Roberts Roots & Branches

2nd Blogging Challenge Completed For the past two months I have blogged a total of 126 posts.  That is a whole lot of blogging for me.  These challenges have given me an opportunity to  share with my readers personal stories, updates, quotes, and pictures. Hopefully, it has created a new habit in me and I will continue to keep up a reasonable pace of blogging.  In addition, I cleared off  my desk and began the arduous project of scanning my photographs. I hope you have enjoyed reading what I have written.  I hope that you have learned about our family and enjoyed the pictures and the stories.   Now what? Today, I will finish numbering documents and add them to my genealogy program.  Then I will sign up to do indexing. Tomorrow, with my Dad and his spreadsheet in hand, we will be embarking on a calculated search on all the films at the FHL that are in the Flintshire area of the Hugh Roberts & Margaret Roberts family.  M...

Howie family, Trimdon Grange, Durham County, England  Janet Howie on the back row, 2nd from the right "I'm sure we all have our stories! What would we do without our families? Good or bad or indifferent, the families we have somehow have helped us to become the people we are today. Through our family we can see our connection to the world. And as our family grows, with children and grandchildren, cousins and in-laws, we are presented with more opportunities for learning and growth. It's interesting that there has been a rise in the popularity of genealogy and family tree research lately. Through these studies our connections throughout time become apparent. The world becomes smaller, and we don't feel as isolated when we start looking at our roots." -Lissa Coffey

This is information take from the keynote speaker, Josh Coates.  He spoke at RootsTech 2012 on Friday, 3 February 2012.   a megabyte is about 300 pages of paper a petabyte is about a truck filled with one ton of paper a exabyte quantity of paper would clear all the trees, larger than 8 inches in diameter, in the United States a zettabyte will be the next level We are currently entering the exabyte era. You can view the whole talk here.

Dorcas Dunn Roberts Crowley Bryon Crowley and Dorcas Dunn Roberts Crowley

The Lincoln County Historical Society has linked to the Frontier Mine No. 1 disaster here The more recognition that the site receives, the better the chance that family researchers will be able to locate information about their family!  So, continue to spread the word.  If there is a site that might be interested in the Frontier site please let me know so I can contact them.  Thank you.

Here is another picture of Margaret Roberts.  I don't know when it was taken. I have added this photograph to Margaret's history also.

Here are some notes I took from the Saturday, February 4, 2012 keynote speakers.  I hope that you find my notes as interesting as I found the speakers.  See also the full keynote at: http://rootstech.org/# Ancestry.com.  Moderator:  Tim Sullivan, CEO, & Panelists:  Eric Shoup, SVP of Product, Scott Sorensen, VP of Development, Johnathan Young, SVP of Technology and Ken Chahine, SVP of DNA. Ancestry.com has 1.7 million subscribers The data content is the foundation of their business. Ancestry.com accommodates various needs of researcher; from beginner to experienced.  Since various groups of researchers use Ancestry.com the site must must need the needs of a vast range of users. What is happening in DNA?   It is in the "mist of a revolution."  There have been great improvements.  However, so far, the use has been modest.  Hopefully in the future, DNA will be able to narrow down the place where they, ancestors, wer...

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 valuable site, that honestly, I don't visit often enough!  (Which means I probably should sign up for the free newsletter).  There are valuable articles about technology and genealogy. From the site it states:  "Dick Eastman has been involved in genealogy for more than 30 years. He has worked in the computer industry for more than 40 years in hardware, software, and managerial positions...  Mr. Eastman began with a weekly newsletter that is now a daily online publication." Quoted from Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter, under the tab, "About Dick Eastman", http://blog.eogn.com/about.html There is information on Mr. Eastman's site regarding the latest in family history, technology, upcoming events (which list conferences and conventions), chat room, a free standard newsletter (as well as paid subscriptions), and  an "Encyclopedia of Genealogy". The "Encyclopedia of Genealogy" is described from his site as: "....

Social media is a technological way to connect with others via blogs, family web sites, Facebook and Twitter. Oh yes, I get some of my information from social media.  If a family member posts a birth, wedding, graduation, or other genealogical news worthy event, I will make a note in my personal software program. (Of course the information remains private, but I  still have a documented record of the event.)  I have enjoyed watching the families of my cousins, nieces and nephews grow as they post pictures and updates on their Facebook accounts. Currently, my aunt M is in living in Peru.  Facebook has given me a view into her life down there allowing me, other family members, and friends a chance to see her travels and find out how she is doing.  I love reading her accounts of daily life and her stories. Currently, email and Facebook have allowed me to coordinate research efforts, and keep in touch with family members.  So, dear readers, if your on Face...

This is a photograph of a statue representing coal miners and those that died in coal mining accidents in Rock Springs, Wyoming.  The statue is located next to the train depot in the historic part of Rock Springs.  Samuel Caulton's name is located on the statue because he was killed in a coal mining accident. It is all relative to the Roberts family history!

"Sometimes we're our own worst enemies when it comes to getting to the truth about our ancestors.  When you start digging into your past, you must be prepared for anything." source: Alzo, Lisa A.  "Self Improvement, become a better researcher with these 101 ways to a new genealogy you."  Family Tree Magazine,February 2012,  page 12.

RootsTech 2012 videos from the conference you can view them here:  http://rootstech.org/# Thursday Keynote Speaker was Jay Verkler, "Inventing the Future, as a Community." Friday Keynote Speaker was Josh Coates, "Exabyte Social Clouds and Other Monstrosities. Saturday was a panel from Ancestry.com.  Moderator:  Tim Sullivan, CEO, panelists:  Eric Shoup, SVP of Product, Scott Sorensen, VP of Development, Johnathan Young, SVP of Technology and Ken Chahine, SVP of DNA. I would encourage you to watch these presentations.  They are ALL great and I learned something from each one of them.  Go check them out and see what is in the future for genealogy and technology.  See where we have been, where we are going, and where we are.  See for yourself what is possible and what are the constraints for technology.  After all, look how far we have come in the past 5 years, how much further will we be in 10 years?

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 ...

"No one owns their distant ancestors." --Noah Tutak, CEO Geni.com, "Privacy in a Collaborative Environment" RootsTech 2012, Feb. 4, 2012, 1:45-2:45 session).  Here are some of the questions I came up with and that were asked during the lecture from Noah Tutak, CEO Geni.com, entitled:  "Privacy in a Collaborative Environment" (RootsTech 2012, Feb. 4, 2012, 1:45-2:45 session). How can I take genealogy, a single person hobby, and collaborate with others? How can I assess AND access others expertise in photography, genealogy, writing, etc. How can I access what you have, and how can you access what I have? How can we come together and coordinate and share our work? How can my work interact with your work? How can we prevent anyone from having to do what has already been done? How do we prevent duplication of work? What do you know that I don't know?  What do I know that you don't know?  How can we put it together to further our research? Ho...

Family History how to do:  here I have finished the life story of Margaret Roberts (13) who died at age 7.  here

Trade shows are  fun to get the free give-a-ways and visit the booths.  Here are my choices for RootsTech 2012, in no particular order: And the Winners are. . . . Savvis  ...for their give-a-ways of blinking ice cubes  that can really be frozen and used in your soft drinks! Geni ...loved the back of the t-shirts they gave away!   FamilySearch ...wins the "gold mine" of give-a-ways.   They gave away hand sanitizer (pictured below),  mints, fun size candy bars, pens, and sticky notes. BillionGraves . . .wins for best booth set up.   I mean seriously, what genealogist doesn't stop at headstones?!?! My IPad . . .I used it to take notes, do web searches as the lectures were going,  and to email the "Help" section when things weren't working properly!

For Christmas my oldest daughter gave me a tree and little note that says: Here is a simple tree to place upon your wall. Please place around the pictures of your family. The ones you hold dear. This simple tree will then become, An extraordinarily unique one. For this simple tree will then Represent you and your family tree. Here is where it hangs; in my stairwell with my family pictures: How do you display your family pictures? Do they bring feelings of love, family, and happiness to your heart when you see them?

Shades of the Departed is a blog and a free web-magazine about photographs and photography.  The magazine is published 6 times a year and blogs are updated regularly.  Go check it out @ http://www.shadesofthedeparted.com/  GeneaBloggers is a blog site with blog posts and daily prompts as well as a portal to links of other family history sites.  Go check out this blog @ http://www.geneabloggers.com/author/admin/ GenDisasters is a web site  that touts:  " Were your ancestors in a tornado?  Was grandpa killed working on the railroad?  Did your grandmother talk about the great flood?  Then, GenDisasters is for you.  While we hope that your ancestors never endured the hardships and sufferings from fires, explosions, floods, mine accidents and other disasters, we're here to help you find the ancestors that did."  Click here: http://www3.gendisasters.com/ Here is a fun website that someone has put allot of time into.  Tex...

Funny story about the 1841 census. I found Margaret's family and the two children, Margaret & Edward, are listed as age "10".   I thought odd, that she was a "twin" and I'd never heard any mention of it. Then,  when I found what I believed to be Hugh's family there were a set of "triplets"!  Three of the children were listed as the same age. I was perplexed.  I kept saying to my Dad, I find it odd that Hugh was a triplet and Margaret a twin, and yet there have not been any multiple births since then!  (I can only think of Kathleen's set of twins.)  This really bothered me for months.  Then, I went down to the British Isle floor at the Library and was asking questions about the locations listed on the census records.  I then side tracked and mentioned to the professional genealogist that there was a set of twins and triplets.  He chuckled and explained that in the 1841 census the ages were "rounded u...

I would receive 10 contribution articles for the newsletter in the mail. The filing fairy would come and do my filing. The photograph fairy would come organize, sort, and scan my photographs. I was caught up on my correspondence including thank you, sympathy, and new reader letters. Dust would not settle on my paper piles; then I would not know how long it had been since I'd moved those papers! I had a new laptop AND I knew how to use it AND had all my files transferred over. The next time I check this blog, I had 20 new comments---okay, I would settle for 2 or more new comments. I wish I already had plans and tickets to Wales. I wish I already had plans and tickets to Pennsylvania. I wish I already had plans and tickets to Iowa.

So, what's a 5th wheel doing at RootsTech? Door prize? Nope! all set up in the Salt Palace the "recording studio" at the back of the 5th wheel! The goal of Hero's Across America Tour is to record, preserve, archive, and make veterans stories readily accessible to anyone.  Their mission is to travel coast-to-coast making recording available to all Hero's who wish to share their stories. website here

In the Rock Springs Historical Museum, there is jail cell you can go into.  This is where this picture was taken of my Dad in jail! Let me outta here! cira 1990's jrobertslott photo This photograph was taken at the Rock Springs train depot. cira 1990's jrobertslott photo  The above photographs were taken the first time I "drug" my dad to Rock Springs for family history work.  Dad complained, but I think he had fun because now when I say, "I'm going to Rock Springs," he asks to go with me! P.S.  I also "drug" my uncle Jack and wife Lorraine up there too!  Sorry, no pictures! Here is the photograph of Margaret Roberts(2) that has not been cropped.  I wanted you to see what the boarders look like.  The photograph is on a very thick, almost plastic, page, with scalloped edges. Too bad the bottom is ruined and we cannot read what it says.  However, the back of the photograph says:  "Grandma Colton".  The photograph also look...

The 1940 Census is slated for release to the public on April 2, 2012. Yes, you'll have to wait just one extra day this time because the first falls on a Sunday! With millions of family history enthusiasts expected to search 1940 census records for clues about their family, genealogy organizations of all types are already making plans to address this anticipated need. the 1940 census.com Headline from the Tribune: Genealogy: FamilySearch indexes all U.S. censuses, will add 1940 quickly after April release  Salt Lake Tribune Story here The 1940 census will be released digitally, however it will not be indexed or transcribed.  That is where volunteers are needed Go sign up today! here

Some random pictures from the RootsTech

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 ...

I take a day and leave Evanston and drive to Kemmerer to do some research.  After a few stops, I am in the public library in Kemmerer, Wyoming.  I ask the librarian if there were more books about the local history of Kemmerer and Lincoln County. She explains the small collection is all the library has.  Then, suggests I speak to someone from the local historical society.  Lucky for me, the gentleman from the historical society, who jogged her memory had just walked into the library. She introduced us. I began questioning this gentleman about the local history. He asked me who in particular I was looking for in Kemmerer. . . I answered, John Richard Roberts. This gentleman exclaimed, "That's my great grandfather!" That is how we met and I am still in contact with this family member in Kemmerer! What are the odds of that happening!

I have been made aware of some problems when it came to making comments.  So, if you have tried to make a comment and not been able to because you did not have an account it is now not necessary. I have gone through all of my blogs and made the adjustment.  Sorry for the inconvenience. So, I expect more comments! Also, in other "techie" news, I believe I have figured out how to post date posts! Go me! Have a great day & leave a comment!

Yep, it starts today.  So while you are reading this I am in the Salt Lake Convention Center having a blast!  I will take plenty of notes and pictures!  I will share on the blog and in the Newsletter. Have a great day,  I am!

I did it:  Blog everyday for a month (X 2)! Not only did I blog on this blog everyday for the month of January, I also blogged everyday on my personal blog !  So, a couple of days ago I was wondering what the theme for February on NaBloPo was going to be and here it is from their site : RELATIVE Families form in hundreds of different ways -- from the brothers and sisters you are born with to the people who become fictive kin as you go through life, our relationships define us and support us. Use the month to not only explore your connections to the obvious relatives -- your aunts, cousins, or grandparents -- but your ancestors, the people who are no longer part of your family, and the ones that you wish were related to you. Seriously! How can I not blog for the month of February with that topic?!?! Another month! Every single day! So, here goes.  This blog and my personal blog everyday for the month of February!!!! I know you are...