Family Tree Firsts - Page 8 of 13 - FamilyTreeUniversity.com

Family Tree Firsts is a genealogy blog following the adventures of Brian Parotto of Hampshire, Ill., a budding genealogist, as he works his way through the Family Tree University curriculum and reports on his family history research.

Graduation Day

It had to happen sooner or later. At some point you stop being a newbie and graduate to…well, I’m not sure what I graduate to. Post-newbie? Pre-expert? General loud-mouth let loose upon the Twitter-verse? Regardless of the title, this is my last post as the Family Tree Firsts blogger. It has been an astonishing, amazing, insert-your-favorite-adjective kind of year. I had been researching my family for only 6 months when I saw the post online seeking a new genealogist to write a blog called Family … Learn More →

And the Winner is…Oklahoma!

Generally speaking, people have two images of Oklahoma fixed in their minds. There is the “Grapes of Wrath, Dust Bowl fleeing, Okies in a model T” image or the ”Indian teepees and buffalo on a barren plain” image. These stereotypical images have little to do with actual reality. I always find it interesting when Oklahoma receives attention on a national level because these two perceptions tend to pop up fairly regularly. You could say Oklahoma has a bit of an image problem. So it was particularly gratifying to see … Learn More →

Bridging the Technology Gap

In my day job as a librarian, one of my favorite tasks is teaching computer classes for senior adults. I get all ages in my classes from people in their mid-50s to octogenarians. Almost without exception, they come to my class having had frustrating experiences with family members (particularly younger family members) attempts to teach them. They are confused about the tech terminology that is everywhere today (what in heaven’s name is a URL?) but are embarrassed to ask for explanations. Worst of all, they have a technology … Learn More →

The Post I Didn’t Intend to Write Today

Jennifer Shoer at The Scrappy Genealogist is running a great series right now called How She Does It: Secrets from the Geneamommybloggers. Today’s entry features our own Family Tree University Dean, Kerry Scott! In the interest of full disclosure, let me just say up front that my four children are now grown and mostly on their own. In fact, since I am now a grandmother (hey…a young one, ok?) you could call me a genea”Nana”blogger. My oldest son was born in 1979. My youngest daughter … Learn More →

Sorrow Times Three

Sometimes the old records that are the genealogist’s stock and trade just jump off the page (or in this case, the screen) and smack you upside the head, as we say in Oklahoma. Such was the case last week as I was researching my mother’s Easley family from Tennessee. I was on FamilySearch.org trolling for Easleys when I saw three death records, all with the surname Easley but no first name. That’s never a good sign. When I looked more closely I saw that all three records listed the same … Learn More →

Taking on Twitter

I just realized that I haven’t blogged about my first genealogy conference…FTU’s Virtual Conference. I loved the concept of real-time classes and chats with the option to download them for later viewing. There were several courses that I wasn’t able to attend live due to scheduling problems so the download option was very helpful. You don’t get that option at regular conferences! Prior to the conference I was especially looking forward to the Twitter for Genealogists class. Nancy Hendrickson was the instructor and as usual she … Learn More →

Facebook as a Gateway Drug

It started with this photo, posted to Facebook by my cousin Chris Gray. Chris and I found each other on Ancestry.com just after I was bitten by the genealogy bug. (He’s been researching the family for years.) We “friended” each other on Facebook and gradually other cousins began showing up. I have ten first cousins on my father’s side of the family, most of whom I had lost touch with. Time, moves and divorces had taken their toll. It’s been a tough summer for Dad’s family. First … Learn More →

Family Reunion

The research we did in Tennessee was only part of a larger trip. The primary reason for the cross-country, multi-day drive was to attend a family reunion of our “new” Blosser family in South Carolina. The short version of a long story: My father never knew his biological father. When I started researching my family history I decided to try to find this unknown grandfather or his family. Well, I did find them, and they knew nothing about my dad but were delighted to find out that they … Learn More →

I’m Going to RootsTech!

I got a very nice surprise last week. I opened up my email to find an invitation to become an official RootsTech 2012 blogger! I think you could hear me squeal clear to the Salt Lake. Never mind that I work in a library, who could remain quiet in the face of such momentous news? I thought about it for all of … oh, a second and a half …. and emailed back an enthusiastic yes! I am going to RootsTech! I must say it helps take … Learn More →

Divide and Conquer

After our amazing first evening in New Market, Tenn., the trip to the county archives the next day—ostensibly the whole reason for the detour to Jefferson County in the first place—was almost anticlimactic. We had a wonderful night’s rest and breakfast at the Minnis House, then headed out to Dandridge, the county seat. Dandridge is a lovely old town that dates back to the Revolutionary War. Almost swallowed whole by the creation of Cherokee Reservoir in the 1940s, Dandridge narrowly escaped inundation when the residents … Learn More →