Honoring the Navajo Code Talker

I saw this video of Peter MacDonald, a Navajo Code Talker in World War II. The following video is an interview of him reminiscing about his time in the service, which begins around the 9-minute mark. We are indebted to them for their service in helping with World War II. Thank you.

If you have grandparents or parents who have served in the military, you may want to ask them about their life and experiences and possibly record it for yourself and your posterity.

 

Record Your Family Memories

We are blessed in this modern age of technology where we can easily record and save our ancestor's oral histories, which will be preserved for your children, children's children, and down through the age. 

The Native Americans frequently taught each other their history by telling stories of their past. These stories are valuable in helping the children know who they are from and, as a benefit, allow them to know who they are. 

Now is the time for you to record your parent's and grandparents' stories. You will enjoy hearing them tell them in their own words once they have left this life. My family has recordings of my parents talking about memories from their life. They have all passed from this life, and it brings me joy to hear their voices. 

Consider talking with the oldest family members and recording them talking about their lives. We are also blessed with the cell phones that cannot only record audio, can also record video. The videos will be a treasure trove for your children, grandchildren, and throughout generations. 

Additionally, if you upload the videos or audio recordings using the FamilySearch Memories Mobil App, which can be found in app stores, and they will be preserved for your children, grandchildren, and on down through the generations. The Memories app can be downloaded from the Google App Store using your computer or phone or Apple App Store using your iPhone or iPad. 

 

Do you hear voices from the past?

I found a wonderful video speaking to the importance of writing down one's thoughts. A journal/diary allow you to express your thoughts, dreams, disappointments, heartaches, and much more.  There are many kind of journals such food journals, exercise journals, personal journals, and personal study journals.  Journals/diaries let you record your life as it happens.  You will be amazed at the growth you see in yourself as you read back through some of your prior entries into your journal. You don't have to journal every day, or every other day; just write down your thought when you want to remember something.  If you don't write down your thoughts, they are quickly forgotten. I have read some of the things that I have written in the past and think, "Wow, did I really think that way?"  I have also enjoyed reading some of the journals of some of my ancestors.  Many of the things were about their day to day life, which we all experience.  The one thought that stand out when I read them, is that they are not so different from me.  They had dreams, joys, trials, etc, just like me.  Reading their thoughts on how they dealt with their life inspires me.  There may be several years that separate us, but they still can provide encouragement and insight into life that I have not experience; thus I can learn from their experiences.

 If you need help getting started, please let me know and I will send you a link to a document that provides you with ideas on how to journal or write your life history.  Just post your request below in the comments section to this post.  Enjoy the video.

Have you told your story or the story of those you love?

This week, I wanted to share with you a new website that is in the development stages called StoryVault. This website has been developed and is able to be utilized free of charge, but you have to sign up for an account to use the site. It has been to browse through the videos that are currently available to view regarding people's life experiences. You can view one of them that I have post below. The videos range from war experiences to daily living experiences. The video I posted below shows you that even a young person can conduct the interviews. The interviews are meant to be 10 minutes or less, so that one would share a memory of a particular event, place, or person. The site notes that ideal length of the video is approximately 5 minutes. The video below is an interview between a father and his son regarding an experience that father had while flying and the plane had major engine trouble.  The son did a great job in the interview.  Watch to find out what happened.

Another feature of the website is the capability for one to create their own family tree. The site does not allow one to import their GEDCOM to the site, therefore, you have to manually enter each individual into the site.  The website also provides a hints/tips section about how to conduct an video interview and the videos are able to be linked to your family tree as well. If you would like to learn more, click Story Vault Frequently Asked Questions.

How can Genealogy heal the world?

A particular stumbling block that I have seen with teaching and assisting others with their research is assuming that the spelling of your ancestors name is only one way, the way we spell it. Experience has taught it is important that we broaden our views when researching our ancestors. One cannot assume that there is only one way to spell a name. We have to remember that the borders of counties and countries have changed throughout the years.

How can genealogy research heal the world? The video interview with Elizabeth Shown Mills, CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA us very illuminating. She reminds us that our family tree is comprised of many people of various ethnicity, values, and religious believes. We are all interconnected at some point....we are all cousins. If the world in general could understand that we are all related, possibly it would encourage people to help others and not be judgmental. In genealogy, if one is judgmental,  a hidden opportunity to find an ancestor that they would never had dreamed would be a part of their family tree may be missed.  For example, I received an email several years back from someone in Autralia. She sent me a picture of a family that was supposed to be part of my tree.  As the picture loaded, I thought now way...all of my ancestors were from Scandinavia or the UK.  This woman told me where this family was located in my tree and I looked it up to make sure we were talking about the same person. I was so surprised to find that she was correct.  This was an amazing educational moment for me; one that will not be forgotten.  Enjoy the video.

Do You Have Jewish Ancestors? Do you need help?

The Center for Jewish History has a digital collection that is available for research. The collections available for research include scrapbooks, photographs, letters from the Front, dissertations, oral interviews, video interviews, and much more. Also noted on this site was Association for Free Distribution of Matsot to the Poor (New York, N.Y.) records, 1855-1858. This record contains information regarding the distribution of Free Matzoth to the needy and poor in New York City during the years of 1855 - 1858. This site has a wealth of information that could assist you with your research.  You will want to spend  time perusing through the vast collections available for research.


The website design is a little clunky and difficult to research, but it has the possibility to provide a great deal of information and insight to the researcher.  The site has a simple and advanced search feature.  I also found that browsing the collections interesting. Some of the files are very large and can a little while to load in the viewer.  Additionally there are some records that are in German and Russian.  There site has a simple and advanced search feature, but I found that browsing the collections interesting. Once you have found something you would like to view, you need to click on the picture on the left of the screen  to view the information, as noted in the picture on the right.


Once you have clicked on the picture, you will either see the image directly or you will be given an option to select the folder you would like to view.  Please note that there are plus signs next to folder, which indicate there is additional information included in the folder.  To open the folder, simply click on the plus sign and you will be able to view the information in that folder.

I hope that this has not confused you.  I think that this site has a great deal to offer for the genealogist and family historian.  It take a little time to understand the navigation of the site, but is wealth worth the investment of time.  The site is free to use, but there are disclaimers siting that you must not use this information to sell or profit by.  The information provided is for personal use and educational uses. If you would like to search in this site click Center for Jewish History Digital Archives.

Preserving Family Pictures

As a follow-up to my previous post regarding Picasa, I wanted to show you the possiblities of Picasa by creating a little video utilizing some of my family pictures.  As you can tell, I love the numerous ways that Picasa allows you to preserve memories.  I hope you enjoy it.

Could this be a tool for the future of Genealogy?

I was reading Dan Lawyers blog this morning and saw this video that he had posted from TED. The technology described here (which is under development at the present time) has some intriguing possibilities for usage with genealogical work. Enjoy the video!

Family History Made Simple

Laurel, an acquaintance of mine, contacted me today to let me know that she completed a new video titled Family History Made Simple. This video is a great introduction to genealogy, covering the basic steps in beginning genealogical research. Enjoy the video.

Are you a Hidden Scribe?

In our world, the internet has expanded making it possible to attend live meetings over the internet. What happens when you are unable to attend those meetings? I received an email about a website that is easily accessible and user friendly where you can view past lectures on some genealogy topics. Please note that not all of the genealogy speakers will be placing their information on this site, but those that do have either a text document or slide shows that you can view. Below is an example from one of Thomas Kemp, a well know author, librarian, and director with Godfrey Memorial Library.

After going through Tom Kemp's presentation on Core Online Genealogy Resources - The Ones you will actually use and rely on! (shown below), I decided to explore the possibilities of the site Scribd. This site is dedicated to providing a forum for the author in all of us to store and collaborate with others documents or slide shows. You can easily upload and immediately share your original works from a PDF, Word, PowerPoint and many other file formats. I thought to myself what a great way to share your family history documents and decided to see what the site stored under genealogy and family history topics. The information I received back on the search varied from pictures, narrative family histories, family trees, and various other forms of genealogy including blank forms. I then searched specifically for one of my family lines. Although I did not find any information regarding my family line, I did find that you can easily search for an individual on this site and come up with hits regarding their genealogy. In my next post you will see what I mean. Although the person is a popular fictional character, a family tree was constructed for them.

Novels, recipes, manuals, position papers, and historical documents abound on this site. The site is a treasure trove of information and might be able to provide you information regarding your family. Even if you do not find information about your genelaogy, it is a fun site to visit. If you would like to visit the site, click Scrib. You can utilize the site search engine to find information about various genealogical topics. Have fun!

Core Online Genealogy Resources - The Ones you will actually use and rely on!

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Business Presentations & Slid genealogy newspapers

Are You Smarter Than A Grade School Genealogist?

In the United States, there is a television game show where adults are trying to win one million dollars by answering questions that a normal fifth grade student knows.

In keeping with this train of thought, I came a across a video "Are You Smarter Than A Grade School Genealogist?" that I thought you might enjoy. It tackles the very complex matter of Genetics in a manner that is easily understood. Enjoy learning!

Footnote's New Search Engine

I just found this video on the new search engine that has been developed for the site. I am excited to try it at the family history center. Enjoy!

Child Detectives? Can Children Be a Sleuth?

It has been a while since I posted a video and I thought that this one might be of interest to those that have children. I have always felt that the youth and children of today are the ones that will make a great difference in the way genealogy/family history is performed. At the risk of sounding cliché, "They are our future." This video demonstrates various ways that children and teenagers can be involved in genealogy/family history. I hope you enjoy the video

One Step Searching for Genealogy Records? Is it Possible?

Dr. Stephen Morse (the grandfather for the Pentium computer processor chips), is the creative genius behind One Step Genealogy. Below is an interview with him obtained by Dick Eastman discussing the many ways that the "One Step Genealogy" page can help you with your family history research. I have used this site in the past and have been impressed with the search engines. This site contains both free and mixed database portal searches and allows you to choose which database you would like to search so if you do not subscribe to a particular database you do not have to search it.

The search engines currently can search the following databases:

Ellis Island Search Forms and Ship Arrivals (1892-1924)
Castle Garden years (1855-1891) plus other New York Arrivals
Other Ports of Immigration
US Census and Soundex (1790-1940)
Canadian and British Census
New York Census
Births, Deaths, and other Vital Records
Calendar, Sunrise/Sunset, Maps
Dealing with Characters in Foreign Alphabets
Holocaust and Eastern Europe
Creating your own Search Forms, Search Engines, and Databases
Miscellaneous

If you are interested in utilizing this nice website for research, please click One-Step Genelaogy. I would suggest that you read through the "About this Website and How to Use It" link as Dr. Morse tells you how to use the search engines he has designed to their fullest potential. Have fun searching!

Mastering Family History

If you have wondered how to master your family history research, this site provides you with helpful tips in a video format. John Willis from California has developed a website providing instructional videos regarding various topics of interest to the Genealogist/Family Historian.

John Willis states:
"Mastering Family History is a free website that contains e-learning videos on selected computer programs and websites that are useful in building a family history. The videos are designed for persons who want to learn how to prepare and maintain family history or genealogical information. The videos currently available are listed below. Additional videos will be added in the future. Click on the title to view the videos on your computer. (To view the videos you must have a high speed internet connection and your computer must have a sound card. It may take up to 10 seconds for the video start in you browser window.)"

The videos are informative and short in length. The topics range from PAF (Personal Ancestral File), PRF (Pedigree Resource File), Searching the Internet and various other topics. If you are interested in furthering your expertise in Genealogy/Family History work, you might want to see if this site has videos to help fill in the gaps of your learning curve. Please click here to be directed to this site. Have fun learning!

The National History Show in London England

Dick Eastman, the noted author of the Eastman Online Genealogical Newsletter has teamed up with Roots Television at The National History Show in London, England in May of 2007. I stumbled across the video that I have placed on my blog about his experience at the show. This is just the first of twelve short videos that cover the show. From the looks of it, the genealogical society in England had a wonderful show and instructional classes. I would have loved to be there in person. Two interviews that I found of particular interest was Dick Eastman's interview with David Nicholson (the director of DNA-Worldwide) and Else Churchill (the genealogist for the Society of Genealogists in England). I enjoyed these videos because I learned about how the DNA testing is done and what tests can be used for both the male and female. I also learned that the specific types of DNA testing available for only men and only women. They are different and they track different aspects of ones family lines. If you would like to view more than the video that I have provided, click here and you will be directed to rootstelevision to view the other videos. Enjoy and learn!

The Belevedere Car Time Capsule Unearthed

I just found that the people of Tulsa Oklahoma were somewhat disappointed with the opening of the vault and the raising of their Centennial Time Capsule. When the vault was cracked open, they found that the car and it's contents were submerged in several feet of water. There is a video from Channel 6 KOTV that you watch if you would like to, but when I have tried to view the video, the quality has been poor and it has locked up my browser. Here is the link KOTV6 to view this, but please beware that it could cause havoc with your computer.

What can we learn from this? If you are going to bury your time capsule outside, make sure that it is sealed properly to protect it from the elements the best you can. Back in 1957, they sealed the car as best that they could and hopefully it will come out better than expected from the pictures. This also reminds us that even though we have our pictures on our computers, backed up on CD's, DVD's or printed on photo paper, we need to continually be on the look out for deterioration and routinely keep the backups that we have on multimedia discs current with what programs and multimedia storage options at the current time. The digital age and multimedia storage is constantly in flux which requires us to be diligent. If you are saving your printed pictures make sure that they are on acid free paper and are stored in acid free sheets. All of these techniques can be researched online, but if you would like to look at the this link you will be directed to a website that will teach you step by step how to archive your genealogical and pictorial records for safe keeping.

I look forward to learning more concerning the conditions of the content of this unique time capsule. For more ideas on creating a time capsule, click the links below.
Family Tree Magazine
Make a Time Capsule to Preserve Family Memories
Time Capsule Form

Flat Stanley Learns About Genealogy

Here is something for fun for the whole family. I am sure that the children will love this short video about "Flat Stanley".

I hope you enjoy the show!

Gene Kelly and Julie Andrews Family Tree Musical

Just finished my ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support) class and I passed. Yeah!

This is just for fun. I thought I would post the entire skit/song staring Julie Andrews and Gene Kelly. The beginning of this video is the top one and the end of the video is the bottom. Enjoy!

Remember Me

It has been a while since I posted a video, so I thought I would share with you this idea for family history. This video created by cyberlucy on youtube.com is a video photo album and is wonderful. I love the music "Remember Me" is from the movie Troy and is performed by Josh Groban and Tanja Tzarovska. I am posting the lyrics for you to read which are located below the video. The lyrics remind us all that we all want to be rememberd and not forgotten once we have passed on from this earth. We want a voice. The video and lyrics are remarkable, reminding us how we can honor our ancestors by remembering. Enjoy!




Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska Lyrics - Remember Lyrics

Artist: Josh Groban with Tanja Tzarovska Lyrics
Song: Remember Lyrics
Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me, in your memory

Remember, when your dreams have ended,
Time can be transcended,
Just remember me

I am the one star that keeps burning, so brightly,
It is the last light, to fade into the rising sun

I'm with you,
Whenever you tell,
My story,
For I am all I've done

Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me, in your memory,
Remember me

I am that one voice, in the cold wind,
That whispers,
And if you listen, you'll hear me call across the sky

As long as,
I still can reach out, and touch you,
Then I will never die

Remember, I'll never leave you,
If you will only,
Remember me

Remember me...

Remember, I will still be here,
As long as you hold me,
In your memory

Remember,
When your dreams have ended,
Time can be transcended,
I live forever,
Remember me

Remember me,
Remember... me...