Hepsey Beanna Thorn Cox & Mary Martha Hallmark Shook

Hepsey Beanna Thorn Cox & Mary Martha Hallmark Shook picture and short bio.

52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History – New Year’s Day

A new year has started and it begins a new series of 52 Weeks of Personal Genealogy & History. The one for this week is as follows:

Week 1: New Year’s. Did your family have any New Year’s traditions? How was the New Year celebrated during your childhood? Have you kept these traditions in the present day? This challenge runs from Saturday, January 1, 2011 through Friday, January 7, 2011. I challenge everyone to participate as often as they can and time permits.

Mackenzie Cox Gerber Baby

Mackenzie Cox, my grandbaby, is entered in the Gerber Baby Photo contest. We need your vote. Thank you…

Familysearch Record Updates for May 22, 2010

FamilySearch Records has been adding more records to its database. When you visit their website, a red star will be next to those newly added or updated records. Here are the latest US updates. Here are some records that have been either updated or being added in the United States!

Family History Gift Ideas

A family history gift is a special way to tell someone how much you care for them. Sometimes finding that unique gift is hard to do. There are gifts you can get for the “genealogy addict” that will make them smile. They will appreciate your thinking of them and their passion in doing their family history.

Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands

The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen and Abandoned Lands was established by the War Department on March 3, 1865. Its primary function was to supervise all relief and educational activities relating to refugees and freedmen. It assumed custody of abandoned or confiscated lands or property in the former Confederate States, border states, District of Columbia, and Indian Territory.

The National Archives gives us the following information: “In the years following the Civil War, the Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands (the Freedmen’s Bureau) provided assistance to tens of thousands of former slaves and impoverished whites in the Southern States and the District of Columbia. The war had liberated nearly four million slaves and destroyed the region’s cities, towns, and plantation-based economy. It left former slaves and many whites dislocated from their homes, facing starvation, and owning only the clothes they wore. The challenge of establishing a new social order, founded on freedom and racial equality, was enormous.

Read more at http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art58414.asp

Getting the Family Involved in Family Research

There are those times when it is a great idea to get the rest of the family involved in Family Research. Explaining to them what family history is, and why you do it, may take the mystery out of it. It may make them more understanding of what you do. What can you do to include the rest of the family in your genealogical research? Here are some ideas:

• Frame a pedigree. Each night give a story about each generation.
• Show your ancestors on the census. Tell the family what some of the columns represent and what it tells you about your ancestors.
• Have a night to dress up like your ancestor, serve a meal they may have eaten.

For the rest of the article visit http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art9786.asp