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Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Early Bird Savings for Northern California Expo!
The following is from Family History Expos.
Dean L. McLeod : Full-time professional genealogist since January 1975. Founding Board Member, APG. Spent first ten years specializing in Scottish and English research. Former staff researcher, Brigham Young University Family History Services. Employed fifteen years American Research Bureau as Field researcher in San Francisco, CA.
Monday, May 21, 2012
Why Combine Food History with Family History?
by guest author Gena Philibert-Ortega, Food.Family.Ephemera Blog .
It’s a common concern that I hear from genealogists as I speak at societies and conferences. What will happen to my genealogy when I die? Untold amounts of time, money and research goes into learning more about our ancestors. Unfortunately, this investment is not always appreciated by our family members.
Why don’t the non-genealogists in our family appreciate all that we have given and provide them in the pursuit of our roots? Well I haven’t done a full scale study of that topic but I can tell you one reason they are less than thrilled.
Genealogy is boring.
Yes, that’s right. Now you may be surprised I would say such a thing. After all, I’ve been interested in genealogy since I was a kid and I’m happy to spend time in places like cemeteries, libraries and archives. But I will reiterate that genealogy is boring. Don’t get me wrong, genealogy doesn’t have to be boring. Genealogy can be boring in the same way that 8th grade history was boring. When someone shows you charts with names and dates that make no sense to you, that can be boring. Those random facts have no meaning to the non-genealogist.
But, what happens when you tell the story of how your grandfather flew a B-17 during World War II and was nearly shot down? Or when you learn that your 8th great-grandmother was tried as a witch in the Salem Witch Trials. The stories behind the lives are a lot different than focusing on a bunch of facts about dead people on a chart. That’s bringing history to life. That is history at its best.
When I tell my kids that my great-grandfather served in the Navy, it’s not that interesting to them. But when I make that event come alive by showing them photos of the actual ship he was on, that takes family history to a different level and they are excited.
So what does this have to do with food?
New Mexico. Mrs. Fidel Romero Proudly Exhibits Her Canned Food. U.S. National Archives http://www.flickr.com/photos/
One experience we have in common with all of our ancestors is food. Now we may obtain food in a more modern way and we may prepare it differently but like us, our ancestors had to eat. When we explore food and what was available to our ancestors it helps to bring their lives into focus. We get a better sense of what life was like for them. From this knowledge we can weave stories into our family histories that make our ancestors more interesting and allows our readers (i.e., family) to better understand their lives. Stories are interesting, names and dates are not.
A few weeks ago I was given the opportunity to hear stories of food told by NGS conference goers as they stopped to look at my new book in the exhibit hall. I heard stories of food traditions so different than what I am accustomed to that I wanted to know more. Their stories of food brought their ancestor’s to life in a way that a chart could never do.
What did your ancestors eat? I will be exploring the topic of food and family history in this week’s virtual blog tour but it is also addressed more in depth in my new book, From the Family Kitchen .
I encourage you to start writing. Write down what your family eats. What foods have been passed down? What are your family’s food traditions? What did you most immediate ancestors, like your grandparents eat? What foods did you eat at holiday celebrations? These types of memories are what build a family history. Consider adding this type of detail to your research and to your own memoires. Someday your descendants will be ecstatic that you chose to share your life with them.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
FamilySearch Records Update 16 May 2012
The following is from FamilySearch.
All 1940 US Census Images and Six States Now Published Online
All 1940 US Census Images and Six States Now Published Online
20 Million Records for 21 Other Countries Also Added
The 1940 US Census Community Project, which includes FamilySearch, Archives.com, Fi
Searchable historic records on FamilySearch.org are made available by thousands of volunteers from around the world who transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the amount of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about how to personally help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records as a volunteer indexer at FamilySearch.org.
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online atFamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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