1986. Vionville. An unusual appointment … I never go to France in the winter time, but in 1986 our daughter Monique was released from her French-Belgium mission on Thanksgiving Day. It was my privilege and opportunity to go and pick her up and take her to visit my family, particularly my mother who was 96… Read More Vionville. An Unusual Appointment…
Everyone has a story. Today you will read part of mine. Bits and pieces of my story are found in the details of our journey to Ireland. It was a trip in the planning for years, but most importantly, it was a trip born of faith. I have never in my life been to a place where I… Read More Changed by Family History
My husband, Ray, and I were going on a road trip to Nauvoo, Illinois to visit some historical places of our stalwart pioneer ancestry. On the trip, we were passing through Fort Madison, Iowa which lies west of the Mississippi River before getting into Nauvoo. As we were driving through Fort Madison, a memory clicked in… Read More Spiritual Experience in Fort Madison, Iowa
My mother died in 1989 at 99 years of age and 3 weeks. I inherited a number of her keepsakes. Enclosed is a translation of a letter that was written to her in 1926 by a young man who had proposed marriage to her. Out of the many proposals that she had, this is one… Read More Is It Just a Coincidence?
I know many people shy away from doing their DNA testing, and rightly so if they are not willing to accept that their ancestors were human. They had no idea their secrets would be revealed through a simple test. A few years ago, my husband discovered a half-sister that even his 96 year old aunt… Read More DNA Connections
It was a few days before our son, Sam, was leaving for his mission to South Africa. We were in the kitchen marking off the list of “what to bring.” One item on the list was his genealogy fan chart. We had printed it off and were looking at it. ”I wonder who will be your special guardian… Read More Jacob and Mina
Have I ever told you how much I love old newspapers? Well, they put life to a name and a date. Newspapers often make the person come to life! And I love having my ancestors “come to life.” I’ve been researching my great-uncle Frank’s life and struggled with the fact that he committed suicide at… Read More Simple Kindness Grants Small Miracle
In the Spring of 2002, I was sitting in the Draper Temple looking at the endowment card for the lady whose work I was doing. She was listed without her parents, so no Sealing to Parents could be done. I wondered about that because I knew from my Family History training that she was from… Read More Doing the Work for Mr. and Mrs. Wells
A few years ago, my family was struggling as we dealt with two of our children having a genetic mental illness that left our family so vulnerable. The illness was like a light switch. When the lights were on, everything was good. Suddenly and unexpectedly, the light would be switched off and my children would attempt… Read More Help from the Other Side
In the fall of 2020, I felt like the Holy Ghost was nudging me along to finish a project that I had started a few years earlier. I felt an urgency to complete it. I had borrowed some pictures from my mother-in-law of her parents and other family members that were from the Netherlands. I… Read More “Thank You for Remembering Us”