How much do you know about the signers of the Declaration of Independence? We are all familiar with John Hancock, the first signer. But what about “William Williams: The Signer Who Was Certain He Would Hang,” or “Robert Morris: The Signer Who Financed The War – And Ended Up In Debtor’s Prison?” Fifty-six men put everything on the line to sign a document knowing they would be hunted by the British for perhaps the rest of their...
Do you need a laugh-out-loud kind of book for your summer reading? You might want to give Funny in Farsi: A Memoir about Growing up Iranian in America a try. In honor of fathers everywhere, this Family Locket Book Club selection for June is a hilarious look at author Firoozeh Dumas’ Iranian family and their adventures adjusting to the culture of southern California. (This post contains affiliate links. if you click the link and make a purchase,...
How much do you know about the military service of your family members? Do you wonder about the events that shaped their lives? How can you honor their sacrifice? In the next few weeks we have several opportunities to consider their part in preserving our country’s freedom: Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day. Like most World War II veterans, my dad didn’t talk much of his war experiences. When he passed away five years ago, all...
As a young girl I often admired this sampler that hung in my Grandmother Florence’s bedroom. I didn’t know anything about it, only that I loved the intricate, colorful flowers against the black background. When she passed away my mother brought it home and hung it in her bedroom. It became a fixture, but every so often I’d read it and think of Grandma’s patience in working the needle and embroidery floss. The sampler came...
My favorite article this week is about genealogical education opportunities. Check it out! There’s a Degree in That?? Genealogical Education Opportunities | Legacy Tree At Legacy Tree Genealogists, our core team members have at least one of the following: a genealogy or genetics-based degree, a professional accreditation, or a minimum of ten years’ professional-level research experience. While our educational pursuits have prepared us for our current careers, there are many people who don’t know that such...
My favorite article this week is from Deseret News about starting with hearts, not charts, and the implications for involving the next generation in family history. CEO Steve Rockwood shares why this is FamilySearch’s new mantra for recruiting beginners. He said, “Starting with a story … would ultimately lead to the important data. … “Let’s start with something that everyone can participate in, everyone can get excited about.” ‘Start with the heart vs. the chart’ and share family stories...
Many articles and blog posts were about Irish roots this week, which I thoroughly enjoyed as we celebrated our Irish ancestry for St. Patrick’s Day. Amy Johnson Crow wrote a fascinating article refuting advice in an AARP bulletin which said to burn old family letters when de-cluttering. Laura Hedgecock’s thoughtful response about finding her parents’ love letters was equally interesting. A BBC article discussed what happens to our Facebook pages when we die – and how...
St. Patrick’s Day is only a few days away! Here are some ways that we’ve been celebrating our Irish Heritage: Learn about your Irish Heritage Did you know that 3.7 million American residents claim Irish ancestry? According to this graphic, that’s more than 7X the population of Ireland. Between 1830 and 1940, nearly 4.5 million Irish immigrants arrived in the United States. Do you have any Irish immigrants in your family tree? If so, here’s an article about...
Today, we have a guest post by one of our readers, Lindsey Crouch. Lindsey found our post about teaching youth to use census records, then adapted it for a younger age group. She’s here to share her documents and lesson plan so anyone can recreate the activity to teach children about census records. Enjoy! -Nicole —- Hi, I’m Lindsey I’m originally from Idaho and graduated from Utah State in social work. I’m a life-long learner and a mom...
Today I’m sharing my favorite blog posts and genealogy news from around the web. I am especially fascinated by the Wall Street Journal piece about growing heirloom variety flowers – the same varieties your ancestors may have grown. I looked at some heirloom flower seed packets at our local nursery today, but decided I needed to scour my family stories for mentions of plants before I buy any. Also, I’m looking forward to the History Channel’s remake of the mini-series “Roots,” based on...
