There are 3 newly-discovered genealogy blogs that we’ve located this week. Remember to try and help out new blogs by:
using any follow feature listed on the blog
adding them to your blog reader
adding a comment on their blog saying “hi” and “welcome”
Here are this week’s new listings:
Auntie Jen’s Family Trees
http://auntiejenstrees.blogspot.com/
Blog type: Family
I’m Jen Rickards aka Auntie Jen! Welcome to my blog. I chose the name Auntie Jen because my nephews always refer to me as Auntie. It’s also a name that I’ve used in the past for one of my great Aunt’s that I was very close to. And who do you always get the greatest stories and information from? Your crazy Aunt, of course. Aunt’s always seems to have not only the best stories, but the most secrets and my research as definitely unearthed plenty.
I first got into genealogy in 2012. I had just moved back to Missouri from Colorado in 2011 and my grandma was wanting to pass special things along to me since she was getting along in years. Along with her special costume jewelry and figurines, she gave me a couple of boxes of old photos. She knew how much I loved photos. I’d never seen these before. They were just thrown into the boxes, no rhyme or reason. Some where water damaged, torn or just not in very good condition. The photos that were in good condition had a lot of people that were unknown to me. My grandma’s mind was not as sharp as it used to be. There were days when she had clear memories, and others when she didn’t. Mom knew some of the photos, but not all of them. Some photos dated back as the early as the 1900s. Wow! So I decided to take on the daunting task of labeling these photos.
I knew the first thing I needed to do was to create a tree. I started filling in names and dates I knew. One thing that helped tremendously was a little date book that had been passed down. Half of it was written in German, the other half translated. That helped with tracing back to my 3x great grandma. Once I started plugging in names and getting leaves and documents, I was hooked.
Now I’m working on both mine and my husband’s family trees. I’ve been able to trace most family members back to when they first came to the United States. I’ve found cases of murder and insanity. I’ve found war heroes and interesting stories about run-ins with historical figures. But probably one of the most exciting things I’ve found is more family than I ever thought I had. I found other side of my grandma’s family, whom I never knew existed before. That was one of the most exciting finds.
My dad likes to ask me, “How far are you going to trace back?” Well, my first goal was to just put names to photos. Then it was to trace back to when the family first came to the United States. Yeah, that didn’t stop me. I have traced family now in France and Germany. Honestly, I don’t know if I ever will stop. There is always one more thing to find. While I’m able to research, I will keep researching. I have started doing family trees for friends now as well just because I love doing the research.
The purpose of this blog is to share my journey through genealogy. I’m hoping the information I gather about my family will be helpful to other possibly researching the same line. I will also share tips I’ve learned about doing genealogy research as well as information about local history and how to find certain records. Thank you for checking out my blog and I hope you follow along with me as I climb my trees to see what kind of nuts fall out.
genealogic
http://www.genealogicresearch.com/
Blog type: Education, Professional
Hello and welcome. My name is John. This is the story of how and why I started GeneaLOGIC Family Research Services.
I have always been curious about my place in the world. How did I come to be who I am and where I am? My search began in sixth grade when a family history project was assigned in class. I interviewed my grandparents and made my first small family tree. Sixth grade was also when I read my first book about DNA. I’ve been fascinated by genealogy, DNA, and the science of inheritance ever since.
As I grew, my hobby grew with me. I scoured the internet and physical archives for details about my ancestors. I came to understand what different sources could and could not tell me. I quizzed my relatives about their lives and the lives of people they knew before I came around. I dug through boxes of family photographs to see the people and places that led to me. (I also digitized the pictures for my whole family to share.) My personal family tree, including my wife’s side, now includes almost 14,000 individuals. Tracing so many different family lines has led me to civil, parish, and personal records written in many languages—German, Czech, French, Latin, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, and even Ojibwe—and housed in archives in dozens of U.S. states, Canada, and Europe. I’ve met many helpful cousins along the way.
My professional career broadened the search for my place in the world and sharpened my research and writing skills. I hold a master’s degree in history and have experience at four highly regarded museums: the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History, the Minnesota Historical Society, Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Chippewa Valley Museum in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. In Eau Claire, I worked as the museum’s lead writer. It was my job to produce compelling stories about the ordinary people who made western Wisconsin what it is today. My professional training and experience has helped me understand how my ancestors—and yours too—fit into American and world history. I can now tell dozens of fascinating stories about who my ancestors were, how they lived, and why they did what they did. I put the same skills to work for all of my GeneaLOGIC clients.
I met more than just my biological father. The first day we met, I (and my daughter) also met my biological great-grandmother, still alive at age 99!
Then, at age 28, out of nowhere I was faced with the ultimate surprise for a genealogy buff. I had ordered a DNA test to finally satisfy my curiosity about genetic genealogy. When I told my parents about the test I was going to take, they sat me down for a startling discussion. They had used a sperm donor to conceive me, they explained, so I shouldn’t expect to find any DNA-matched cousins on my dad’s side. The donation had been done anonymously and all documentation—what little there was—had been destroyed.
Rather than becoming disillusioned, I took it as a challenge. Putting all my genealogical and historical skills to work, I reconstructed the blank half of my family tree from the trees of distant 3rd- and 4th-cousins and managed to identify the anonymous donor. (Because there was so little documentary information to go on, this outcome came as a surprise even to people—like my wife and parents—who knew my genealogy skills firsthand.) I met my biological father for the first time in early 2016 and we have since developed a relaxed friendship.
The successful search for my biological father led to a spark of inspiration. There are lots of people out there looking for unknown or anonymous parents, grandparents, or siblings, but very few with the skills and experience I possess. I started GeneaLOGIC Family Research Services with the primary goal of helping such individuals. My first couple clients show the diversity of situations in which my services can be put to use. One client was conceived in an adulterous relationship in which the father never knew the affair had led to a child. Another was looking for information about her father, who had been abandoned at an orphanage as a newborn. Whatever your circumstances, there is still hope.
Helping people find anonymous biological relatives was the driver behind the business, but I am eager to help people with all sorts of genealogy questions. Taken together, my experiences have given me the skills and tools to provide my clients a wide range of genealogical research services at a professional level. Whether you’re looking for lost family, in-depth research assistance, or someone to write your family history narrative, I can help you.
A final note: I have a strong ethical core. I work with all my GeneaLOGIC clients to understand the possible risks and rewards of searching for one’s unknown past, through DNA testing or otherwise. You never know who or what you will find. When appropriate, I am happy to refer clients to a family therapist or a law firm specializing in adoption, donation, and surrogacy. I am here to help you.
Relative Lines
http://relativelines.com/
Blog type: Family
I’m Sandi Deatherage, a native of Maryland now living in southern Arizona. I spent 25+ years in the US Air Force and the Oregon Air National Guard, then several years traveling full-time in our motor home.
I’ve been researching my family history for over 30 years. It’s time to finally get it organized.
I’m blogging now as a way to organize my family history research. Along the way, I’ll ponder on some of my other interests: knitting, books, music, and traveling.
© 2016, copyright Thomas MacEntee. All rights reserved.
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