Tag: Family Stories

Putting Your Ancestor into Historical Context

In my last blog post, I used several examples from my research of Gideon Tripp and his father-in-law Benjamin Watts, along with both of their families. I worked on these two families as part of a research project for a class I took earlier this year. As I was researching their residence in Sangamon County, Illinois from the mid 1830’s...

Getting Our Posterity to Love Family History

Rootstech is almost here!  I am so excited to be returning to Salt Lake City to attend. I hope you are too! This is my 6th Rootstech experience and it just keeps getting better. Last year was my first year working for The Family History Guide.  Working in the Expo Hall at RT, teaching some mini-classes in our booth, doing demos of the...

When Seeking Turns To Building in Family History

Not long ago I had a very interesting experience working with a patron in the Oakland California Family Search Library. He had never been on FamilySearch before and was eager to see what we had for him on Family Tree.  He had been on other big sites for a couple of free days in the past and wanted to further his search for his great...

Teaching Children The Art of Storytelling

When children have enjoyable experiences in family history at an early age, they are more likely to continue involvement in family history as they grow older and reap innumerable benefits along the way. The Children’s Activities Page in The Family History Guide lists games and activities that can work miracles in getting children interested in family history, and make it a snap...

Party On! Check Out This FamilySearch Auto-Reminder to Celebrate Ancestral Moments

One of the fantastic family history activities listed on the Youth Page of The Family History Guide Family Activities section (Documenting the Past: Y4-03) is to create a timeline using Twile. This site is an interactive, cloud-based service in which you can create a timeline of your family’s past, present, and future. Made up of photos and milestones (such as births, marriages, deaths, and any...

Check Out the Free App “Famicity”- a Private Social Network and FamilySearch Partner

There is a new app in town and it might be just what you and your family are looking for! FamilySearch announced France-based Famicity.com as its newest partner in September of 2017. Famicity is a free and fun social media app (IOS and Android) and website that offers all of your family members a private social network based on a family tree. Each will have the opportunity to collaboratively tell and preserve...

Claribel’s Family History Adventure

The Story of the Claribel Organ Stop (video)   I would say that most people desire to know about the lives of their ancestors.  A sense of belonging is especially important for children and for youth. A knowledge about the stories from the past is often what gives children of all ages a sense of their place in the world. It...

Jonathan’s Story

Creating an engaging video that is both informative and inspiring is no small task, but Chris Jones is a master of his craft and accomplishes this quest with ease. Skillfully sharing a personal story with emotion and sensitivity is not easily done, but comes naturally to Jonathan Johnson. As members of The Family History Guide Association, we are having difficulty finding words...

How Will You Preserve Your Memories?

Gemma Green-Hope captures a scene many of us have faced (or might face in the future) as she describes how after her grandmother’s death in 2010, she had the task of helping her father and uncle sort through some of her grandmother’s possessions. She writes, “I inherited some of her clothes to wear, books to read, a bicycle to ride.”...

The Family History Fun Basket – It’s Ready when You Are!

Circle up the family for a fun, easy to create family history game that will have you all laughing, learning, and making memories at a moment’s notice! It might be a small, last minute family get-together, or a planned evening with loads of cousins ready to party – whatever the occasion, you will have it covered! You will not only have...