations).
LDS
Who Do You Think You Are?
I love to watch genealogy and family history shows! I have my dvr set to record episodes of Finding Your Roots, Relative Race, and the newest season of Who Do You Think You Are. It is fascinating to watch people take the journey to find out where their ancestors came from and what makes them them.
How to Journal: Pro Tips from my Sister
When I think about journaling, the first person that I think of is my sister Anna. I think of her writing intently with journal in hand, everywhere. I think of my freshman year at BYU when she found a journal she liked at the BYU bookstore and kept asking me to buy a new one for her every couple of months.
Children and Families
How Studying Children’s Drawings Can Change Our View of History
“When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.” This line, from 1 Corinthians, still sums up how we tend to think about childhood – that it’s something to outgrow.
The Genealogy Kids
The time has come for the young people, (who were born with an uncanny ability to use computers, could swipe their fingers across a screen by the time they were a few days old, and could practically surf the web by the time they were two, who innately understand all things technical, especially if it involves a smartphone or tablet) to be genealogists.
Genealogy Project Reconnects Chinese Youth with History
Genealogy Project Reconnects Chinese Youth with History The project has proven to be helpful especially among the youth who want to reconnect with their family’s genealogy and history. More Chinese youth are getting involved in a genealogy project that aims to record and preserve family histories, China Daily reported.
Remember your Roots: A Genealogist in the Making
One of the things I like about genealogy is the people I have a chance to meet, whether in person, via email or on the phone. There’s nothing like finding someone who is as passionate about a hobby as you are because, quite frankly, most people who aren’t into genealogy think those of us who are are kinda nutty.
Let’s Talk Kids – “Grandparents and Teens”
In her piece “Bonds with Seniors can Help Stabilize Teens,” writer Ann Lukits reports research which found that teens closely bonded to grandparents have fewer behavioral and emotional problems than teens who lack these relationships.
Research Tips
A Patient Genealogist: Using the Notes Section on FamilySearch
In the movie, the Ten Commandments, the pharaoh often says, “So let it be written, so let it be done.” Well, I need that kind of power to make a correction to the Gordon family line of mine stick. Thankfully, FamilySearch has a way to do just that.
Tangled Roots and Trees
I like collecting old postcards of place or events of relevance to my ancestors. Here is the image I found on USGenWeb Archive of one of the first postcards I purchased: My three times grandfather, John William Jennings, Sr., moved his family to Amherst County in the 1830s.
3 Websites for Finding Local History
When it comes to genealogy, there is much to explore. There are ancestors to be found, mysteries to be solved, and stories to be written. Getting excited to do the research is the easy part. Figuring out where to start, on the other hand, can be a bit more challenging.
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