Roberts Roots & Branches

Here are some easy and quick New Year's resolutions with regards to family history work: Get a box and throughout the year put all family information in the box. Keep and save all those family Christmas newsletters, baby anncoucements, wedding announcements, and obituaries in the box in #1. Get a spiral notebook.  At the top of the first page write down the year you were born.  On the following pages write down each year of your life; one page for each year.  Then add important things that happened in your life during the year it happened.  You only have to add a sentence for each event.  (For example the year you graduated from high school, write down "graduated from high school").  Then, at a later date, you can take that information and add it to a personal history or expand it with more detailed information. Sign into NewFamilySearch and make sure your information and your family information is correct (your parents and children information). Start a journal. Ad

Tuesday, I spent most of the day and into the evening working on NewFamilySearch and RootsMagic.  It was very interesting.  RootsMagic has an application that compares your information to what is already on FamilySearch.  The application scans all of the data on FamilySearch and then allows you to add and compare all the information on the two programs.  I liked this RootsMagic application, because in the past when you received information from another source it was in a GED com which then you had to add most or all of the information in the file.  I did not like that because I had no control over which information I added to my database and which information I did not add.  With RootsMagic I was able to decide each piece of data that I wanted to add either to FamilySearch or to my personal program, and it was allot faster than inputting the information in by myself.   It was all relatively easy considering I took a class at the Riverton Family History Center on RootsMagic

With Christmas almost here and then New Year's I thought I give you something to ponder.  Over the years I have had many relatives come to me and ask if they can help research.  I have hesitated, not because I don't want the help, but rather because I don't know how to organize or coordinate the help.  These past few months as I have pondered this, I have decided I won't organize or coordinate the help, I will keep it really simple.  So, if you are serious about helping on the Roberts family history please contact me. I am not expecting you to be experienced in any certain area.  I am not expecting you to donate a certain amount of hours.  I have learned from my research at the Family History Library and working on certain brick walls with my dad that another set of eyes, ideas, and thoughts can help immensely in locating and finding genealogy information. Some of the things I could really use help with are: Roberts Roots & Branches , the newsletter (articles

This weekend I am calculating the dates of this upcoming week and suddenly I remember that it was the death anniversary of William "Willie" Roberts(33), son of Isaac Roberts(10) and Janet Howie(16).  December 23, 1906, little Willie died and the newspaper stated,  "death came as a blessed relief from his sufferings."  The Roberts family, buried little Willie 104 years ago on Christmas eve.  For the life history of Willie click on this link:   http://isaacroberts.blogspot.com/2010/09/william-willie-roberts33.html

Checked the mail, no certificates yet.  Everyone else is planning for Christmas and waiting for presents and Christmas cards in the mail--but not me I am anxiously waiting for certificates!  (See 12/17 post titled "Waiting").

Okay, so here is the situation:  Two posts ago I vented about my software, see the post titled, "Frustration".  I published the post and then I began on the next post entitled "Waiting".  My phone rang and I was distracted for a couple of hours.  When I returned to the computer I noticed a comment on my "Frustration" post!  Someone reads my blog!!!  To my surprise it was a response from RootsMagic.  Wow impressive, however disturbing because they found my blog and commented in a shorter amount of time than it takes them to call you back for tech support!!$!@#@$ Regardless, kudos RootsMagic for adding your number to the website and for listening!!!  Thank you!

Well, I did it.  I sent away for Hugh(1) and Margaret's(2) marriage registration and their daughter, Margaret's(13) death registration.  I am very excited to get these items in the mail and I am very anxious that they are the right documents that I need. From my research, the marriage registration should give me the name of Hugh's(1) father and the date and place of their marriage.  It should also list the witnesses to the marriage.  I am hoping that these witnesses are relatives. Hopefully, with a verified name of Hugh's father and their marriage date and place it will enable us to research another generation. As for Margaret's(13) information, I hope that it will give me an exact death date and maybe even a cause. Here's hoping. . .

All I want to do is research.  I will file, source, document, and post...but really all I want to do is research.  I will scan, blog, write newsletters...but really all I want to do is research.  Many, many years ago I purchased the Roots Magic genealogy software program.  There were several things I liked about this program that PAF did not have, and I felt like I needed a more advanced program to organize my research. This past summer I decided it was time to upgrade my program.  So, I splurged and spent the $20.  The reason I purchased the new software was so that I could used it at the Family History Library.  I thought that it would be nice to have access to my full program during my research. Well this is not the case.  I spent over 2 hours last night trying to get updates, which seems to be every time I use the program at the Library.  Here is what is even more frustrating:  the help line is only open Monday through Friday, 9-5!  Both times I have run into problems with thi