Do you have a goal to write family history books to preserve your research and have something tangible to share with your family? Perhaps you’ve been intimidated by the many details and experience needed to create something worth sharing. If so, Rebecca Shamblin’s new book, Leaving a Legacy: Turn Your Family Tree into a Family Book, might be the resource you need to make your goal a reality. Learn more about the author and book...
Every family has many stories that could be told. Some stories are easy to write, and others are difficult. Sometimes, you may need to travel to the location and immerse yourself in the history and land. Such is the case with Kelly Rimmer’s The Things We Cannot Say.” Rimmer faced the same challenge that many descendants of family members who lived through World War II face – a lack of family stories. Rimmer’s grandparents were...
Some books can draw you in from the first page and keep you entranced until the last page. This Tender Land is that type of book. Set in the midwestern during the 1930s, we meet a host of characters – some good and some evil. As family historians, reading historical fiction provides us with a look at an era our ancestors lived through. We can gain new perspectives into the challenges they faced. This Tender...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about how to create a family history blog to help you share family stories. Whether you want to write family stories, recruit DNA test-takers to help with a particular research problem, or connect with distant cousins to collaborate on research, a free blog can help you. Learn about free blog platforms, how to organize your blog posts, setting a schedule, and reading other family history blogs. Transcript...
Do you have a fascinating ancestor who is also a historical figure? What if family stories, DNA, and research found that ancestor to be a different race than expected? Researching and imagining their life could lead to asking hard questions and writing their story. Rachel Jamison Webster discovered her ancestor, Benjamin Banneker, was a brilliant mathematician who surveyed Washington D.C., and wrote almanacs. He was also African American, and her branch of the family had...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s 52 Ancestors post in response to the prompt about an ancestor who was the first to graduate from high school or attend college. Diana wrote about her father, Bobby Gene Shults, the first of his ancestors to graduate from college. We review Bob’s autobiographical life story and discuss his schooling from the 1930s to the 1950s. Bob made use of the GI bill to help...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about Diana’s 52 ancestors post with the prompt “out of place.” She chose to write about her maternal grandfather, Edward Raymond Kelsey. After high school and a few years working at the railroad, he decided to become a hobo. This was about 1905. He stayed in hobo camps along the railroad lines and traveled throughout the northwest on the trains. Join us as we study the family...
Today’s episode of Research Like a Pro is about one of Diana’s favorite photos of an ancestor – Florence Matilda Creer. Florence was Diana’s grandmother. They had a lot in common, from reading, to music. The photo appears to depict three friends in the early 1910s, possibly traveling somewhere together. The man has his arms around the two women, but each woman appears to be trying to remove his hand. Diana shares her research...
By Laura Clark Murray Since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022, this artificial intelligence “bot” has been wowing users by engaging in detailed conversations, answering questions, and even writing stories and essays. But at its core, ChatGPT lacks the ability to distinguish between fact and fiction. Since facts are critical to what we do as genealogists, it’s important to understand how to keep the tool in the realm of reality. If you do that,...
Do you have an ancestor who died fairly young? Have you discovered their story? My great-grandmother, Mary Margaret (Peterson) Creer, died in her mid-50s. Her daughter, Florence Matilda (Creer) Kelsey, my grandmother, was expecting her fifth child when the family gathered and took their last photo together in 1925. Mary would miss meeting most of her grandchildren and seeing her youngest children grow up. Although I never met Mary Margaret, stories and photos shed...