Eva Briody household, 1940, Warrick County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Eva Briody household in Warrick County, Indiana.  Eva was Corinne's maternal 2nd-great grandaunt, the widow of Sylvester Briody.  Their common ancestors were Miles Chevalier and Louisa Jane Boyer.  

1940 U.S. census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Yankeetown, enumeration district (ED) 87-1, SD 8, sheet 4B, household 83, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Eva was living in Yankeetown. The census states that Eva owned her home and that the value was $250.  Eva was 59 years old and born in Indiana.  Her residence in 1935 was the same place.

The record shows that Eva had completed the 8th grade.  Eva's occupation was listed as the W.P.A., Head supervisor at Y.H.S. [Yankeetown High School].

Also living in the household was her son, Sylvester, aged 17, born in Indiana, who had completed 2 years of high school.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Great-Grandpa Escaped With Only a Few Bruises

Muncie Star Press
Muncie, Indiana
August 14, 1914, page 12

My paternal great-grandfather, Luman Cooper LeMaster, was a rural mail carrier in Salamonia, Jay County, Indiana area.  I located this newspaper article while searching online that details how he was injured while on his route.

RURAL CARRIER INJURED

Horse Takes Fright at Auto and Wagon is Wrecked

Portlnad, Ind., Aug. 13 - L. C. Lemaster, carrier on rural route No. 1, from the Salamonia postoffice, was slightly injured this morning when his horse took fright at an automobile driven by Bryant parties, near the Murray farm, in Pike Township.  The wagon was overturned into a deep ditch and wrecked.  Lemaster escaped with only a few bruises, and after procuring another rig was able to continue his trip.

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Glenn S. Overholt household, 1940, Wells County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Glenn S. Overholt household in Wells County, Indiana.  Glenn's wife, Sarah,  was my paternal 1st cousin 3 times removed.  Our common ancestor was Dr. Ezekiel Cooper Chew.  Sarah was the daughter of Edis Playfair Chew and Bertha Caupp.  Glenn was the son of Milward P. Overholt and Mary Rupley.

1940 U.S. census, Wells County, Indiana, population schedule, Union Township, enumeration district (ED) 90-27, SD 4, sheet 3A, household 53, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Glenn and his wife were living in Union Township.  The census states that Glenn owned his home and that it was on a farm. Glenn was 25 years old and was born in Indiana.  His wife, Sarah, was 26 years old and was born in Ohio.  In 1935 their residence was the same place.

The record shows that Glenn had completed 3 years of high school and that Sarah had completed 4 years of high school. Glenn's occupation was listed as a truck driver and Sarah had no occupation listed.

Also listed in the household were son Wilbur E., age 5, born in Indiana; daughter Meba J., age 2, born in Indiana; and daughter Marilyn E., age 2, born in Indiana.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Two Fires In Three Years Destroy Home

While searching through the archives of Newspapers.com, I came across this article of the tragedy that struck my grandparents - two house fires within three years.  I cannot imagine losing everything I own to a fire once, let alone twice. 

The Muncie Star Press, Muncie, Indiana
February 9, 1939, page 9

BLAZE DESTROYS FARM RESIDENCE

Jay County Family Away As Fire Starts

Portland, Ind., Feb. 8 - Fire destroyed the farm home of Ord Lemaster, northeast of Bellfountain, last evening while the Lemaster's were visiting at the home of neighbors.  This is the second fire to destroy their home in the last three years.  Mr. and Mrs. Lemaster and their two children had gone to the Metzner home last evening and shortly after 8 o'clock were notified that their house was burning by William Hartzell, a neighbor, who first discovered the fire, which seemed to start from the inside.  Before aid could be summoned the home burned to the ground.  Nothing was saved by the family except the clothing which they wore at that time.  They lost all their belongings in the first fire.  They are making their home at the present with Mrs. Lemaster's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Eli Haley.

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Will have to check at the Portland library to see if local papers give any more details.  The Metzner family mentioned were relatives as well.  My uncle had mentioned this fire to me, I will have to talk to him again about this and my aunt as well to see what they remember.

Harry N. Whisler household, 1940, Hamilton County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Harry N. Whisler household in Hamilton County, Indiana.  Harry was my maternal first cousin 3 times removed.  Our common ancestors were Carey W. Lambertson and Clara E. Cook.  Harry's parents were Omer Anderson Whisler and Lola May Lambertson.

1940 U.S. census, Hamilton County, Indiana, population schedule, Jackson Township, enumeration district (ED) 29-13, SD 6, sheet 3B, household 59, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 17 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Harry and his wife were living in Jackson Township.  The census states that Harry was renting his home for $10 per month and that it was on a farm.  Harry was 33 years old and born in Indiana.  His wife, Edna, was 23 years old and born in Indiana.  In 1935 their residence was the same place.

The record shows that Harry had completed the 8th grade and that Edna had completed 4 years of high school.  Harry's occupation was listed as operator of a farm and Edna had no occupation listed.

Also living in the household was son Russel L., age 3, born in Indiana.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Am I Really Irish?

While celebrating St. Patrick's Day yesterday at work by dressing up all in green, I was asked if I was Irish, as LeMaster didn't strike a co-worker as a particularly Irish name.  I've been working on my genealogy off and on for years, and have identified a few Irish ancestors - though some were actually Scots-Irish.

My DNA results for ethnicity from Ancestry did show 17% Irish.  

Irish Ancestors :

[unknown] Gary : My paternal 4th-great grandfather, an as yet unknown man, was reported as being born in Ireland by my 3rd-great grandmother on the 1880 census.  Rachel Gary was born March 25, 1816 in Fairfield County, Ohio.  This is the only paternal Irish line that I'm aware of at the moment.

Martha McPheeters : Martha was my maternal 7th-great grandmother, the daughter of William McPheeters and Rebecca Thompson.  Martha was born in Ireland. She married Samuel Downey in Pennsylvania and died 1801 in Clark County, Kentucky. She was the mother of at least ten children: Ann, Betsey, Isabella, Margaret, Martha, Rebecca, Samuel, William, Mary and Janet.

Peter Swafford : Peter was my maternal 7th-great grandfather.  According to my database he was born circa 1740 in Dublin, Ireland and died in Greenville, South Carolina.  He married Rennie Howard and was the father of eight children.

Rennie Howard : Rennie was my maternal 7th-great grandmother, the wife of Peter Swafford.  According to my database, she was born circa 1745 in Dublin, Ireland and died in South Carolina.  She was the mother of eight children: Jacob, Isaac, William, Paul, Abraham, Aaron, John and Thomas.

Elizabeth Hedge : Elizabeth was my maternal 7th-great grandmother, the wife of David Crockett.  According to my database, she was born 1730 in Ireland and died August 1777 in Hawkins County, North Carolina.  She was the mother of at least three children: William, John and Alexander.

William Wardlaw : William was my maternal 7th-great grandfather, the son of Robert Wardlaw.  According to my database, he was born circa 1700 in either Scotland or Ireland.  He married Jane Harper and died in 1762 in Augusta County, Virginia.  He was the father of seven children : James, John, Hugh, Joseph, Robert, William and Margaret.

Joshua Hadley : Joshua was my maternal 8th-great grandfather, the son of Simon and Ruth Hadley.  Joshua was born March 6, 1703 in Kings County, Ireland.  He married Patience Brown in 1735 and died after 1760 in Cane Creek, North Carolina.  He was the father of nine children: Mary, Jeremiah, Joshua, Joseph, Deborah, Hannah, Catherine, Lydia and Simon.

William Millikan : William was my maternal 8th-great grandfather.  According to my database, he was born circa 1720 in Ireland.  He married in 1740 Chester County, Pennsylvania to Jane White.  He was the father of ten children: Abigail, Sarah, David, Mary, William, Benjamin, Hannah, Alexander, Martha and Samuel.

William McPheeters : William was my maternal 8th-great grandfather.  According to my database, he was born between 1687 and 1691 in Ireland and died in 1773 in Augusta County, Virginia.  He married Rebecca Thompson and was the father of eight children: Martha, Anne, Mary, John, David, Janett, Samuel and William.

Willam McPheeters : William was my maternal 9th-great grandfather.  He was born circa 1662 in Scotland.  He married Janet McClellan and died circa 1699 in Ireland.  

Simon Hadley : Simon was my maternal 9th-great grandfather, the son of Simon Hadley.  According to my database, Simon was born 1677 in Ireland and died 1756 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He was married to Ruth [surname unknown] and the father of eight children.

Ruth [surname unknown]: Ruth was my maternal 9th-great grandmother, the wife of Simon Hadley.  According to my database, she was born in 1677 in Ireland and died December 8, 1750 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  She was the mother of eight children : Joseph, Deborah, Joshua, Simon, Hannah, Ruth, Catherine and Ann.

John Allen : John was my maternal 9th-great grandfather, the son of John Allen.  According to my database, John was born August 3, 1694 in Ireland.  He married Amy Cox in March 1719 in Chester County, Pennsylvania and died September 16, 1771 in Chester County, Pennsylvania.  He was the father of nine children : John, Rebecca, Amy, Elizabeth, William, Joseph, Mary, Phebe and Benjamin.

Simon Hadley : Simon was my maternal 10th-great grandfather.  According to my database, he was born 1640 in Ireland and died circa 1711.  He married Katherine Talbot and was the father of at least four children : John, Elizabeth, Jane and Simon.

Thomas Dixon : Thomas was my maternal 10th-great grandfather, the husband of Rose.  All I have in my database is that he was born before 1635 in Ireland and died after 1680 in New Castle County, Delaware. 

Rose [unknown surname] : Rose was my maternal 10th-great grandmother, the wife of Thomas Dixon.  All I have in my database is that she was born before 1641 in Ireland and died after 1671 in Delaware.  She was the mother of at least three children: William, Dinah and Rose.

Looking over these names, I realize I have a lot more research to do on these lines to fill in the gaps in the research.

Elvin Cox household, 1940, Butler County, Kansas

Located the 1940 census record of the Elvin Cox household in Butler County, Kansas.  Elvin is my maternal 3rd cousin 4 times removed.  Our common ancestors are Charles Davis and Hannah Piggott.  He is also my 6th cousin 5 times removed through James Brown and Honour Clayton.  His wife, Lavina, is my 1st cousin 5 times removed through John W. Davis and Mary Barker.  Hannah's parents were Nathan Davis and Dinah Kemp Hobson.  Elvin's parents were Reuben Cox and Eliza Jane Pearson.

1940 U.S. census, Butler County, Kansas, population schedule, Richland Township, enumeration district (ED) 8-40, SD 5, sheet 1B, household 156, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Elvin and his wife were living in Richland Township.  The census states that Elvin owned his home and that it was a farm valued at $1000.  Elvin was 64 years old and born in Kansas.  His wife, Lavina, was 64 years old and born in Indiana.  In 1935 their residence was the same place.

The record shows that Elvin had completed the 8th grade and that Lavina had completed 4 years of high school. Elvin's occupation was listed as a farmer, and Lavina had no occupation listed.

According to my database, they were the parents of nine children, none of whom were living with them in the 1940 census.  Their names were : Genevieve, Evadne, Waldena, Kermitt Merrill, Marcella, Rhonda, Elvin Smilas, Victor S., and Vestal H.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Ed J. Branch household, 1940, Warrick County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Ed J. Branch household in Warrick County, Indiana.  Ed's wife, Maud, was Corinne's first cousin 3 times removed.  Their common ancestors were Miles Chivlare and Louisa Jane Boyer.  Maud's parents were Isaac C. Chivlare and Florence Followay.  Ed's parents were James R. Branch and Sarah Barnett.

1940 U.S. census, Warrick County, Indiana, population schedule, Ohio Township, enumeration district (ED) 87-16, SD 8, sheet 7B, Old Boonville Road, household 141, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Ed and his wife were living in Ohio Township, Warrick County, Indiana.  The census states that Ed owned his home and the value was $650 and it was not a farm.  Ed was 51 years old and born in Indiana.  His wife, Maud, was 46 years old and born in Kentucky. Their residence in 1935 was rural Warrick County, Indiana.

The record shows that Ed and Maud had both completed the 8th grade in education. Ed's occupation was listed as a farm laborer, and Maud's occupation was listed as a presser in a garmet factory.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

 

Carl Pease household, 1940, Jay County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Carl Pease household in Jay County, Indiana. Carl's wife, Ruth, was my paternal 3rd cousin once removed.  Our common ancestors were Johannes Wehrly and Barbara Petry.  We are also 5th cousins once removed, through common ancestor Steffan Petry.  Ruth's parents were Daniel Corle and Lula Belle Petry.

1940 U.S. census, Jay County, Indiana, population schedule, Salamonia, enumeration district (ED) 38-7, SD 5, sheet 1B, household 17, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Carl and his wife were living in Salamonia, Jay County, Indiana. The census states that Carl owned his home and that the value was $700.  Carl was 44 years old and born in Indiana.  His wife, Ruth N., was 44 years old and also born in Indiana.   Their residence in 1935 was in rural Jay County, Indiana. 

The record shows that Carl had completed 1 year of college and that Ruth had completed the 8th grade.  Carl's occupation was listed as Collector of Gross Income, State of Indiana, and Ruth had no occupation listed.

Also living in the household were son Carl Jr., age 20, born Indiana, a finisher at Sheller Corp.; Arden, age 18, born in Indiana, a laborer at a saw mill; Carol, age 17, born in Indiana who had completed 4 years of high school; Helen, age 16, born in Indiana who had completed 1 year of high school; Joan, age 14, born in Indiana, who had completed the 8th grade; Ronald J., age 11, born in Indiana, who had completed the 6th grade, and Geneveve J., age 11, born in Indiana, who had completed the 6th grade.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Arthur D. Weaver household, 1940, Lake County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Arthur D. Weaver household in Lake County, Indiana.  Arthur's wife, Olive, was my maternal 2nd cousin 5 times removed.  Our common ancestors were Alexander Crockett and Elizabeth Watkins. Olive's parents were William Perry Crockett and Sarah E. McCauley. Arthur's parents were Oran Weaver and Mahala Frame.

1940 U.S. census, Lake County, Indiana, population schedule, Ward 3, Hobart, enumeration district (ED) 45-18, SD 1, sheet 7B, 1104 Devonshire, household 181, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 23 February 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Arthur and his wife were living in Ward 3 of the city of Hobart.  The census states that Arthur owned his home and that the value was $5000 and it was not a farm.  Arthur was 76 years old and was born in New York.  His wife, Olive, was 67 years old and was born in Illinois.  In 1935, their residence was the same place.

According to my database, they were the parents of 7 children : Frederick, Lola, Jesse, Bessie, Edna, William and Coletta.  None of them were living in the household in the 1940 census.

The record shows that Arthur and Olive had both completed the 8th grade in education.  Neither of them had an occupation listed in the census.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Forrest Chew household, 1940, Jay County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Forrest Chew household in Jay County, Indiana.  Forrest was my paternal 1st cousin 3 times removed.  Our common ancestors were Dr. Ezekiel Cooper Chew and Caroline Bishop Woolston.  In addition, he is my 4th cousin 4 times removed through Samuel Woolston & Cyllania Woolston.  Forrest's parents were Dr. William Anderson Chew and Emma Susan Straight.

1940 U.S. census, Jay County, Indiana, population schedule, Salamonia, enumeration district (ED) 38-7, SD 5, sheet 2B, household 38, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 24 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Forrest and his wife were living in Salamonia, Jay County, Indiana.  The census states that Forrest was renting his home for $6 per month and that it was not a farm.  Forrest was 46 years old and born in Ohio.  His wife, Lelia, was 41 years old and born in Indiana.  In 1935 their residence was the same place.

The record shows that Forrest had completed 3 years of high school and that Lelia had completed the 8th grade.  Forrest's occupation was listed as an Inspector at the Sheller Corp., while Lelia had no occupation listed.

Also living in the household were daughter Virginia, age 18, born in Indiana, who had completed 4 years of high school; and daughter Ardith, age 12, born in Indiana, who had completed the 8th grade.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Earl O. Burdg household, 1940, Jay County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Earl O. Burdg household in Jay County, Indiana.  Earl's wife, Lois, was my paternal second cousin twice removed.  Our common ancestors were Johannes "John S." Wehrly and Barbara Petry.  Earl's parents were Joseph Franklin Burdg and Mattie Merchant.

1940 U.S. census, Jay County, Indiana, population schedule, Wayne Township, enumeration district (ED) 38-25, SD 5, sheet 6B, household 133, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 22 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Earl and his wife were living in Wayne Township.  The census states Earl owned his home, that it was a farm, and that the value was $6000.  Earl was 57 years old and born in Indiana.  His wife, Lois [listed as Louise B.], was 50 years old and born in Indiana.  Their residence in 1935 was the same place.

The record shows that Earl had completed 4 years of high school and that Lois had completed 2 years of college.  Earl's occupation was listed as a farmer, and Lois had no occupation listed.

Also living in the household was Earl's mother, Martha Manuel, widow, aged 78 and born in Indiana.  Her residence in 1935 was Linn, Randolph County, Indiana.

If you have any additional information or are related to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

Ishmal Wells household, 1940, Vanderburgh County, Indiana

Located the 1940 census record of the Ishmal Wells household in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.  Ishmal's wife, Rhoda, was Corinne's maternal great grandaunt.  Their common ancestors were Alpha Revis Chivlare and Clara Belle Followay.  

1940 U.S. census, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, population schedule, Evansville, enumeration district (ED) 93-20, SD 8, sheet 8A, 313 Clark Street, household 190, ; digital images, Ancestry.com (www.ancestry.com : accessed 26 January 2017); National Archives, Washington, D.C..

At the time of the enumeration, Ishmal was living in the city of Evansville.  The census states he was renting his home and that the rent was $8 per month.  Ishmal was 70 years old and was born in Kentucky.  His wife, Rhoda, was 42 years old and born in Indiana.  In 1935, their residence was the same place.

The record shows that Ishmal had completed no formal schooling and that Rhoda had completed the 8th grade.  Neither of them had an occupation listed.

If you have any additional information or are connected to this family, I'd love to hear from you.

MyHeritageDNA Matches

While at RootsTech last week, I was reminded that MyHeritageDNA was allowing people who had tested at other sites to upload their raw DNA data into their database for free.  I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to fish in another pond before that offer went away.  Yesterday, I received an email letting me know that the first of my DNA matches were in.


How to take a MyHeritage DNA test from MyHeritage on Vimeo.

MyHeritage was out in force at RootsTech and they have a big following, so I will be interested to see how their database develops as I obtain more matches.  Right now their test kits are on sale at a competitive price as well.

My top three matches were for ones who I already matched with at other sites, but the rest of the matches did not look familiar at all.  So I have a new set of relatives to reach out to.

It does seem as if more of these matches have the family trees than those found at 23andMe or Ancestry.

My Day at RootsTech - Saturday

Today was the final day of RootsTech, and once again another outstanding day full of good speakers and information about what is happening in the world of genealogy.

At the opening session, Tim Sullivan from Ancestry discussed a new feature coming over the next few months, Genetic Communities.  This looks like an interesting timeline of genetic clusters based on their ever-expanding database.  Will be interested to see what it shows about my genetic migration.  I still would like them to give us a chromosome browser.

Next up was CeCe Moore talking about her experiences helping solve DNA mysteries and speculating on what the future will hold with DNA genetics.  Things such as recreating the images of your ancestors based on DNA of their descendants and genetic memory might sound like science fiction today - but a lot of what we are doing with genetic genealogy now was not even imagined just a few years ago.  She shared a DNA story about her brother-in-laws discovery of his connection to Thomas Jefferson and Hemings family.  DNA research is blurring the color lines and also bringing healing and forgiveness as people find their biological relatives through DNA research.  CeCe is supposed to be coming to Fort Wayne in the next few months and I want to catch her talks.

The celebrity guest speaker today was the Cake Boss, Buddy Valastro.  I've enjoyed watching his shows on TLC and in person he is just as he appears on television.  He is an energetic speaker who told the story of his success, which has come through drive and hard work. He was inspired by his family and his Italian-American grandfathers and parents are true American stories.  Hearing him talk about how his father taught him the value of hard work and how Buddy started out cleaning toilets in the bakery explains why he is so driven and successful today.  I was a little surprised that they didn't have any family history finds for Buddy today.

After the opening session, I went into the Expo Hall and ran into Dear Myrtle and had to snap a selfie with her.  You meet so many nice people at these genealogy conferences and it's especially nice to meet someone whose blog you follow.

I did see the Cake Boss being interviewed as well at the media hub and managed to snap a couple of semi-close pictures of him.

My first session to attend today was to be Continuing Your Genealogy Education at Home, taught by Crista Cowan.  Unfortunately, I didn't make it early enough to get a good seat and the session was full!  Hopefully, I can catch it online.  That's one downside to these conferences, sometimes the classes fill up early.

I spent some more time in the Expo Hall, purchased a copy of RootsMagic for my son-in-law for his birthday and grabbed some lunch.  I ate the best darn plate of nachos I'd ever had.  Seriously.  They were so good I had to take a picture.

While having lunch, I struck up a couple of conversations with some nice folks from Idaho and a gentleman from Utah.  It's nice to be in a place where everyone there is interested in family history and sharing stories of our ancestors.  None of them had any ancestry from Indiana, though.

Because today was Saturday, it was the most packed day and there were a lot of families here with young children.  A couple of them stopped and asked to take a picture with me - they were completing a scavenger hunt for MyHeritage - must have been a contest.  So I'm out there on someone's phone.

After lunch, while charging my phone at one of the nice charging stations in the convention center, I was even asked to complete a survey by a nice young lady from BYU regarding the economic impact of the convention.  I hope my answers helped - I can say I definitely have enjoyed my time here.

My next session was entitled What is Your Revolutionary War Ancestor's Story by Ken Nelson of FamilySearch.  This talk gave me a lot of good sources to look into more of my Revolutionary War ancestry.  Helping mom work up a DAR line this past year, I have discovered that we have quite a few different lines that could be researched and proven for her, as well as for me through the SAR. One piece of advise that stuck with me was that we should check local court records for pension application information, as those records had to start at the local level.  Ken's handout will be one that I'm sure I refer back to again and again.

My final session was Helping Your Grandparents Share their Story by Janet Hovorka and Amy Slade.  Their presentation focused on some interesting ways that they have leveraged social media applications to get their family members collaborating and creating family history content.  Their handout highlighted ten apps that could be used - many that were familiar to me, but a few that I hadn't utilized.  Though they had a couple of technical issues due to internet connectivity in the room, they gave everyone some good options for bringing the generations together and preserving their memories.  The bottom line is that we all need to begin to save and share the memories before they are gone.

After that session, I decided to head back to the hotel without staying for the closing ceremony.  On the way out, cake was being served from the cake decorating contest that was held earlier in the day.  How can you go wrong with an event that ends with cake ?

My Day at RootsTech - Friday

Today was another outstanding day at RootsTech, from the opening sessions to the breakout sessions, I've had a wonderful experience.

The opening session today was focused on the African-American experience and their struggles. The Friday morning panel featured Nkoyo Lyamba, Kenyetta Berry, Sherri Camp, and Melvin Collier.

As the celebrity speaker, LeVar Burton, of Star Trek and Roots fame, told the stories of his family, including the stories of the help that his mother had provided to make sure his dreams were possible.  As he spoke about the vision Gene Roddenberry had for the future and how seeing Nichelle Nichols on the screen affected his life, he gave a though provoking speech about our human journey.  As he stated, we all stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before.  

In an emotionally moment, Thom King from FamilySearch presented LeVar with a copy of the marriage certificate of his grandparents and information about his great-grandparents, which he hadn't known previously.  He became so emotional and asked the crowd "So this is what you'all do all day?"  He was obviously touched by the gesture.

The crowd was treated to a spiritually uplifting performance by the Calvary Baptist Church choir as well before the session ended.

As the session ended, I reached out via text to my distant cousin from Canada, Yvonne Demoskoff, who I'd previously been in touch with through genealogy blogging.  Our ancestors haven't been together since 1704, when her 8th-great grandmother was captured in an Indiana raid in Deerfield, Masasschusetts.  It was so nice to meet Yvonne and her husband, Mike.  It's nice that a genealogy conference was able to bring us together.

I spent some time in the early morning hours in the Expo Hall, checking out all of the various booths and signing up for more information.  

I purchased at DNA test from LivingDNA and can't wait to see the results - that will be another blog post, I'm sure.  I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to take another test, and the fact that this test can pinpoint where in the U.K. my British ancestry might come from really sounded interesting to me.  Will let you know what I find out.

I was able to visit with Maureen Taylor, the Photo Detective, and have her give her expert opinion on an old photograph.  Thanks to Dropbox, I was able to pull up a copy of the photo on my phone.  The person who had given it to me thought it was my 2nd-great grandmother.  Utilizing the hairstyle and dress, Maureen theorized that it was likely taken in the mid-1870s, which would make it too old to be my 2nd-great grandmother, but could likely be my 3rd-great grandmother.  Though I don't have a positive identification, I at least know a likely time period, and will pursue other evidence to make sure it was my 3rd-great grandmother. I also picked up one of her books on identifying photos.

I stopped by FamilySearch's Discovery Center and pulled up these interesting infographics on my maternal and paternal grandfathers:

It was interesting to see that there are only 256 individuals with the name Ord in the United States, though it didn't look like they had Indiana marked.

According to FamilySearch, there are 20,328 people in the United States with the last name of LeMaster:

For my first break-out session, I attended Preparing For Research Trips to Your Ancestral Homes by Dirk Weissleder.  He gave an excellent talk on how to plan a visit to Germany by first preparing here at home. 

One of the interesting things he mentioned was that the smaller the town in Germany, the deeper the ancestry will go as there was little immigration from Germany prior to the 1800-1850 time period.  So if your ancestors were from a smaller town, as opposed to say Berlin, they likely were living there for several generations and would have many decades of records.  He stated you should never underestimate the importance of small archives and museums in helping you discover more about your ancestral home.  You should find out as much as you can before going overseas and take time for the trip - in both an emotional as well as detailed preparation.  Time will be the most valuable thing during your trip.

My next session was entitled The Ethical Genealogist with Judy Russell.  Judy gave an outstanding lecture on some of the ethical debates and dilemmas that genealogists face.  She suggested we all check out and abide by the standards set out on the National Genealogical Society's website. DNA testing has also given rise to a whole new set of issues, but ethical dilemmas are nothing new to the genealogy world.  To be an ethical genealogist you have to tell the truth; you don't want to hurt someone unnecessarily, and you don't want to take something that isn't yours.  After hearing her speak, I can see why her lectures are always so popular, just as her blog is.

The final session I attended was Discovering Your Ancestor's War Story by Anne Mitchell.  She gave an overview of the various types of records that were created during America's wars and suggested methods and sources for finding the records.  I did like her method of creating a spreadsheet timeline of an ancestors life to chart out all the facts.  She also suggested that when you find a source to be sure to check out the other facts that it might lead to - for example, people aren't buried in a family cemetery by accident.  While I was pretty familiar with the sources she mentioned, I felt that the talk was informative and encouraged researchers to cite their sources and explore everything found before just attaching the record to a family tree.

Overall, this was another good day of discovery and I'm fired up to do more research with some of the tools and methods I've learned so far here at RootsTech.

My Day At RootsTech - Thursday

Today was my first full day at RootsTech2017 and even though I'm wiped out, it has been a good experience.  From the opening sessions to the break-outs to the exhibitors - this conference has lived up to its billing.  The fact that the weather has been unusually warm for Salt Lake has been a bonus as well.

The opening session focused on Family Traditions and featured Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International.  He put us in the mood to share our stories of family and shared an example from his own family of how a food tradition memory has been passed down from one generation to the next in his family.  At one point, he even had the audience participating in this memory sharing by getting us to turn to one another and share a favorite food memory of our grandmothers.  This was all tied into FamilySearch's push to get people to share their memories and recipes on the site so they will be preserved forever - as well as the family trees.

The Scott Brothers, hosts of HGTV's Property Brothers, were the featured celebrity speakers and they didn't fail to keep the crowd entertained with their stories of their family background.  They really knew quite a bit about their Scottish heritage, and I enjoyed hearing about and seeing the photos from their trips as kids to Scotland to visit castles and other sites associated with their families.  They seemed to have a good understanding of their family history, knowing about certain ancestors and how they lived - which the brothers then tried to associate as to why they each acted and lived the way they do.

I didn't have too bad of a seat to see them, but I didn't get a really good picture of them.  My wife and I enjoy watching their show and now I can say I was in the same zip code with them.  During the opening session, I sat next to an attorney from Wisconsin who had friends in Kokomo, Indiana - so we had a bit to talk about, as well as fellow blogger, Genealogy Jen on my other side.  It was nice to meet new friends.

After the opening session, I followed the crowd over to the Expo Hall to see where all the exhibitors were - all I can say is "wow" - there were quite a few of them.  I wandered around briefly, and caught a glimpse of some Geneablogger royalty at the media row.

Right after this, I caught another glimpse of the Property Brothers, right after they had been interviewed.  These are my best 'celebrity stalking' photos - you can almost make out who they are.

Shortly after these photos, I headed over to the first break out session at 11 a.m.  I chose to attend Kitty Cooper's talk - How to use DNA Triangulation to Confirm Ancestors.  I enjoy reading her blog and since I'm working with my DNA matches at the various sites, this was a good choice for me.  Kitty did not disappoint.  She gave a good talk and pointed the class to how to tell when you have triangulation.  She promised to have her slides available to look at, and I will be referring to them in the future.  She was excited about the Double Match Triangulation Tool that is one of the Innovator Showdown finalists as well.  The class assumed that those in attendance had already done DNA testing and knew the basics.

After her talk, I grabbed a quick sandwich in the Expo Hall and continued to browse and shop with the various vendors.  I skimmed through a lot of them, expecting to go back later for further details.  There was literally something for everyone there - all the major DNA testing companies, software vendors, new tools for scanning and preserving your research, tools for displaying your research, genealogical societies, etc. - you name it, they were there.  When I stopped at the RootsMagic booth, I met a gentleman with the last name of Mendenhall, and I had to ask if he was related to the Quaker Mendenhall line.  Turns out he was, and I gave him my contact card and told him I'd like to share information with him on that line.

My first afternoon session was Dr. Thomas Jones' talk on Writing About and Documenting DNA Test Results.  This was an informative talk that really applied to any written research report. One of the key take-aways for me on this topic was that when he said that writing genealogically means that you must document everything.  That made me think about some of what I'm putting together on this blog and how I need to better cite my sources.

My next afternoon session was with Jen Baldwin on Digging for Details : Getting the Full Story.  I had seen Jen speak before at the Indiana Genealogical Society Conference in Ft. Wayne, and like there, she didn't disappoint with this topic.  She has some interesting family stories and evidence to examine. The main take-away from her talk was that we should treat each document we examine as if it is the only piece of evidence we have on an ancestor - and to really look at every detail to see what other avenues of research that could lead to for a fuller picture.  She also encouraged us to utilize sources such as PERSI and JSTOR, which I definitely need to utilize more. Unfortunately, I didn't get a good picture of Jen while she was speaking.

After that, I decided I would head over to the Family History Library and spend a little time there.  I enjoyed the Discovery Center there, and downloaded some information on family trees through FamilySearch that they said connected me to several famous people, some Presidents and others with the LDS church.  Some of the family lines looked correct, while others might need to be tweaked just a bit.

I browsed upstairs through some of the county books, though I didn't have a real research plan for a trip to the Family History Center.  When I do this again, I will make sure that I have scheduled more time in Salt Lake City so I can research at the library and have an orderly plan of attack.

Overall, I think I learned something from each session, which is the goal of furthering my genealogy education.  In addition, I met a lot of great people today and introduced myself to them, handing them my contact cards and encouraging them to check out my blog and see if we are related.  At the end of the day, I'm tired but excited to further my research and feel that today has energized me and given me some good tips and tools to succeed.