Lesson 6 - Documenting Sources

An important part of gathering family information is to document your sources. It really matters to record how you know what you know. One reason this important is to demonstrate that your information in reliable. Another is to help tease out where the problem is if your records don't exactly match up with someone else s.

My Grandma Kurtz celebrated her birthday on July 18 every year. Her certified copy of birth record lists her birthday as June 29, 1881. I was told by my grandmother that the reason for the disparity is that babies were delivered in the county by a traveling doctor who came out to the various farms in the area and then later supplied a report to the folks at Vital Records at the end of each quarter. Grandmother suggested that the doctor may have gotten two babies mixed up, not remembering which night he delivered which baby. She said Gertrude's mother clearly knew when her daughter was born and the family information on the birth date should trump whatever the state record might claim.

What's a person to do? I have a copy of the certified record in my family history book with a note telling why I believe it is not accurate.

Because my great grandmother was considered a "local pioneer" and one of the oldest people in her community, there were write ups about her in local papers on her birthday each year. Because those are based on self report, they all list her birthday as being in July.

Is it POSSIBLE she was born in June? I suppose. Does it matter? It did to my grandmother.

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints there are a series of statements that capsulize our core beliefs called "the Articles of Faith". One of those states: "We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly. We also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God." This acknowledges that while the Bible is a sacred record from inspired prophets, in all the many thousands of years of those records being handed down and then translated from one language to another, some errors have crept in along the way.

Just think - there is a BIG difference between celebrate and celibate. It doesn't take a very big mistake to change a lot of meaning.

Likewise, in family records it is easy to transpose numbers or to hit a wrong key on a keyboard. If we rely entirely on Great Aunt Tilly's family history that has been handed down for generations without ever checking sources ourselves, it is possible to perpetuate mistakes.

So check your data as much as it is reasonable to do so and leave a clear trail that proves where your information comes from.

Recording information based on personal memory is fine – you simply ought to say that is where the information came from.  Then, if or when other records come to light which give a different date or place for some relative’s key life events, future generations will have a better chance of knowing which information to trust.

A worthwhile family history activity for those who live in places where official documents or other written records are common is to periodically so searches for “official proof” of the family information we already have.  A great many records are now available online which have made this process far easier than in the past.

For those who live in areas of the world where oral tradition is the only record available it is especially important to get that information written down, recording who gave the information and the date and place the record was made.  Your future descendants will thank you for it.

Lesson 5 - Planning Family Reunions

In June of 1990 Ensign magazine published a short essay I wrote about the power of family reunions titled "The Tapestry Called Family". In that little story I talk abut family reunions that were held each year to celebrate the birthday of my great grandmother - Gertrude Anna Young Kurtz, who lived to be 102 years old.

This picture is from her 100th birthday party showing five generations of our family. (Left to right: me , then my mother (Nancy Krebs Pendley Powell), Grandma Kurtz (Gertrude Anna Young Kurtz), my grandmother (Florence Kurtz Krebs) and down in front my two sons, Aaron and Forest Baldwin. )

All of my life my Grandma Kurtz was the oldest person I had ever met. As a young girl, I could not imagine her ever having been like me or that I might ever be as old as she. However, as I say in my essay, through family reunions I began to see her as a whole person rather than an "ancient curiosity". Those family reunions helped me develop a strong sense of identity as a member of our clan.


On my father's side of the family we got together far less often. However, the few times we did left a lasting impression. My father was one of nine children and each of those nine had several children of their own, so I had lots of cousins. We were a large and boisterous clan given to lots of drama. Whereas my mother's people were generally more reserved, my dad's relatives were very intense. 

Uncle Tom always wanted to argue politics. My Aunt Marge had once lived in Bermuda and had somewhat of a mysterious past. Somewhere between the nine there was usually some feud going on. The backbone of that family, however was the heritage to my pioneer grandparents and the sense of attachment we all had to the ranch they homesteaded in Oak creek, AZ. Even though many of us traveled far and wide and ended up living in other parts of the country, that ranch and the many stories of that place were a part of us all.

Just as all families are different, each family gathering will be unique, depending on what you want it to be.

There are a number of online resources with tips for how to organize a family reunion. Here are just a few:

About.Com
Hub.com
Scrapjazz
Temple University

Some reunions will involve just a small group, such as when I gathered my siblings and their spouses together last summer.



Others will be multi-generational affairs including larger groups. Some families only get together every few years, especially when family members live at far distances from each other.  Others find it works best to have a regular time for gathering, acknowledging not everyone will make it every time.   My husband’s family gather together every year on the Saturday before Memorial Day.  We all know that is when it will be so we can plan our work and travel schedules accordingly.



Whether you want to have something simple in an informal setting or a more structured reunion with time for creating a formal family organization is up to you.

At the annual Bennett gatherings each family group taking turns for who has the responsibility for organizing and providing the main dish for the meal. Everyone else brings pot luck salads and desserts.

Some families choose to make it easy by having their reunions catered. This can be especially helpful when there are a lot of people traveling long distances. It's a bit hard to bring a casserole if you are driving cross country or coming by plane.

There is room for many different styles in family reunions. Some have talent shows or games with a family theme. One year we had a family auction and raised money for a family member with major medical expenses. The important thing is that you plan well and be open to suggestions from others.

This summer I hope to gather the cousins from my father's family in a Pendley Cousin Reunion. I know that not everyone will be able to come. But I am starting now to get the ball rolling so that I can organize a reunion that will hopefully be meaningful to as many as can make it. I will also create a "Cousin Directory" with photos and contact information of the entire tribe which will be distributed to everyone in the family, so whether they are actually at our gathering this year or not, hopefully they will begin to feel a bit more connected to the family.

When was the last time you had a family reunion? Maybe it's time to start planning the next one!

Lesson 4 - Identifying Family Photos

We all have them. Somewhere in a box or drawer there are old family photos of people we have absolutely no idea who are.

What could be more frustrating?

One of the saddest and most frustrating parts of family research is coming across wonderful old family photos that no one alive remembers who they are of.

Sometimes we don't have any clues to go on at all. Other times there are cryptic inscriptions such as "mother's cousins". WHOSE mother? What cousins?

On more than one occasion I have pounded my head against a wall trying to identify people in old photographs that had been passed down with no notes.

Other times we may know EXACTLY who is in the photo, but have no context in which to place them. For instance, mixed in a drawer with other family photos belonging to my great-grandmother was an image of a handsome young man in a bow tie with the inscription "Leslie Bostwick" written on the back. For YEARS my mother and grandmother both poured over old correspondences, bible lists and family charts trying to figure out where this man fit in to our clan. It was all in vain.

 Finally, when my great-grandmother was about 102 years old she finally admitted with a sheepish grin her secret of all those years. "He was my old beau." So he wasn't related at all.

On other occasions we will come across pictures that we know who is in and even where they belong in our family, but no one will be able to remember the when or the where or what the occasion was of the picture. That can be truly maddening!

I am deeply indebted to my grandchildren's OTHER grandmother. She was totally faithful in ALWAYS writing the name, date and place on the back of every family snapshot...something that I, alas, was not. I have been able to figure out several of my own family photographs only by comparing them to hers.

If you have old family photos you cannot quite pin down, there are a number of ways to find clues to guide you. Try THIS LINK for tips on how to sleuth your way to answers.

In order to properly tag family photos you have now for future reference, there are a number of methods. On of my favorites is taken from an old photo of a family reunion held at the George Cook home in Summit County, Ohio which was taken around 1910 (judging from the estimated age of the child who would grow up to be my grandmother, Florence Kurtz Krebs, and the fact that her mother was wearing black which would be appropriate considering her oldest child died in 1910.) This is the picture:

And THIS was my grandmother's method for keeping track who was at that long ago reunion:

She took a long sheet of heavy paper and made a hole with a pencil that fit precisely over each face in the photo. She numbered those holes and then made a list of the names. I can still hold that aging old card stock over the photograph and see the faces line up by their corresponding numbers. BLESS YOU forever, dear grandma. Finding this in her papers was like finding the Rosetta Stone.

These days I am converting most of my old pictures to digital format by scanning and labeling each one.  Now that we can load photos onto FamilySearch.org those photos will be preserved indefinitely, regardless of what happens to the originals.  They are also publicly available so all the cousins for generations to come will get the blessing of sharing them.

For those who are somewhat techie inclined there are various on line programs for sorting and storing photos such as Fotobounce. This is a great tool if you have LOTS of pictures to label with the same people being in a number of different views. You start identifying faces. The software then sorts through all the images in your collection and looks for possible matches. Of course, it still requires you to confirm or deny the match the machine thinks is the right one. And there COULD be confusion over family members with very similar features. But it has a simple facial recognition system that can save a lot of time, depending on the collection you have to work with.

Some folks, however, want nothing to do with computers. That's fine. Do what fits YOU best.

For writing directly on the backs of photographs your best bet it to use an acid free archival quality pen which can be purchased HERE for $5.99 You can also find these at any store that carries a good selection of scrap booking supplies.

Whatever method works best for you, just remember the old Chinese proverb: "The palest ink is better than the best memory." There are many ways of doing it - but find a method that works for you so that pictures of you and your immediate family do not one day wind up in an old shoe box marked "No one knows who".

Lesson 3: Creating an Individual or Family Timeline

One way to make an interesting family record is to create a visual timeline. This can be done to represent one specific individual's life or to tell the story of generations.

This can be done as simply or as elaborately as you choose. For a simple timeline all you need is a straight line and something to write with on a long sheet of paper. (See example above).

Another approach would be to use one of the many online tools for creating timelines, such as Graphic Map. The idea here is to use whatever tools and material are available to you to create a visual representation of a life (your own or one of your ancestors) or to create a represention of the events of multiple generations within your family.

This can also be a great way to get young children or teens involved in learning that family history can be fun. If you have an artistic flair and a sense of adventure, involve the whole family in the following:

Begin with large piece of poster board , construction paper or a piece of blank butcher paper. Make a horizontal line at the mid point of the paper and then mark off units of time (single years or by decades - you decide what best meets your needs.) If your timeline is for a single lifepath you will begin with year of birth. If you are making a chart for several generations it could begin with date of a marriage, date of emigration, whatever event you choose. Get creative!

Next you will glue on photos, words and symbols in the area of the paper above the line to represent significant happenings. (Make color photo copies of family photographs or print them off on a computer so you can add your special images without harming the originals, of course.) Add bits of fabric, glitter, and paint if you want to make it really fancy.

You can explore online clip art to find symbols you may want to use to represent the basics such as births, marriages and deaths or for homes, schools, jobs, and any special accomplishments you want to portray (this could be anything from an Eagle Scout award to running your first marathon!)

You may want to splurge with alphabet macaroni, glitter, beads, buttons and other objects that can be used to adorn your personal or family timeline. When it is complete, hang the timeline where all the family can admire it and be reminded of both the events portrayed in your masterpiece AND the special time you had together as a family being creative. Perhaps telling about the time you all got together and made the family timeline will be one of the special memory stories that will be passed down for generations to come.

Lesson 2: Writing Personal Histories

A key part of creating meaningful family records has absolutely nothing to do with tracking down dates of  long dead ancestors. A vital part of what we do as genealogists is to begin with creating a record of our own lives by keeping journals and writing personal histories.

Let's face it, the bare-bones details of when people were born, married and died can be pretty boring.  After all, the most boring part of the bible is the sections that are all who-begat-who.  Does anyone really care?  It is only when photographs, stories, correspondences and other information is found that I really begin to get connected to my ancestors.

It is important that I do not overlook my own history while I am busy searching out information for my kindred dead. 

Some time ago I posted a list of questions over on one of my other blogs that can be quite useful in writing a personal history. I gave these questions to my father-in-law years ago. He made a practice of writing down the answer to just one or two questions every Sunday afternoon. When he got them all done he gave them back to me and I typed them up. This gave us a wonderful record of his life and history that is a real treasure to have.
I used those same questions as a "get acquainted" game in an empty nesters family home evening gathering. I cut the questions into strips and had everyone in the group pick a question out of the bowl which we then all answered out loud. It was a lot of fun. So however you may want to use them, the link to my list of questions is HERE.

Here are a couple other resources about how to write a life story:
Family History Quick Start
Your Life is Your Story

The important thing to remember in writing a personal history is that you don't have to write about your WHOLE life. Just begin telling stories of things that you recall. Then write another. And another. Over time you can arrange these stories either topically or chronologically to weave a story of your life. The important thing is to GET STARTED!

LESSON 1 - WHY Genealogy?

There are many reasons why people get interested in genealogy. Some people come to it out of curiosity. Some do it out of appreciation for their cultural heritage. Others begin searching for information about their medical history.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have a different motivation. My faith teaches that family bonds are eternal. I believe that I will continue my family relationships in the life to come. In addition, the doctrine of my faith teaches that through sacred ordinances performed in holy temples, those who never knew of or fully understood the teachings of Jesus Christ during their mortal lifetimes can be given the opportunity to have the blessings of the gospel. So I feel a real sense of responsibility to seek out my deceased ancestors.

Elder Boyd K. Packer said: "Family history work has the power to do something for the dead. It has an equal power to do something for the living. Family history work of Church members has a refining, spiritualizing, tempering influence on those who are engaged in it." I have a testimony those words are true.

Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints are taught that we can act as "Saviors on Mount Zion" for our ancestors by seeking out essential information about our kindred dead and performing sacred ordinances for them in the Temples of the Lord.
On the church's website, in the section on Family History Work & Genealogy it says:
"In the spirit world, the restored gospel is preached to those who died without receiving it in mortality. Many of those in the spirit world accept the gospel, but without a body they cannot receive the ordinances necessary for salvation. The primary purpose of family history work is to obtain names and other genealogical information so that temple ordinances can be performed in behalf of deceased ancestors." Found HERE
Over the years I have done quite a bit of family history research. Back when I was a young stay-at-home mother I worked hard to fit it in between managing my busy household and kissing scraped knees. Even when my kids got older, as a harried graduate student I somehow found time to make it over to the local family history library to search through old microfilm files or to locate cemeteries where I could track down critical dates. However, in the last 10-15 years I've done very little family history work.
Alas, too often I have allowed the demands of my professional work life to take precedence. Also, having essentially found all the "low hanging fruit" I became discouraged when I kept running in to dead ends after going back about six generations. So, little by little, I gradually slipped away from my steady routine of working on my genealogy projects. I would pick at it it fitful bursts of energy now and again, but it was no longer a regular part of my life. Then, when I moved to a different state it all got crammed into boxes and has not been looked at since.

There is a time and season for everything, they say.
I am determined that my time for doing regular family history work is back. I do want to do more original research. For now, however, my main focus will be on reorganizing the information I already have and saving it all onto the web so that it will be available to others who care to share it.
I have a STRONG testimony of WHY to do family history work. Now it is time for me to start over at square one to re-learn HOW to do it. The tools have all changed since last time I was taking this seriously. My records are a hodge podge mess in the boxes they were hastily shoved in to at my last move. It's time for me to take them all out and get them organized. It's time for me to learn some new skill sets in research. This blog will be my way of holding myself accoutable during the process of the class I am starting and to record the resources I find.

REFERENCES:D & C 127:4-10
D & C 128: 15-18
D & C 138
Malachi 4:5-6

Is Microfilm Obsolete??

I recently read a post about microfilm soon to be discarded at the National Archives at New York City. They have a long list of records they will keep, but they also have two pages of lists of microfilm records they are looking to donate if they can find any interested takers.

Apparently these are records that are otherwise available online or are duplicates of other collections.

These are things like:
Passenger Lists of Chinese Arrivals at British Columbia, Canada Jan 1906 - June 1912
Federal Mortality Census Schedules 1850-1880
World War 1 Draft reg. cards
Index to passenger lists of vessels arriving at Boston, MA July 1, 1906 - Dec 31, 1920

(To see the full list on a PDF file go HERE and go to last two pages)

Apparently they are willing to donate it for the price of shipping it.
Contact information is:
David Powers at david.powers@nara.gov or Diane Leblanc at diane.leblanc@nara.gov

or call (781) 663-0130 or write to: Frederick C. Murphy Federal Center, 380 Trapelo Rd, Waltham, MA 02452.

As more and more information gets digitized and is easily indexed by computer there is a tendency to think that microfilm will go the way of the buggy whip. But in truth, there are only two kinds of computers - those that have already crashed at some point or those that are waiting to do so. Files can be corrupted. Data can be lost. Microfilm is a stable record that can last for many years if cared for properly.

I do hope some nice library somewhere will make a home for the films being passed on by the National Archives. The very idea of it ending up in the dust bin makes me shudder all the way down to my bones!

Who Was Elijah?

Elijah was an important Israelite prophet whose name in Hebrew means "My Lord is Jehovah" . Eliljah lived during the first half of the 9th century, BCE. His first recorded appearance is about halfway through the rein of King Ahab, son of Omri, (who founded the northern kingdom in Samaria) which would put him at about 864 BCE.

Elijah is regarded as a "reformer prophet" - his purpose was to call the Israelites back to the worship of Yahweh and away from the evil pagan religious cults that were growing in popularity. The conflicts between Elijah and the Priests of Baal are struggles to see which was stronger: Hebrew monotheism or Pagan polytheism.

According to 2 Kings, Elijah was taken up to heaven in a chariot of fire. Jewish tradition has it then that Elijah is not really dead-- some say he continues to wander the earth and will reappear when it is time to announce the arrival of the Messiah. For this reason many early Christians identified John the Baptist with Elijah, because John announced the arrival of Jesus.

(From Profile & Biography of Elijah, Old Testament Prophet & Biblical Figure by Austin Cline which can be found HERE)

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we recognize Elijah as the Prophet who held the sealing power to bind on earth and have it bound in heaven.

In Malachi 4:5-6 it says: "Behold I will send you Elijah the Prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. And he shall turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the children to their fathers, least I come and smite the earth with a curse."

Many leaders in our church have taught powerful lessons about "the Spirit of Elijah", referring to the privilege and responsibility we have to seek out information about our kindred dead and act as "Saviors on Mount Zion" in their behalf through sacred temple covenants. (See Priceless Riches of the Holy Temple by Harold B. Lee HERE)

I have been richly blessed by a burning desire to learn more about my family and to complete temple ordinances in their behalf. This blog will be my record of my ongoing search for new ways to find family information and a place to keep links to the various resources I turn up.

Photo Credit: Elisha Watches as Elijah is Taken Up in a Whirlwind by Dore' Gustave found HERE

Additional References:
Hearts Bound Together - by Henry B. Eyring May 2005
The Spirit of Elijah - by Gordon B. Hinkley Nov 1996
The Spirit of Elijah - by Russell M. Nelson Nov 1994
The Mission of Elijah - by Mark E. Peterson Aug 1981
Elijah the Prophet - by Howard W. Hunter December 1971