Danish Family Search

I don't know about you, but researching for your Danish ancestors can be challenging and finding records and being able to understand what you are seeing can be a daunting task.  I have found a website called Danish Family Search, not to be confused with the FamilySearch. From what I have read and looked at online, Danish Family Search is not connected to FamilySearch. The Danish Family Search began as a result of Marianne and Dan Nicolaysen's search for their own family names. The couple has a background in IT and developed the site to make it easier to search for family names. They also have registered users who assist with transcription. The site is wonderful and would be worth taking a look at if you are looking for your Danish Ancestors. The site contains Church records, Census records, Military Levying records, and School protocols. You can use the site in Danish or English. The site has a search tool and also allows you to click on the region your ancestors are from on the map of Denmark on the home page.  I found it simple to use and fun. I searched for records of one my ancestors Carl Alexander Albert Christiansen and found him in the 1880 with his family. In the census, I found his name to be Carl Albert Alexander Christiansen. The order of the two middle names has been an unknown for some time and finding a records a little closer to his birth date might give one an idea of the proper order. Either way, it was fun to find the family. If you would like to search the Danish FamilySearch, click this link.

The Dying Art of Letter Writing

The Art of Letter Writing is quickly being replaced by digitial communications through social media, texting, emails, etc.  The ability to hold, read, and re-read letters from the past, is a wonderful thing to be able to pass down to your children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  Digitizing the letters is a great way to share the letters with everyone, but the actual act of writing letters is quickly being lost.

I was visiting with a family member this weekend about letters they have saved from parents and grandparents demonstrating the beautiful handwriting.  Way back when, before the times of computers, Facebook, twitter, instagram, snapchat, and all the other myriad of ways to instantly communicate, these letters were frequently out of date by the time they were received by the the recipient, but they frequently conveyed the depth of the love one had to another.  It reminded me of the time when I was dating my husband and we were attending different schools.  We would frequently write to each others, sometimes 2-3 times in one week.  We would also call on the telephone, but this way of communciation had to be limited due to the expense and being poor college students.  I always looked forwared to receiving letters in the mail from my husband (then boyfriend) and also my parents.  It was the highlight of my day to receive them.  I have saved those letters and have enjoyed reading through them from time to time even now.  They bring back many fond memories.

The video below demonstrates the importance of these letters.  Now that we live in the time where there is instant communcation, I am grateful for the opportunity to see and talk with my children and grandchildren live.  We are blessed with many great ways to communicate; however,  I still enjoy the letters that I have saved over the years from my parents, husband, grandmother, etc.  They are a treasure.  I hope you enjoy video and maybe think about the letters you have saved.  

Honoring Those Who Served

This past summer, I had the honor and privilege of meeting my cousin, Gilchrist Booth and his lovely wife, Grace, while taking my daughter to school in Utah. My mother had told me a great deal about her cousin Gil, and I finally had the amazing opportunity to visit with him with my brother. He and his wife are delightful, and so very wise. My cousin Gil, was a member of the 743 Tank Battalion, Company B. He shared with me his written memories of his experiences while serving our country and I cherish this written record.  As I read through his history, he brought light to things that I would have never considered as being challenges while serving.  This could be from my lack of knowledge regarding the workings of a tank.  He spoke about how loud it was inside the tank when shells would be fired; I had never thought about that aspect. He shared with us many things about his service and expressed his profound sadness in seeing how the people in the concentration camps had been treated.  Before we left to go home, my dear cousin Gil shared with me his written memoirs of his military service. Having read his memoirs has touched me deeply and helped me to better understand and appreciate the opportunities and freedoms I enjoy.  I am grateful to Gil for writing down and sharing some of his memories.

This year, my cousin Gil was honored for his service with others in Utah. Thank you cousin Gil for your honorable service!

 I would encourage all to take the time to visit with your family members ask them about their lives.  We all can learn a great deal from those we love if we will but take the time.  I hope that you will come away from reading this post realizing the need to document and/or write down the history of those we love and those who have served in a selfless way to preserve freedom and a cause which is greater than the individual, no matter what country they are serving.  I honor everyone who has helped to keep our freedom and express my deepest gratitude to them and their families.  Thank you!