Sunday, March 25, 2018

This Week On My Family History Calendar

March 26-April 1





March 25-
  My Maternal 3rd Great Grandmother, Eliza Atiza Brazell Roberts (1836-1890), would be celebrating her 182nd birthday. Eliza was born in Richland County, S.C. to John Brazell (1794-?) and Martha Parnold Brazell (1795-1876).   

Eliza (Brazell) Roberts
Headstone
Brown's Chapel Cemetary
Richland County, South Carolina

March 30~
   My maternal step-grandfather, Francis "Frank" Emerson Sullivan, Jr. (1923-2004), was born 95 years ago on this day. Frank was the first and only child of Francis Emerson Sullivan, Sr. (1880-1925) and Mary Christine (Williams) Sullivan. (1896-1930). 
He was born at Camp Jackson, Richland, South Carolina. 

Frank Sullivan
©Cheri Hudson Passey
Who are you rememsbering this week?
Thanks so much for stopping by!

Helping you climb your family tree,






Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section or you may also put a link to a blog post telling about what had you dancing this week.


My Happy Dance This Week:  
Have I mentioned that I love teaching people how to begin and continue on in their genealogy journey? Yep, I believe I have a time or two!
 Coaching is another love of mine. Spending one on one time with a client who needs an extra pair of eyes to look at a problem or advice an what their next steps should be or as my client this past week wanted, suggestions on how to begin with the box full of family photos and documents she had collected.
What had me doing the happy dance this week? My client's response when I asked her what prompted her to want to take the next step and actually begin sorting through the box and begin finding her ancestors and telling their stories. 
She picked up an old photo of a couple taken in the early 1900s and said: " I just feel so connected to them and want to know them." Tears were flowing from her eyes. What a touching moment! 

What made you want to start on your genealogy journey?


                                                                                   Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 


Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Saturday, March 24, 2018

RootsTech 2018~An Opportunity to Feel and Be Inspired!

RootsTech 2018 Theme

RootsTech is unlike other genealogy conferences in many ways. 
One of those ways is daily opening sessions which include celebrity and industry speakers and the last two years, family comedian Jason Hewlett.
Why is that important and why should you care?
Often as we go about our genealogy research, looking for family and their stories, we can get frustrated, lose focus and stuck in a rut. Let's be honest. It can be a lonely pursuit.

The opening sessions of RootsTech can get you motivated and excited to do what we love! 

Starting each Keynote session, we were woken up and energized by the clean comedy of entertainer Jason Hewitt. He had us dancing, laughing and in tears as he was touched by the emotion shared by the speakers he introduced.

Enjoying the antics of Jason Hewlett

Industry leaders spoke of new projects to obtain records, technical advances in DNA and how to motivate and encourage the love of family and this important work of remembering those who have gone before.

We were welcomed to RootsTech 2018 by Steve Rockwood, President of FamilySearch International.

My Favorite Quote from Steve Rockwood

Scott Fisher of the genealogy podcast Extreme Genes leads panelists discussing the future of genealogy.


My Heritage Announced DNAQuest. Helping adoptees by offering free DNA Tests. 



Excitement for Season 3 of Relative Race was in the air as host Dan Debenham gave us a sneak preview of the show! If you haven't been watching, you really should!


Findmypast announced the digitization of more Catholic Church records!


The folks from Ancestry got my attention when talking about DNA stories. 
These happen to be mine!!


Celebrity Keynote speakers awed us with their tender stories of family, had us riveted in our seats with musical performances and touched our hearts when they couldn't contain excitement over being presented with documents and records to add to their family tree,

Brandon Stanton gifted photographer of Humans of New York explained how he began taking pictures of the people he met on the streets and his ability to pull the most amazing stories from this subjects. He touched my heart with the projects and people he supports. 


Raising money for childhood cancer

He was touched as David Rencher, Chief Genealogist at Family Search introduced him to family.

Learning out about family stories.


Olympic Skater and all around nice guy Scott Hamilton shared, for the first time in a keynote address, stories about his family.  He described his growing up years as an adopted child, his surrogate parents in the skating world, his marriage and struggle to have children and what it felt like the first time he held his son. He also shares how he and his wife were able to adopt two children from Haiti.
He understands that knowing who we are and where we come from brings stability and peace in our lives.


Scott Hamilton beginning his keynote address

A man proud of his family!
Learning his ancestors overcame adversity too from Diane Loosie, Family History Library Director

 Mexican Singer Natalia Lafourcade, you may know her from her song in the movie Coco, had us all in tears with her beautiful pure voice. She performed several songs for us including "Remeber Me"    which she sang live for the first time. Natalie headed to California the next day to sing it during the Acadamy Awards!  



The look on her face says it all. Natalie was surprised, and emotional as part of her family tree was revealed to her on stage.


Much anticipated speaker, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. from the PBS television series, "Finding Your Roots" shared his first experience in learning about an enslaved ancestor when he was a boy and the importance of never giving up on research.


Although having looked for years, just before arriving in Salt Lake, he received this copy of the newspaper obituary he remembered reading as a child. 

Circled is the Obituary for his once enslaved ancestor

Why attend these special RootsTech opening sessions? The sheer joy of experiencing these moments with other genealogists. That look of yes, we KNOW and UNDERSTAND with those sitting near us. 


Friends waiting for the day's opening sessions to begin!








Coming out of the hall, heading to our classes or the expo hall with a renewed feeling of I can do this, I want to do this! Now, let's go learn something that will help us do this!!


Why? Becuase of the opportunity to feel and be inspired! 

If you weren't able to attend RootsTech in person or view them on Livestream or simply want to watch these wonderful keynotes and see the recorded classes again, they can be watched by clicking on this link

Before you know it, we will be hearing about the speakers, classes, and events for RootsTech 2019.
I encourage you to go and experience the largest genealogy conference in the world!

Were you there, listened live or watched the recording? What was your favorite speaker or moment of the opening sessions?

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Helping you climb your family tree,




Sunday, March 18, 2018

This Week On My Family HIstory Calendar

March 18-March 24


March 19~
    Eliza (Brazell) Roberts (1836-1890), my maternal 3rd great grandmother, died 128 years ago in Richland County, South Carolina. She was buried in Brown's Chapel Cemetery, Richland County, South Carolina. She died just short of a week before her birthday which is also remembered on this post.


Eliza Brazell Roberts
Headstone
photo credit: Jim Hepler



March 22~

 This day would have been the 124 birthday of my paternal great grandfather, William Treadford Roberts (1894-1959).
 He was the son of George Phillip Roberts (1856-1930) and Hattie (Brazell) Roberts (1870-1927) and was born in Richland County, South Carolina. 


William Treadford Roberts
©Cheri Hudson Passey



Who are you remembering this week?

Thanks so much for stoping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,



Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!



You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section or you may also put a link to a blog post telling about what had you dancing this week.


My Happy Dance This Week:  
 Those of you who know me well know that I LOVE teaching genealogy classes. I love helping people understand how to begin and learn the principles of research. 
This week, my Beginning Genealogy Class for the In-Depth Genealogist Acadamy was announced and I was contacted about teaching a couple of classes at the local library! 
Helping people learn to climb their family tree is so exciting! Double Happy Dance for me!


                                                                                   Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!


Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 


Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!


Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Friday, March 16, 2018

RootsTech 2018 ~An Opportunity to Learn and Build Skills

A Beautiful Morning View at RootsTech 2018

Every year at Rootstech there are many classes to choose from. There are traditional classes on various subjects, labs to help you learn by doing and demonstrations of techniques and products and small group instructions in the expo hall.
There is no excuse to come away without having learned something to help you be a better genealogist!

D. Joshua Taylor
Presenting "Big Data: Buzz Word or Family HIstory Revolution?"
@Cheri Hudson Passey
Photo by permission

This year I attended Josh Taylor's class on Big Data, a class on how we can take various types of data gathered from different record types and come up with conclusions for our research. One interesting idea was the possibility to recreate the 1890 census by gathering the data from city directories, the 1890 Veteran's Schedules, and other resources. That would be quite the project! 
As genealogists, we need to look at sets of data to see how we can combine them in new ways to come up with answers to our questions. As usual, Josh was an engaging speaker and had the audience wanting to start on some of the projects he mentioned!

Amie Bowser Tennant
Presenting "Deed You Hear About These Underutilized Records"
@Cheri Hudson Passey
Photo by permission

Amie Bower Tennant shared methods of finding clues in deed and other types of records that are often not thought of when researching our families. Amie went through the various types of deeds and where to look for them and discussed other records commonly found in court records. 
The information provided in them may lead to what we need to break through brick walls.
This presentation provided good information that could be easily understood by all levels of genealogy research experience.


Curt Witcher
Presenting "Beyond Hatched, Matched and Dispatched: More Stories
@Cheri Hudson Passey
Photo by permission
The importance of gathering all the information available about your ancestors was the main point in Curt Witcher's talk. He began with a short explanation of the Genealogical Proof Standard which emphasizes doing reasonably exhaustive research. In a world of access to many documents and other records, we can be too quick to add people to our trees with no further investigation to the stories surrounding them.  Connecting with our ancestors through the stories of their lives makes them real and can teach us as we learn from their experiences. Newspapers are a rich source of information on the day to day lives of our ancestors. 
Curt is a great speaker and those in the class were inspired to look beyond the names, dates, and places on their genealogy charts by looking for and adding stories to enhance their research.



Amy Johnson Crow
Presenting" You're On Social Media, Now What?"
@Cheri Hudson Passey
Photo by permission

How to use social media in the right way was a class for those with a genealogy business. 

Amy Johnson Crow gave advice on how, when and why of using social media platforms to promote and share our message without being obnoxious or overbearing. 
There is proper etiquette for social media use! She shared best practices for each type of platform.
Thanks for the tips, Amy! 


Tony Burroughs
Presenting "Platting Plantations"
@Cheri Hudson Passey
Photo by permission 
Tony Burroughs shared six phases of African American genealogy which included how to determine the name of the last slave owner. If a name can be found, the next step is to see if the owner had a plantation or other piece of land that can be found in records. Tony showed how deeds and land plat maps can be used to draw and place on a map where the land is today.
Walking the land our ancestors walked is a life-changing experience.

Many of the talks from RootsTech 2018 were recorded and can be watched using this link.


Walking around the expo hall can provide many learning experiences. Many of the booths offer classes with schedules posted to allow you to plan your day and others have demonstrations of their products to help you learn how they can help you in your genealogy research. 
Taking time to stop by and speak to those who represent the many companies represented in the hall can lead to learning tips and tricks, receiving discount offers and getting information about upcoming new features. 












There are so many ways to learn and build your genealogy skills when attending RootsTech!

Did you attend? What skills did you enhance by being there? 
What is the most important tip you learned?

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,




Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Beginning Genealogy~Starting Off Right



Announcing my new online class via The In-Depth Genealogist Academy starting April 1st!

"Beginning Genealogy~Starting Off Right"


The desire to discover our ancestors continues to grow in popularity with the addition of online trees, genealogy TV shows, and the popularity of DNA tests.  How do we begin to create our family tree and know we are researching the right lines and adding the right people? How do we know where to look for the information we need and if it is correct? The process can be overwhelming.
Beginning Genealogy ~ Starting off Right will teach the basics of beginning your genealogy journey. During the four-week class, we will learn how to start, understand terminology, organize your research, avoid common mistakes, and learn what types of records are available and where to find them.
Homework will provide an opportunity to begin the process of building your tree by putting the concepts into action as we move through the class.
Whether you have never filled out a pedigree chart or have been researching for a while with Cheri’s help you will build the confidence and skills you need to climb your family tree!
Here's what we will be learning during the 4-week class:

Pre-Class
Ice Breaker: Welcome Video. Student introductions.

Week 1-Starting the Journey
Building Your Tree and Staying Organized

Week 2-Knowing Where You’re Going
Mapping Out What You Need and Where to Find It.

Week 3-  Staying on Track
Working Your Plan and Avoiding Pitfalls

Week 4- Stopping to Smell the Roses
Understanding Your Discoveries
Final Summation Video
End of class review

Each week there will be a video to watch, a lesson to read and homework to help you put the principles into practice. Homework will not be graded but turned in for positive, helpful feedback.
I am excited about teaching this class! Won't you join me?
Sign up today using this link

Helping you climb your family tree,


Sunday, March 11, 2018

Celebration Sunday~Genealogy Happy Dance!

You know the dance. You know you've done it. The one every researcher does after finding something new. The one where you want to jump up and down and shout to everyone around that you found the document, contacted a cousin who has the family Bible, made a DNA connection or found a whole new branch to your tree. The one that is met with glazed stares and eye rolls.
                                                          Celebration Sunday is a place to share your discoveries. 
This is a weekly series to enable everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. This can be done by scrolling down and adding your story to the comments section. You may also put a link to a blog post.?




My Happy Dance This Week:  
Home and Time to Process!
Memories of my week in Salt Lake City and attending RootsTech 2018 are truly making me do that happy dance! So much to process from the classes, keynote speakers, expo hall and the connections renewed and created. 
Over the next few days, I will be writing about my experiences and sharing what I learned and felt at the world's largest genealogy conference. 
If you attended, I would love to hear your takeaways.
Did you meet new people, learn something to help you in your research or connect with a cousin? 
The best part for me of any genealogy get together, is the feeling of belonging. 
Sharing our passion for finding our ancestors is truly something to dance about!




                                                                                   Share your discovery!
                                                                                   Let the dancing commence!

Share the fun! Click below to tweet this post! 


Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Helping you climb your family tree,