Roberts Roots & Branches

World Back Up Day! Back up your digital files.  Back up your photographs. Back up your genealogy.

There are three types of genealogy research 1-- Compiled genealogy --from New.FamilySearch.org, Anectry.com Trees, Family Tree, Ancestral File, IGI, grandma, aunt so-and-so, etc. Information from other NON-ORIGINAL SOURCES. 2-- Generational genealogy --information from previous generations.  Heirlooms and accompanying stories.  Pictures and associated stories.  Verbal and written histories.  SOME ORIGINAL SOURCES. 3-- Original genealogy --information from newspapers, court documents, cemeteries, original vital records, church records and other original documentation.  ORIGINAL SOURCES. It is when these three types of "genealogy" collide that there seems to be problems such as inaccurate information passed from generation to generation or from family to family. An example of this is, when doing a research paper you can go to the Internet and gather all the information you want, but until you do your OWN research tests and gain YOUR OWN results you are...

Have you been to the Research Wiki at FamilySearch.org yet? Well, try it today! While working at the Library if I am asked about particular records for a specific time period, I immediately go to the Research Wiki.  Most Wiki pages list general state, county and town information for records and resources available and links to online sites.  All of the information on the Research Wiki has been entered by volunteers--GO VOLUNTEERS--and can be extensive or limited depending upon the information submitted. I find it very helpful.  Go check out this site and see what you can find about YOUR research area!

This is a presentation given by Sandra J. Crowley on Friday, February 3, 2012 at 1:45-2:45 PM.  The description from the RootsTech 2012 conference guide says: "Going mobile has little to do with planes, trains or automobiles and more to do with the "Cloud" and other technology trends and applications that let you enjoy the benefits of having everything at your fingertips--anytime, anywhere.  Find out how to take advantage of the latest technology and how to keep up-to-date- on the latest tech news."  (Rootstech2012 Conference Guide 2012, page 35) Here are some of the high lights and interesting things I took away from this excellent talk: Portability=Flexibility Going mobile means using what is best for YOU, not what is the latest in technology. The could is going to be the "game changer" in research.  Because it enable sharing between IPad, laptop and desktop computers and it allows researchers to share information in a central location. The Lib...

This is a personal story where I learned a valuable lesson. I had been doing genealogy for several years when my husband passed away.  Many expected things have changed because of Joe's death, but I am surprised about the unexpected way his death has affected my genealogy research. The after day my husband was killed I vaguely remember sitting in the funeral home; I was lost in grief and shock as the funeral director began asking questions.  After seveal questions I mumbled I wasn't sure then I asked him why he needed the information.  He kindly explained it was for the death certificate.  The genealogist in me snapped to attention and really concentrated on giving correct answers. . .after all, this was very important source documentation!   Funny, I  first figured I would just write up the obit, because I wanted it to be a tribute and a good source of information; after all I had read many, so I felt like I kind of knew what a good obit should ...

Emails received from the Lincoln County Historical Society: here is the link provided from the above email: http://www.lincolncountywy.org/ Go check out the new web site and let me know what you think!  I am also excited about their upcoming goals and things that will eventually be available on the site.  See the email below! Go Lincoln County Historical Society!    What wonderful goals and  exciting accomplishments they have made in for the family researcher!  They do a great job so, go to their web site, support them and leave a comment!

Jay Verkler, past president & CEO of FamilySearch, gave the keynote speach on Thursday. Mr. Verkler spoke about the transformations that family history has made and the improvements it still needs to make. Mr. Verkler was inspiring and helped envision futuristic "Jetson" type research and recording of genealogy! Very exciting! I also attended an informative class by Kory Meyerink titled, "Effective Database Search Tactis." This class was pretty advanced for me, but I know it will help me in my database searches. Mr. Meyerink discussed advanced searching techniques, such as truncation, keyword searches, fielded data, proximity, phrase, fielded, and finally wild word searching. I'll have to write more about this later! The last class I took was "Galaxy Girls--Three Genealogists & Their Android Tablets". This class listed the types of applications available and what their favorites were. I was hoping for more information about their ...

picture from here Way back in the early days of my research I sent a letter to the Wyoming Archives with a list of several Roberts family members whose death certificates I wanted.  I enclosed a check and my contact information. About a week later, I received a call from a very sweet and kind woman at the Wyoming Archives.  I worried there was a problem as this was my first request for certificates. However, she explained there was no problem she just though it might be easier for her to read through all of the Roberts Wyoming death certificates from Uinta and Sweetwater County she had, so I could decide which ones I wanted.  She read through the list, I mailed her another check, and that is the story of how I received so many Roberts death certificates!

Rock Springs Historical Museum, Rock Springs, Wyoming My research trips to Sweetwater County begin in the county seat of Green River. The first stop is the usually to the County Clerk’s Office and the court house depending upon what I am researching. Second stop, is the Sweetwater County Historical Museum , to see what is new and to browse their new books, and lastly I visit the Riverview Cemetery to pay respects and search for relatives.  (See photo below) Welcome sign in Rock Springs, Wyoming The trip then takes me to Rock Springs, about twenty minutes away. While in Rock Springs, I usually go to the City Cemetery , Mt. View Cemetery, the Rock Springs Historical Museum , and Western Wyoming Community College to search microfilms of the old Rock Springs Rocket. Lastly, I will drive around the town and community, wondering if my relatives walked down this street, stopped at this business or saw this view.  If I have extra time, I LOVE to go to the old antique stores i...

picture from here Here are my research questions: 1. Who was Maggie on the immigration record of Hugh (1) & Margaret (2)? 2. Who was Hugh’s mother? 3. Who was Hugh’s father? 4. Where is Samuel Caulton’s (5) family in Derbyshire? 5. What is Hannah P. (357) Samuel’s first wife’s maiden name? 6. Which Welsh parish was Margaret’s family in? 7. Which Welsh parish was Hugh’s family in? 8. Why did Isaac (10) Roberts return to County Durham? 9. Where is the emigration record of Isaac’s (10) return to England? 10. Where is Hugh (1) buried in Pennsylvania? 11. What is Hugh’s (1) correct death date? 12. Where are the missing descendants of Joseph Jones (19) & Sarah Roberts (11)? 13. Who did Magie E. Jones(240), daughter of Joseph Jones & Sarah Roberts marry? 14. What happened to the children of Robert Roberts:  Margaret Roberts (460), daughter  and son Hugh (463)? 15. What happened to LD. Smith (37), first husband of Letitia Roberts (35)? 16. Where exactl...

I have learned more about mines, miners and mining than I have ever wanted to know. I have learned about the specific mining jobs : barn boss, dock boss, fire boss, timberman, digger, and faceman. I have learned about the types of coal : bituminous coal, A, B, & C; Sub bituminous coal, A, B, & C; anthracite and lignite coal I have learned parts of the mine including the: tipple, face, working face, portal, pit, cross-cut, barn and entry. I have learned that mines contain  fans, pumps, electricity, gas, and lots of water. I have learned about mine gasses: black damp, white damp, and after damp. I have learned about the mining community : company housing, company stores, company script, unions, and community organizations. For a glossary of terms click here.   For helpful mining links click here .

              Several years ago while searching the Rock Springs City Cemetery, my husband Joe and I were on a mission to locate a few elusive graves and photograph the headstones.   When we first arrived, I noticed a couple of men working on a headstone in a section of the cemetery where some of our family members were buried.   As we walked the cemetery, we edged closer to where the men were working.   Curiously, I told Joe I thought they were working on a family headstone, so we walked toward the site.   As we approached I realized it was a Roberts family headstone; it was the marker for Leitita Roberts (35) and Reuben Meacham (36).             As we approached the workers I found it difficult to determine if they were adding a death date to the marker and I was puzzled because I had not heard that Rueben had died.   Upon questioning, the wo...

Saturday, 14 January 2012 9:00 am Starting Your Family History 10:00 am How to Guess Where to Start 11:00 am Family History on the Internet 1:15 pm Research Logs--A Tool for Organizing Seating is limited. Register & click here for more information PS--stop in and say hello, I'll be there that day!

 image from here  Dear Family, Happy Thanksgiving I am thankful for: FamilySearch digital images my mission at the FHL continual training I receive at the FHL my new IPad to assist with my research all of you who placate my passion notes, letters, emails and phone calls from my readers my Roberts family who came before me working with my Dad at the FHL so we can discuss research questions this season of my life to be able to devote my time to this research living in Wyoming in 1999 to 2002 so I could research Have a wonderful turkey day spending it with loved ones. Janet

Favorite links as featured in the October 2011 newsletter. CLWYD Family History Society Cyndi's List Dear Myrtle  Deseret News Historic Archive FamilySearch.org Find a Grave Frontier Mine No. 1 Disaster GenDisasters GENUKI Lincoln County Historical Society The Potteries  Rock Springs Cemetery Index Tributes Western States Marriage Index WIKI

Here's a link to a coal mining glossary I've added to the Frontier Mine No. 1 disaster blog: http://fronterminedisaster.blogspot.com/search/label/glossary Go check it out! image from here The October Newsletter is late getting out, look for it next week. 

Searching the census records for the Isaac Roberts(10) and Janet Howie(16) family can be difficult on Ancestry.com because of transcription errors.  After much searching, here is how to find the family: Enter the following information, and when entering the name, type it EXACTLY as it appears below. Census year: 1901      Isaac Roberts , born 1864, Hanley, Staffordshire, England, and  living in Trimdon Grange, Durham, England. 1910      Roberts Issack , born 1863, England, and living in Rock Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming. 1920      Isaac Roberts , born 1864, England, and living in Rock Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming.  1930     Isaac Roberta , born 1864, England, and living in Springs, Sweetwater, Wyoming.  Yes, the 1910 census has Isaac's surname listed as his given name and his mis-spelled given name-as his surname.  Good luck and happy hunting.

home.messiah.edu Everyday more and more records are available online at Ancestry.com and at FamilySearch.org. and more websites are increasingly available to researchers.  In 2004 computer research was probably about 20% of my time.  The rest of the time I was in the films, fiches, books, newspapers, county court houses or libraries searching.  Now I would say that 80% of what I need I find online, and that percentage rate is ever increasing. I have spent numerous hours walking through cemeteries and now for I can sit at my computer and search the Kemmerer Cemetery and an index to the Rock Springs Cemetery's online.  Findagrave.com has allowed searches at other cemeteries in other states from my computer. What a difference in saving time from searching the cemetery its self and traveling. The Wyoming Newspaper project has allowed me to research old newspapers online-which saves a trip to Rock Springs.  The Western States Marriage Index has allowed me to s...

While previewing the classes offered at the RootsTech Conference, I noticed that "Dear Myrtle" would be there and presenting several classes.  I was very excited, because Dear Myrtle was my online-research-buddy when I first began family history work about 15 years ago. I found her site very helpful and easy to use, so meeting her was pretty exciting for me--I felt like old friends, even though she didn't know me or that I even existed.  (She's kinda has "rock star" status for me!!!) Anyway, today on her blog she shared some pretty exciting news about embedding pedigree charts on blog sites.  It would be really neat to be able to add some of the documents and records I have. Go visit her site, especially if you have any questions and need some basic family history help. http://blog.dearmyrtle.com/

Did you see the first episode of the second season?  Vanessa Williams set out on her journey to find her family.  This Friday, Tim McGraw, country music superstar uncovers his father's heritage among the Founding Fathers.  You can see "Who Do You Think You Are?" on Friday evenings on NBC or you can watch it @ http://www.nbc.com/who-do-you-think-you-are/ No one wants to see this picture again, after all of the posts for the last two months  and the saga about the lost certificates, but after all this is research and I have sent away for more certificates from the GRO!!!!  Let the waiting begin... Here I am with many puzzle pieces and some fit and some don't.  But, still sorting and trying to figure out Hugh's parents and that family line.  If you have any tidbits that might help call me . Finally, I am attending RootsTech, the family history and technology conference that will be held this week at the Salt Lake Convention Center.  I ...