I joined the church when I was 15 years old. I had no idea why prior to joining the church I was drawn to genealogy. I would go to the Ohio Historical Society and spend hours in the microfiche looking for family members in newspaper articles and books. I was drawn to know who they were and what they did here on earth. 

There was a particular someone that I wanted to find. He was my grandfather’s father. My grandfather had a difficult life. His father had left his family. His mother had to put him in an orphanage because she couldn’t take care of him when he was young. She later was able to get him out of the orphanage when she found work with a farm family. She was told to go and get her son. My grandfather knew nothing about his father. My great-grandmother never wanted to talk about him. The only information I had was that his name was Fred P. Loew. 

Years went by and I continued to search for him. He was nowhere to be found. I find that in genealogy work you get this feeling as if individuals want you to find them or they don’t. When they want you to find them it’s as if you can feel a part of their spirit inside of you as they encourage you to look in new areas that you previously did not look. It is a wonderful feeling because you can feel the Spirit with you. I believe it is because as you begin to do the work, we are asked to pray to our Heavenly Father that doors will be opened. I can almost envision this prayer going up and messages being sent to relatives that I am looking for people and need help to find them.  

Harold B. Lee once said, “Many of you have lived to a time in life where you have had loved ones who have gone on. You have had certainty of the nearness, sometimes, of those who have drawn very near to you. And sometimes they have brought to you information that you could not have otherwise had.”

For over 30 years, I looked for Fred P. Loew even though it felt like I was staring at a blank wall. Suddenly, one day, I felt to look for him again. There he was. I found a man in New York, who entered the US, and his name was Philip Frederick Loew. He had a son, Fred P. Loew. The approximate birth dates were within reason. As I found his name again in Chicago, I knew this must be him for two reasons. First, my grandfather was born in Oblong, IL. Second, I knew that his father worked as a bartender. In the Illinois census, I found a Fred P. Loew living in a boarding house and working as a bartender. He was there and wanted to be found.

I have a testimony that even if you believe all the work in your family is done, it may not be. Look at your tree, ask Heavenly Father for help and for doors to be opened. I promise you that the Lord will send a message that you are looking and individuals will come forth. These individuals may not be in your direct line, but you may be taken on a tangent down one of your other branches where you find individuals just waiting to be found.

-Melissa Schaefer, Patron, Granite Family History Center