Do you have an ancestor who “flew the coop” or escaped from a situation to start a new life? My second great-grandmother, Harriet (Huggett) Kelsey, was set to inherit a fortune but was disinherited when she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in 1841 in England. She escaped from an arranged marriage and later married a man of her choice setting in motion events that would end with her moving to a...
This July 24 marks the 172nd anniversary of the arrival of the first Pioneers of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Salt Lake Valley! If you have ancestors who were early members of the Church, you’ve probably wondered what else you can find on those ancestors. You may have heard people say or even thought yourself, “All of the research on my Pioneer ancestors is done.” That’s not true! Many families...
FamilySearch has made a wonderful pioneer discovery experience available for the public just in time for Utah’s Pioneer Day. According to the press release, about 1.5 million descendants of pioneers have been identified through millions of worldwide contributions to the FamilySearch Family Tree. Read more at the FamilySearch Newsroom, here: FamilySearch Pioneer Discovery Experience Online. I was impressed to see that twenty of my relatives were listed in my discovery experience. To see yours, go...
Have you ever wondered what is at your state archives? Tucked away in a corner, could you find a clue to your ancestor’s life? Every state has a physical location that hosts a treasure trove of artifacts, documents, books, and more. The National Archives provides a list of state archives and don’t despair if you don’t live near the one where you need to research. Many of them are digitizing their collections and making them available on...
In celebration of Utah’s Pioneer Day on July 24, I’ve been studying my Mormon pioneer ancestors and sharing their stories on Instagram tagged with #MyPioneerAncestor. It has been a fascinating study. For some, their travels were extremely difficult and required many sacrifices. For others, it was a joyous journey and they became so skilled that they traveled the route again and again to help other emigrants. I began by checking out the FamilySearch Pioneer campaign, FamilySearch.org/Pioneers. It scans your family tree against the...
Are you planning an epic family reunion this summer? Do you have photos in boxes or on your phone from a past reunion? In just a few hours, you can create a beautiful book worthy of any coffee table. Two years ago, my mother broached the subject of a family reunion being planned at Martin’s Cove in Wyoming. The reunion would be for the descendants of Charles Cannon Creer, her grandfather. His mother, Sarah Jane...
How well do you know the women in your recent family’s history? Have you wondered how they weathered the changes of the 20th century? Do you know of their contributions to community? As part of Women’s History Month, I went in search of my 20th century ancestor to determine her involvement in public service. My reward was discovering facets of my grandmother’s life that just needed to be contextualized to give them meaning. Researching 20th...
Two years ago, I made a book about my Grandpa Elder’s ancestors to give to my family for Christmas. I was inspired by William R. Walker’s talk in the April 2014 General Conference about learning stories of faith of our ancestors. I knew some of the conversion stories of my Mormon pioneer forefathers, but not all. I determined to find and compile all the stories and records about my LDS ancestors’ faith. One repository that...
As part of the Family Locket Book Club, we’ll be featuring a children’s book each month. Please share your comments on the books in our Goodreads group or in the comments section! The criteria for the children’s books we share will be: books that are about someone’s ancestors books that give ideas for writing family history stories for children books that teach about genealogy and family history books that inspire young people to learn more about...
Do you have a quilt in your closet with no clue who made it or why? Or maybe you have a stack of clothes from a loved one that you’d like to make into a quilt? Either way, a quilt can be a lasting way of preserving memories. I have a rich heritage of quilting in my family. Four generations of women snipped and sewed to create colorful and practical quilts that are a...