If you have family roots in the United Kingdom – UK, (England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland), or countries historically connected to the UK (such as Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand), you may be familiar with the tradition of celebrating “Boxing Day”. I had never heard of Boxing Day, until I served a mission in… Read More Happy Boxing Day
My great grandmother, Laurine Dorthea Knudsen, was born in Hjorring, Denmark in 1855 to Lars Christian Knudsen and Karen Marie Nielsdatter Grontved. Lars and Karen were not married. Lars wasn’t part of Laurine’s life and Karen went off to work in another part of Denmark, leaving Laurine to be raised by her grandparents. When Laurine… Read More Indexing Found Karen Marie
One of my favorite Christmas songs is “Mary, Did You Know?” The songwriters cause us to ponder about what the mother of Jesus knew when Christ was only a baby. With hindsight they look back on the miracles He performed, His mission here, and the influence He has had on mankind. Have you ever thought… Read More LOOKING FORWARD (AND BACK) AT CHRISTMAS TIME
Often good things come to us through our struggles. One of the blessings I have received while navigating my way through pandemic restrictions and limitations has been the gift of time. My mother passed away 29 years ago. When my sister, who had been living in the family home, moved away, I “inherited” boxes and… Read More Memories From My Basement
My distant cousin handed me a black leather diary and asked, “Would you like to transcribe this?” And, that was the beginning of my testimony of family history. In the months that followed I was privileged to transcribe the journal of my great grandmother’s sister Ann Fellows. Written when she was about twenty years old,… Read More Because of Ann
With all the resources available for us to meet virtually, sometimes we forget the basics. We have Zoom meetings, Google meet, Microsoft Team, share screens, FaceTime, etc. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I’m so caught up in the latest and greatest, that I forget the basics to help with family history. I have… Read More Helper Resources
This past week I logged on to Family Search and noticed that a family member whose genealogy I had been working on the previous week appeared on my homepage, under recommended task, with a “record hints available” icon next to their name. Since I had hit a dead end on this family line, I was… Read More Record Hint Available
While listening to “Music and the Spoken Word” a couple of weeks ago, something that was shared really stood out to me. “Each day is a day of decision, and our decisions determine our destiny.” (President Russell M. Nelson). It struck me how applicable this thought is to our family’s history. We can look back… Read More Looking Back
I love the Disney Pixar movie “Coco”. From the first time I saw it I was touched by the concept of the Day of the Dead (Dia de Muertos), especially the remembrance altars (Ofendas). Every year since then I have celebrated the Day of the Dead by putting together my own alter with pictures of… Read More Remember Me
The journey we have taken with my husband’s Norwegian family has been such an interesting one. As time has gone on and more indexed records have become available through Family Search, we have been able to piece together lives of family members that we have never met and yet we feel such a kinship to… Read More Just Ask