Roberts Roots & Branches

Here are some fun and fascinating links to today's Staffordshire, England. Enjoy Staffordshire.com Exciting history and stirring heritage of Staffordshire .  Includes stately homes and historical houses, Medieval Castles, Museums & Visitors Centre’s.    Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, Engalnd  Here are some links to the yesterday of Staffordshire: Staffordshire Past Track                  Themes and photographs                  Latest additions                   Map   "Description: Taken in 1860 this photograph shows the west side of the High Street in Newcastle-under-Lyme. The County Tea Warehouse is in the centre of the picture with its well stocked window. There are ...

Thought I would share some information and blogs I have been following. The Organized Genealogist I found this blog to be interesting and helpful.  The number of posts are lean because it is a newer blog by Susan Petersen, and I am hopeful that she continues to add and update.  This is a wonderful idea and concept for a blog!  I also followed her on Facebook to keep up on any updates.  My favorite post was entitled, Reducing Some of My Paper .  I thought it was a great idea on how to save notes and other information from conferences.  Hack Genealogy   According to their website: "Hack Genealogy is about “re-purposing today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy” and a little bit more. Hack Genealogy is more than just a list of resources. Hack Genealogy provides information on emerging technology inside and outside the genealogy industry. Hack Genealogy wants readers to understand how others succeed in genealogy."   Source here As I was sn...

Two new Utah websites added to my site: Utah Digital Newspapers Utah State Archives--Deaths and Burials --UPDATED WITH CORRECT LINK

 While in Des Moines, Iowa, I was able to visit the Iowa Genealogical Society. It was very easy to find, with plenty of parking and very friendly staff.  The IGS has Des Moines City Directories, which are extremely valuable; I believe city directories are an underutilized resource in family history research! The society has many family histories, town and city histories, indexes, state and federal census, maps and other very useful resources. The IGS has microfilm and readers, helpful staff, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays they are open for longer hours. Here is the link to the Iowa Genealogical Society for more information on their holdings, hours, and resources please visit their website.

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!

Here is a really valuable resource if you have ancestors in the state of Washington.  It is the Washington State Archives - Digital Archives .  I found this site very easy to use and helpful.  I was able to locate the marriage record of Sidney Jones (243) and Pearl May Hittle (247) who were married in Seattle, King, Washington.  Sidney is the son  of Sarah Ann Roberts (11) and Joseph Jones (19) and he is the grandson of Hugh (1) and Margaret (2) Roberts. I still don't know why Sidney was in Washington state, however maybe that will be one of the many answers I am able to find on my upcoming family history trip! If you have relatives from Washington, go check out this site! Have a great day.

is a web ring. What is a web ring? A group of similar themed blogs that join together and interlink sites together.  The websites are linked so that you can visit each site one after the other, until you complete the "ring" and return to the site where you began.  Web rings have a moderator who decides which pages to include and approves new sites. So, click under the badge on the left on the tabs: " list " , " next ", " previous ", or " random " to search and browse other family history blogs and go "Blogging for Ancestors." Please comment if you find a site in this web ring that is interesting or pertains to the Roberts family!  I'll also link to the sites in this web ring.

nope, not Ancestry or RootsMagic, you two can breathe easy for this post, but World Vital Records however tries to pull a fast one! Here's what happened: I did a basic internet search for an obituary.  World Vital Records shows up with the obituary I am probably looking for and a "Free 3-day Trial."  Alright, they get my email address, I get 3 free days, fair is fair and I get put on another mailing list.  So, I fill out the following information: Then I click the green continue box, and this is what I get: Yep, now they want my credit card information for my "FREE 3-Day Trial" which I can cancel at anytime.  I immediately exit out of the site knowing they now have my email for "free" and I did not get my "free" trial. I don't believe this is playing nice. I will go somewhere else and PAY for the darn obituary. So, today I check my email and guess what, yep you guessed it, I am getting spam emails from "World Vital Record...

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 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 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: "....

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...

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!

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

Findagrave.com has the graves listed from the Rock Springs Cemetery.  I have photographs, family links, and GPS coordinates that I would like to submit to Findagrave.com.  However, I don't have the time to start another project.  Anyone want to help.  It would be a small project and I would supply all of the information and photographs. Please contact me if you would be willing to help and take over this project.

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.

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 ...

Here are two websites I have come across that you might be interested in: Gen Disasters is a web site that describes events that touched our ancesters lives.  The above link is the 1923 Frontier Mine disaster that killed Isaac Roberts(65), son of John Richard Roberts(8) and Selina Parker(162).  Snoop around the website and see what you can find.  South Front Street Rock Springs, Wyoming, abt. 1915 from website:  Wyoming Tales and Trails.com    The second website I found while looking for pictures and information about Almy, Wyoming.  Wyoming Tales and Trails.com is a site that features history and photographs of old Wyoming.  It has interesting information and photographs about Rock Springs, Kemmerer, Wyoming coal camps, mining towns, and the early fur trade.  If you are interested in Wyoming history this site is a blast!

The following is taken from the website  Genuki ( http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/wal/FLN/Bagillt/ ) Church Records Historically, the (Anglican) Church in Wales was an integral part of the Church of England - i.e. the "Established" Church. Its influence declined during the nineteenth century, when a considerable proportion of the people of Wales - perhaps more than half - became adherents of the various nonconformist denominations; and eventually, in 1920, following many decades of religious and political debate, and intermittent civil disturbances, the Church in Wales (not "Church of Wales") was disestablished and disendowed - i.e. it ceased to be the "State" or "Established" Church. Because of this, the Parochial Registers and Records Measure of 1978, regarding the care of parish records of the Church of England, does not apply to Wales. (http://www.bagillt-history.org.uk/page7.html) The authorities of the Church in Wales have consistently...