Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! Participating in a Successful Genealogy Fair.

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add your story to the comments section, or you may also link to a blog post about what had you dancing this week.

My Happy Dance Moment for the week:

The Grand Strand Genealogy Club in Myrtle Beach, SC, had a Genealogy Fair at the local library where we have our meetings once a month.

After many weeks of planning, we were worried about whether anyone would come. But come they did! We had a great turnout. Throughout the stations we set up, people learn about the club, our newsletter, and the programs we offer.  Beginners learned how to start their journey. Club members shared how FamilySearch and Ancestry help with research. Our DNA special interest group was there to help with questions about taking tests and understanding results.  Anyone who wanted to discuss a problem they'd like to talk about could get a free 15-minute consultation, which I provided. We had a great day and had several people interested in coming to our club meeting and becoming members.

A day full of happy dances!

What were you celebrating?

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! AI Photo Enhancement-Giving Clues to An Old Family Picture.

 

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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add your story to the comments section, or you may also link to a blog post about what had you dancing this week.

Daughrity Family
Sumter, SC
Before 1930
Photo Copy of Original

AI-Edited Version of the Same Photo

My Happy Dance Moment for the week:

I have an old photo from the mid-1920s that shows a family on their porch.

It is faded and very hard to see the people in the background, but I know it's my great-great-grandmother and four of her sons on the steps and sitting in the chair.

I decided to see if ChatGPT could help clear it up.

I'm not sure if you could initially see who was standing on the porch, but it did a good job of giving me some clues. There are at least two little girls.

The little girls are most likely my grandmother and her sisters. There seems to be someone in a white shirt on the right-hand side of the porch. That may be my great-grandfather, since he is not in the photo on the stairs with his brothers. There are some hints of others who have faded and couldn't be restored. Perhaps all 5 little girls were there, and their mother, my great-grandmother, was standing on the porch as well. 

The tool wasn't able to clear up all of the faces, so I can't tell which one of the girls they are, but it's fun to know they were in the photo. The little boy on the right, sitting next to the man on the steps, is most likely one of two cousins. 

It also cleared up the faces of the men, my grandmother's uncles, who were sitting on the steps. My great-great-grandmother is sitting on the chair. I wish her face had been turned towards the camera for a better image of her.

It didn't work perfectly with this photo, at one point when I asked it to clear up the faces a little more, it went way overboard and created faces that were completely made up! It even turned the head of the woman in the chair and had her looking at the camera. I say her, but it looked like a man! So, AI can help, but you have to be careful of what it might do and completely change a photo. 

AI is getting better at photo editing. But it still has problems with some photos.

Always make sure to state that a photo has been edited with an AI tool and not the original. It is important for future generations to know that an editing tool was used. 

Have you used an AI editing tool for your photos?

How did your photo turn out?

What were you celebrating?

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! IGHR!

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add your story to the comments section, or you may also link to a blog post about what had you dancing this week.

My Happy Dance Moment for the week:

This week, I was a first-time instructor at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research  (IGHR). I was honored to be part of Course 9 Research in the South -Colonial States course. I gave two sessions on South Carolina.

Mark Lowe coordinated the course and is a master at teaching and telling stories.

We all had a wonderful week of learning and sharing. 

My second happy dance moment was the announcement that I would be coordinating a course specifically on South Carolina for 2026 for IGHR!

I am so excited for putting this together with some amazing instructors.

Interested in finding out more about IGHR? Click here!

What were you celebrating?

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! FamilySearch Full-Text Search Adding to the Story.

 

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add your story to the comments section, or you may also link to a blog post about what you had dancing this week.

My Happy Dance Moment for the Week:

I have told the story many times of my grandfather and his two brothers being killed in WWII, and their family receiving telegrams within a few months of each other. A devastating time for the family.

Collecting articles and newspaper accounts is important to me as I try to combine and share their stories so they are not forgotten.

FamilySearch Full -Text Search came through for me again this week!

When I entered my grandfather, Gilbert E. Roberts' name into the search engine, a newspaper article I hadn't seen before came up in the results. 

This time it was published in a North Carolina newspaper. 

Gilbert lived in Charlotte, where he worked in the local cotton mill before enlisting in the Army. His parents and brothers worked there, too, so it is no surprise that the news of their deaths was considered newsworthy, even though the family had moved to South Carolina by the time of their deaths. This is an article I had not seen before and adds a different twist to the story.

Source: Charlotte, Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9BB-779C-4?view=explore : May 4, 2025), image 630 of 911; NewsBank (Naples, Florida). Image Group Number: 101338724

Each report is a little different. According to this announcement of the deaths, Wilbert's death was reported to the family before Gilbert's. Gilbert died in September and Wilbert in October. Either order of telegram doesn't change the fact that this tragedy affected generations of the Roberts family.

Full-test search does it again! Have you tried it yet?

What have you discovered?

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday : Genealogy Happy Dance-RootsTech 2025!

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment for the week:

How can I choose one moment from my week in Salt Lake City?

The week was packed with researching in the Family History Library, giving and listening to presentations, attending special events, interviewing keynote speakers and members of the genealogy community, and, the absolute best, meeting up with old friends and making new ones.

It's all one big celebration with memories that will last forever.

Did you attend RootsTech 2025? 

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

Helping you climb your family tree,

Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance: An Unexpected Find!

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment for the week:

My father was stationed in the US Air Force in Bermuda when I was a child.

We lived there for three years. I have so many wonderful memories.

After my father died in 2019, my mom and I booked a cruise to Bermuda. We planned to return to all the places we lived and see the sites again. Our trip was scheduled for the spring of 2020. 

We all know what happened. COVID hit, and our cruise was canceled. We rebooked, and it was canceled again.

Fast forward to March 2024.  My mom passed away peacefully in my home. 

I decided that my husband and I would take the cruise in my parents' honor. 

I have spent the last year going through photos, making plans to recreate some of them, and visiting the places that meant so much to us.

The only problem was that we lived in two different houses while there and did not have addresses.

Our mail came to a PO box on the base, and the homes were named but not given numbers when we lived there. Mom couldn't remember what they were called, and I couldn't find any information letting me know.

I did find a clue on a map, where one of the locations was circled, but there was nothing specific, just a general area.

There has always been a strong memory of driving to the other home. We would go past a cemetery with white graves above ground. As a child, it was not a sight I liked to see! On a Google map, I was able to locate the cemetery and the road I felt we lived on.

I have photos of the homes and am pretty sure I found one, but the other? The one near the cemetery? The road it was on doesn't have a house that looks like the one from the photo. It's been decades, so I know things change.

Then, yesterday, as I was going through more of Mom's things, I discovered two Bermuda driver's licenses! One for my dad and one for my mom. Each listed different residences.  

They have the names of the roads and the name of the cottage that I can't find! 

I can't believe it!!!

Hopefully, this additional information will help me locate and visit both homes when we are in Bermuda!

I will be doing this happy dance for some time!

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! Making the List!

 

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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment for the week:

Legacy Family Tree Webinars posts a Top 10 List at the end of each year, showing the top-watched webinars and other videos. 

This is a list full of speakers I admire and learn from.

Imagine my surprise when I received an email telling me I had made the list!

#3 in the list of webinar shorts 

Cousin Connections-How to Find the Living 

#10 on the list of TechZone videos

5 Ways to Use ChatGPT for Genealogy 

To view the complete list, click here.

What an honor to be included on a list of great presenters!

And if you watch my videos on Legacy, THANK YOU!

Definitely a happy dance moment. 

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! Proof of Marriage.

 

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment for the week:

Emma Ruth (Baker) Early
(1901-1993)
Copy of Original Photo in Possession
of Cheri Hudson Passey

Jubal Ransom Early
(1888-1964)
Original Copy of Photo in Possession 
of Cheri Hudson Passey

For years, I have looked for proof of marriage for my paternal great-grandparents, Jubal R. Early and Emma Ruth Baker. They later divorced. 

Jubal had been married a couple of times before he married my great-grandmother. Was their marriage legal? Had Jubal legally divorced his previous wives? 

Finally, in August, I discovered a divorce record for Jubal and Ruth, which included a marriage date and location.  Before leaving for Christmas, I ordered the license from the county clerk's office.

It arrived while I was gone, and the certificate is attached. 

Proof they were married. 

Happy Dance! 

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week, and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! A Visit to The FamilySearch Library and Lunch at Eva's Bakery!

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment for the week:

After a wonderful Christmas in Wyoming with my family, I visited the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. 

I did some client work and some of my own research.

Always a Happy Dance Moment!

To make the day even more special, I ate lunch at Eva's Bakery and took a photo outside the Kearns Building. If you are a fan of Nathan Dylan Goodwin's Investigative Genetic Genealogy Mystery Series, you know that the Venator office is in the Kearns Building, and Maddie and the team love going across the street to Eva's! 

Share your Happy Dance Moment for the week and let's celebrate together!

 Thanks so much for stopping by!

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Celebration Sunday-Genealogy Happy Dance! MyHeritage LiveMemory, Enabling Photos to Come to Life!

 

 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 that you found the document, contacted a cousin with the family Bible, made a DNA connection, or found a 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 weekly series enables everyone to tell about their Genealogy Happy Dance moment. 

Share by scrolling 

down and add 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 Moment:

Making my family photos move with the new LiveMemory feature!

A new AI tool from MyHertitage was announced a couple of days ago, and it is so much fun to play with. Using the app on an Android or iPhone, upload a photo and wait for an email with the photo now turned into a short video.

Here's a some examples from my photos uploaded to LiveMemory:

My parents. Both deceased. I miss them so much. 

It was fun to see this photo come to life.

Helping my dad cross off a bucket list item.

 Swimming with the dolphins at Dolphin Cove in Florida.

It even works with family group photos! 

My Thames family from Richland County, SC.

This turned out so funny. My great grandmother Beulah Mae (Price) Roberts, walks right out of the photo!

Blanche and Annie Thames, my great grandmother and her sister appear to be a bit irritated with each other in this one.

          

My dad and me on a swing.

And me as a baby!

These aren't perfect and some photos work better than others, but it's so much fun to play with and see your ancestors move!

Want to try it?

Here's the link to find out more and download the app.

Have fun with this new AI feature that has so many in the genealogy community doing the happy dance this week!

 

                                                                                              

Looking forward to reading about your Happy Dance moment! And if you give this new toy a try, share your videos!

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