Beginning Videos

A good beginning video
Genealogy on the Cheap

Beginning Videos

Need Some Guidance? Review a Video!

When I think I've reached a dead-end, at times I go back and review the basics. Below are several videos that I utilize when I need a boost.

Free Websites for Genealogy


Writing Your Family Memoirs


Finding a Lost Relative


Methodology for Genealogical Research


Have Fun!

Need Some Guidance? Review a Video!

Back to School Time

So, September is here and the kids are going back to school. My kids are having major difficulty adjusting to the regiment of their home-schooled day. I try to make them understand that being in school for 3 hours is way better then the 8 hours I had to endure growing up. They don't quite get it yet.

But, it made me think that maybe it is time for "us" genealogists to go back to school also. Now, I don't know about the rest of you, but I just don't have the time to jump into my car, travel to the local Community College, and take a class. I also don't have the cash to fork out for the class or the books. What to do ... what to do??

Did a bit of searching and I found the answer. Free Online Classes in Genealogy! Yeah me!

Brigham Young University has an excellent selection of online courses. These aren't exactly the level 500 classes, but sometimes a refresher is what we need. These are some of the classes they have:

Family History/Genealogy - Introductory
FHGEN 69 — Providing Temple Ordinances for Your Ancestors
FHGEN 70 — Introduction to Family History Research
FHGEN 75 — Writing Family History
FHGEN 80 — Helping Children Love Your Family History

Family History/Genealogy - Record Type
FHREC 71 — Family Records
FHREC 73 — Vital Records
FHREC 76 — Military Records

Family History/Genealogy - Regional and Ethnic
FHFRA 71 — France: Immigrant Origins
FHFRA 72 — France: Vital Records
FHFRA 73 — France: Reading French Handwriting
FHFRA 74 — France: Genealogical Organizations and Periodicals
FHFRA 75 — France: The Internet and French Genealogy
FHFRA 76 — French Research: Paris
FHFRA 77 — French Research: Alsace-Lorraine
FHGER 71 — Germany: Immigrant Origins
FHGER 72 — Germany: U.S. Sources and Surname Changes
FHGER 73 — Germany: Jurisdictions, Gazetteers, and Maps
FHGER 74 — Germany: Reading German Handwriting
FHGER 75 — Germany: Calendars and Feast Days
FHGER 76 — Germany: Vital Records
FHHUG 71 — Huguenot Research
FHSCA 73 — Scandinavia: Jurisdictions, Gazetteers, and Maps
FHSCA 74 — Scandinavia: Reading Gothic Script
FHSCA 75 — Scandinavia: Church Records and Feast Days
FHSCA 76 — Scandinavia: Census Records
FHSCA 77 — Scandinavia: Probate and Other Records

You can find the class lists here.

Have fun and learn something!

Back to School Time

An Un-Tapped Treasure - The Library of Congress' Digital Collections

I love reading old books, magazines, and documents. I think that's why I adore genealogy. To read how an event was viewed in the past, from the primary source, just gives me the tingles.

That is why I frequent The Library of Congress' Digital Collections often. They have everything there from newspapers to first-person accounts, from historic library collections to prints.

Take a look at it here.

An Un-Tapped Treasure - The Library of Congress' Digital Collections

The Ultimate Reason for Genealogy

Who is genealogy for? For me? Sure, I love doing it for myself and for others. To discover the past, those persons who made me, those persons who contributed to my makeup ... it is a fantastic journey of "OMG I'm related to that person!?!".

But, ultimately, genealogy is for my kids. I mean that in the long run sense; in the short run their only response is to say "yeah, dad, whatever!". What I discover in my research is going to be passed along to them for their use. Maybe they will take it farther, maybe they will start a DNA bank and keep track of all markers. I don't know. Even if they don't take up the "genealogy" bug, they'll still have some information on where they came from.

My main job now, as a parent, is to put as many of my memories into archive now, so my children will have ready, available genealogical information on their father they can retrieve at a later date. How many of you have begun this task?

The Ultimate Reason for Genealogy

Treasure Chest Thursday - My Parents' Wedding Picture

July 4, 1966, they did it, 2 years later, I was born.

Treasure Chest Thursday - My Parents' Wedding Picture

Tombstone Tuesday - Hemmings

Today is Tombstone Tuesday -- here is a picture of my great-grandfather's tombstone, Vernon L Hemmings.

Buried in Oak Grove cemetery in Springfield, MA.

Tombstone Tuesday - Hemmings