 What a fantastic, fun filled, 3-day event of premier genealogical education that was! There were genealogical presentations on such a wide variety of topics, and from so many well-known speakers! With so many presentations going on live at the same time, you had to pick and choose carefully which ones you wanted to see live and right away. I’m not too worried about missing others that I really wanted to hear, because they’ll be available in a couple of weeks from now, until the end of December!
Even though I’m not a beginner, I still joined the FREE “Getting Started for Beginners Day”. I had the time, it’s always good to support and cheer on your peers, and it gave me an opportunity to see how others present and check out their slide shows! 😉 Which did I get to watch? I had the chance to hear:
Hopefully I’ll have time to watch a couple of others, I had to miss because of coinciding with other talks I wanted to hear, when the recordings come out. 😉 I don’t usually join a lot of presentations at an event, but I am learning that even if you think you know the topic inside and out, there is ALWAYS something new to learn! I learned a lot of new German research tips from Charlotte, in which most weren’t even part of the main presentation but rather the adlibs and sidenotes! I learned about the new, since June 2022, Virtual Record Treasury of Ireland from David Ryan, which I knew absoultely nothing about before this! Even though I’m not a beginner, I actually learned some new tips from Cheri Hudson Passey, on the beginners day! I loved how Whitney Tolman reminded us to “Find out what your clients like”, reminding us that not all clients need or want a long drawn-out report. Some like more details, while some may not and would rather have charts, graphs, or pictures. I definitely concur, thanks Whitney! And even though I have been using the majority of the same techniques since the beginning of my research days, I had never thought about the DAR descendant database for cousin bating, which I learned from Christine Cohan! I enjoyed all the presentations that I got to hear, and I commend everyone on a job well done! My absolute fave of the entire conference though, the Keynote Speaker, Craig Scott! I’ve got to say, he was about the best keynote I have ever heard, for ANY kind event! I learned some tips for business marketing analysis, being on the lookout for industry trends, and a few other business tips! Were you able to join the Summit of Excellence genealogy conference this year? If so, what were you able to learn? If you missed the UGA Summit of Excellence this year, don’t worry, there is always next year! 😉 Learn about more fantastic genealogy events, classes and presentations in Genealogy Events.
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9/2/2023 UGA Summit of Excellence 2023: Learn Almost Everything in Genealogy All in One Event!Read NowAre you looking for an event with fantastic presentations on a variety of genealogical subjects all in one spot? UGA’s 52nd Summit of Excellence is coming up in just a couple of more weeks, and you don’t want to miss out!
The Summit of Excellence, is the Utah Genealogical Association’s annual virtual conference that provides premier genealogical education. Scanty family history? Unknown parents or other relatives? Learn how to document and follow every single clue to build your family tree! Register for UGA’s 52ndt Summit of Excellence, and come hear “It’s All in the Clues!”, under their Methodology and Problem Solving track! Distinguished genealogical speakers from all over; including from FamilySearch, Brigham Young University, the Board for Certification of Genealogists, the Family History Library, and more, will be giving presentations on a wide range of topics given over a three-day event, from September 21-23, 2023. Thursday, September 21st, will include getting started courses for beginners. On Friday, September 22nd, there will be international, immigration, methodology and problem solving, and technology courses for all levels. Saturday, September 23rd, topics will include DNA, records, writing, organization, and source citing courses for all. The best thing about a virtual conference is that you can still attend sessions that you’ve missed and will have access to the digital recordings of the sessions for several months after! You won’t want to miss out, and still have time to register! Register here!: Register View the schedule here to see all the premier genealogical presentations being offered this year!: Summit of Excellence 2023 Conference Schedule Follow more on the UGA Summit of Excellence 2023 here: Utah Genealogical Association's blog and Utah Genealogical Association Website  RootsTech 2023: World's Largest Family History Event RecapI hope you were able to make it to the family history and genealogy event of the year! Wow, RootsTech has certainly done it again! That was a fantastic, fun-filled 3 days! The RootsTech 2023 event, hosted by FamilySearch, has finally come to an end, but the learning has not. Did you know that you can still access RootsTech? Not only can you access almost everything in your playlist for 3 years, the sessions/classes and Expo Hall, but they are keeping your chats available for 1 year (to copy down your info), and you can still access RootsTech Relatives for the rest of the month! So, if you want to view any of the 1,500+ RootsTech Sessions, Keynote Speakers or the Expo Hall, they are all still available, and will continue to be available! RootsTech: A Big Hit, AgainRootsTech 2021 was such a hit going virtual and FREE two years ago, due to Covid, that they went from about 30,000 attendees the year before to over 1,000,000! It was so amazing that they decided to do it again for 2022, and once again broke their record to 3,000,000! This year was no exception and was once again the most fantastic event of the year, genealogy or otherwise! They really outdid themselves again going hybrid! Keeping the virtual platform, they designed and used starting with the 2021 pandemic event that reached the entire world, they combined it smoothly with an in-person event for those missing the in-person experience, with a settling to the pandemic! The most time spent on planning for RootsTech 2021, after realizing they needed to go virtual to make it happen due to Covid, was for the platform they were going to use? It took them 2 months checking out different platform companies, before realizing that none of them had what they needed for an event such as theirs, and determined they needed to build their own site for RootsTech! The site for RootsTech was awesome, it was beyond anything I could have imagined, and they sure did not let that amazing platform and all their hard work go to waste! When I first signed up for the virtual experience in 2021, I thought it wasn't going to be that awesome virtually and would be most likely like all the other virtual experiences I had that year, but boy was I wrong! Not only was the content what made RootsTech that year and every year, but it was their platform that brought it all together and was striking, and made you feel like you were really part of an event! I am so glad they decided to go hybrid and not back to just in-person this year and that they didn’t waste the platform they had designed! It was an extremely smart move on their part! This truly was the event of the year once again! RootsTech FavesI had a great time! I absolutely loved everything about RootsTech, from ALL of the keynote speakers, the sessions, the new RootsTech theme song, the videos, the Relatives at RootsTech, the Expo Hall, to the chat and more, all of it was fantastic! All the keynote speakers were amazing, but my absolute faves were Kirbey Heyborne’s opening and his “We’re Back” opening song; the CEO, Steve Rockwood's keynote speech, which is always so powerful and thought provoking; and Me Ra Koh’s powerful and moving speech! My other absolute faves at RootsTech were the powerful theme video, Uniting; the relaxed vibe of Do Genealogy Step-By-Step , even though it was for beginners, it was quite informative and fun; along with featured talks from Ancestry and MyHeritage! RootsTech Recap at a GlanceAttendees:
Did you check out all that you could? Below is everything I got to do and see during my 3 days (+ a few class sessions), with way more to go! If you missed any of the below, there is still time to catch them online! Main Stage:
Expo Hall:
Relatives at RootsTech: Out of 335, 888 participants of Relatives at RootsTech...  I had 27,426 relatives at RootsTech this year! What New Innovations I Got to learn about:
I saw as much of the main stage as possible and joined quite a few classes, and I’m so glad that I can save the rest to my playlist for later, as there is no way to get in everything in just 3 short days! 😉 I’m really glad that they kept their platform (I mean, they spent a lot of time and resources building it, and already have it, so why not?!) and decided to do both an in-person event and virtual, so that more people from around the world would be able to join! It was such a hit once again, that they’ll being going hybrid again next year! See you on February 29th of 2024! Don't forget to unite with family, friends, strangers, communities, and the world! Unite with your stories, memories, traditions, and more! Unite with others by sharing your family history discoveries, knowledge, and resources to help in uniting families! “Unite families past, present, and future”! Uniting is what it's all about! If you missed the RootsTech 2023 event, you can still sign up for FREE online and view all the classes for FREE, at RootsTech! Don’t have an account? You can create your FREE FamilySearch account at FamilySearch! Interactive Questions: I'd love to hear your experience at RootsTech below in the comments! How many RootsTech Relatives did you have attend? Have you saved your sessions for later yet? Did you take the time to chat and do any of the activities? Did you get to visit the exhibit hall? What were your faves? More on RootsTech and other Genealogy Events and Resources: Follow more on the RootsTech Genealogy Conference in the Genealogy Events category, along with the Genealogy Resources category and my dedicated Genealogy Resources page! You can also find other fantastic events and resources there!  Genetic Genealogy Conference 2023 Genetic Genealogy Conference 2023: Uncovering Your Genetic Inheritance Get ready for Genetic Genealogy 2023, part of the well known Genealogy Jamboree Conference! Learn from genetic genealogy experts, get DNA consulting, and join the FREE genetic genealogy discussion groups that include some of the hottest DNA topics! Genealogy Jamboree, hosted by the Southern California Genealogical Society and drawing family historians and professional genealogists from all over the world, has long been the largest "single society" conference in the U.S.! Get ready to learn and grow your genealogy and DNA knowledge and skills in 2023! This year Genealogy Jamboree has made quite a change for their 53rd year, but don’t fret, because the quality education you’ll receive has not! This year Genealogy Jamboree will be split into 2 fantastic, hybrid conferences! There will be a spring conference and a fall conference! You’ll get one conference dedicated fully to genetic genealogy and DNA in the spring and another conference that will be dedicated only to genealogy in the fall, making everything much simpler! Genetic Genealogy 2023, a 3-day genetic genealogy event, kicks off on Friday, March 31st! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to learn and grow your knowledge of using DNA in your genealogical research!
 AncestryDNA and Unknown Parentage Consulting with Diane Henriks at Genetic Genealogy 2023
View the schedule for Genetic Genealogy here to see the presentations being offered this year!: Genetic Genealogy 2023 Conference Schedule Learn more about this year's Genetic Genealogy speakers and consultants and theit topics here !: Genetic Genealogy Speakers & Consultants I hope to see you there! More Genealogy Events:
Learn about more genealogy events under the Genealogy Events category, along with under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page!  Join RootsTech 2023, the World’s Largest Family History Event!RootsTech, by Family Search, is just a month away! Have you registered yet? Sign up for RootsTech 2023, online for FREE or in-person for just $98, now at rootstech.org for the world's largest family history and genealogy event! If you don’t already know, this year’s event will be hybrid! Always held in Salt Lake City, the 2021 event was their first virtual conference, due to Covid, and boy, did their first virtual event churn out more than imagined, so they did it again in 2022! Their virtual conferences were such a hit, toppling over the 1,000,000 mark in 2021, that as things are starting to get back to normal and events are once again being offered in-person, they have decided to have both for 2023! So, you can choose to attend either way, 3 days in-person for just $98 or 100% virtual and 100% FREE online! Connect with your family, learn about family and cultural traditions, learn from experts in the field with over 1,500 sessions/classes, listen to super inspiring keynote speakers (I’m anxious to see how they top last year’s speakers!), join the Expo Hall that showcases companies from around the world (they also offer freebies and discounts!), participate in activities for all (such as cooking and activities for the kiddos!), chat with experts, get 1-on-1 help, find your relatives that are also attending and chat with them, and so much more! You also get to save and access your classes for an entire year, by saving them in your RootsTech Playlist and on YouTube! Are you ready to join the world’s largest family history event in the world in Salt Lake City or from the comfort of your own home and for FREE?! Connect with your family, explore your heritage, and meet your relatives out there, by signing up for this in-person or FREE online March 2-4 family history event now! I hope to see you there! More on RootsTech and other Genealogy Events:
Follow more on the RootsTech 2023 Genealogy Conference below and under the Genealogy Events category, along with under the Genealogy Resources category and on my dedicated Genealogy Resources page! Interactive Questions: What do you think about this fantastic hybrid opportunity? Are you already signed up or are going to? Let me know in the comments below. I can’t wait to see how many of you have already signed up! See you there!  Genealogy Events: January Is the Month Conference Schedules Are Out!The new year is finally here! What does that mean for the genealogy world? January is a huge month for genealogy and family history beginnings! This is the month that most genealogy events are announced, and schedules are put up! Stay on the lookout for them! One of the places that you can find these events at is Conference Keeper.
Some of the 2023 genealogy event schedules that are out:
A lot of other events for the year have been announced, but schedules haven't been put up yet. Stay on the lookout for them at Conference Keeper or social media! Learn about more fantastic genealogy events, classes and presentations in Genealogy Events.  2023 Legacy Family Tree Webinars Series Registration is Open!MyHeritage's Legacy Family Tree Webinars, the leading genealogy and DNA testing webinar series in the world, has just announced the line up for the year and is open for registration! And, what a line up it is!
I'm honored to be a part of this fantastic line up this year of genealogy education at it's best! Come view the schedule and register for FREE now! Register for one or all!  2022 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner!The 2022 Genealogy Wish Grants Winner has just been announced! Congratulations to Connie Dexter Spicer of Ohio, who won this year for her decades long brick wall story! About This Year's WinnerConnie Dexter Spicer has been researching her family history and genealogy since she was 17 years of age, 45 years ago! She has been following Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family for close to a year, while being an active participant. A Tough ChoiceThere were many entries for this year's first Genealogy Wish Grants! It was down to two compelling stories that made it a tough choice. The most compelling story was that of an unknown parentage, but a decades old brick wall story was chosen for all other criteria being met. This Year's Story Entry"So, my backstory is simple enough. I’ve been researching my family since I was 17 – a scant 45 years ago. I had my DNA done within a year or so after it was offered by Ancestry.com. I have it uploaded at FamilyTreeDNA.com, MyHeritage, maybe others. My brick wall is the parents of my paternal great-grandmother, Josephine Johanna Swan: namely, her father, Joe Swan and (especially) his mother and father. Great grandma was a lovely lady – quiet but strong-willed, according to my dad. He felt as if Grandma Josie and his Grandpa Ed raised him, but he never really knew anything about her because, while she was an amazing cook, she wasn’t much for talking! Grandma Josie’s father Joe, who I later identified as Lawrence Joseph Swan, was the only son of one Arabella Swan. I have no other name for Arabella, other than she is listed in documents and directories as the “widow of Joseph Swan”. But I have no proof of any marriage, so she may have 1-taken the name of her son’s father, 2- made it up completely or 3-I just haven’t found the record yet. 1880 Census records from Tippecanoe County, Indiana, show her as born in 1827 in Canada to Irish parents. Not Canadians, not English or American. I have not found her in any other census in the US or Canada, thus, I suspect she was not a Swan when she immigrated from Canada. Her son, Joe Swan, was listed as a clerk in a railroad office in 1880 Lafayette, Indiana. Arabella was listed as 53 years old, which makes her born about 1827. I found them (earlier) in Fort Wayne, Indiana where his career began, and hers in taking care of him was keeping house. Later records show him in Tippecanoe, Indiana working the Wabash line and then after he married my 2 times great grandmother, to Detroit working the railroad there. My goal is twofold: Priority 1 - to try to locate additional clues for finding out the truth of who Arabella is or to confirm or refute my own hypothesis, and in locating some type of death or burial record or marriage record (or both) for her, should those exist…to try to determine her true lineage. I have a strong hypothesis based upon a name-only search as to who she “could be” or “should be”. There are tons of coincidences, but nothing that flags it down and says “yeah, here’s the end-go here next”. Priority 2 - I would also like to try to locate a death or burial record or something for Joseph, who apparently fell off the earth some years after the birth of his son, Joseph – aka Bud Swan. It’s possible he left the family by rail, abandoning them. It’s possible he died on the rail lines or elsewhere, effects unknown. He could have been in jail, though I never found any stories like that. Maybe he was a cad who ran off and started another family elsewhere? Or maybe he got caught in a compromising position by a jealous husband? Or maybe he did something brave and heroic on a train and was injured or killed? I know it would be quite difficult to break down these brick walls in a scant few hours of research, but I would offer all the documentation and results that I currently have to try to break it and build on my Swan family background. Isn’t it interesting, that like the story of the ugly duckling, the cygnet is born “ugly” and becomes beautiful with time? We might have that here in my Swans. And, regardless of the good, bad or ugly, I’m ready to know the truth. I hope you’ll agree and curiosity will get you involved! Thank you for considering my Grandma Swan's family."- Connie Dexter Spicer Thank YouThank you to all of this year's first Genealogy Wish Grants applicants! I hope you all continue to follow and participate! Don't forget to apply to Genealogy Wish Grants 2023, details coming soon! The entry start date will be posted on my Facebook Page, my Facebook Group, my blog, and on the Genealogy Wish Grants page, so stay tuned!
10/16/2022 Celebrating Filipino Heritage and Ancestry during Filipino American History Month!Read Now Celebrating Filipino Heritage and Ancestry during Filipino American History Month! Not only is the month of October National Family History Month, but it is also Filipino American History Month! To celebrate my children’s Filipino ancestry and honor their Filipino immigrant ancestors, their father; paternal grandparents; and a paternal great grandmother; I thought I’d honor their Filipino Heritage and Ancestry by sharing a little about it and ways you can celebrate Filipino Americans or your own Filipino Heritage and family history. 😊
About Filipino American History Month: Filipino American History Month is observed in October each year to commemorate when Filipinos were first known to be in what now is the U.S., while celebrating the history, culture, heritage, and accomplishments of Filipino Americans. It’s a month-long observance of Filipino-American Heritage! Did you know that Filipinos first arrived on October 18, 1587, on the Spanish ship Nuestra Senora de Esperanza, landing in California? There have been four huge waves of Filipinos settling in what is now the U.S. The first wave started in 1763, settling in Saint Malo, a small village in what is now Louisiana. Shortly after, in 1781, they settled in what is now Los Angeles, California. The second wave came in the early 1900’s, as workers to mostly California; Hawaii; and Alaska; and students for an Ivy League education. The third wave of Filipino Americans came in the 1940’s, first as military recruits during WWII and later their families came, after the War Brides Act. The fourth and final wave of Filipino American immigration came after the Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965. Did you know that Filipino Americans are the second largest Asian American Group in the U.S.? In California, where I live, they’re the third largest ethnic group and are where the largest number of Filipino Americans hail from! Filipino Influences on American Society and Culture: Filipino Americans have contributed greatly to our society, ever since their families began settling in, and what is now known as, the U.S. They have worked in the plantations of California and Hawaii, and the fisheries of Alaska; fought to protect the freedom of the U.S. in WWII; helped fill the professional workforce in the Health and Technology industries, while leaving their families behind; among many others. There are many, many, Filipino contributions to our society, and this list is in no way exhaustive. 😉 My Filipino American children and their Immigrant Ancestors: Two of my children are half Filipino, and their father; paternal grandparents; and one of their paternal great grandparents are Filipino-Americans. Their father, his parents, and most of his siblings immigrated in 1985. Most of his maternal aunts and uncles, along with his maternal grandmother, came shortly before. The majority became U.S. Citizens. My father-in-law/My children’s Lolo (grandfather in Tagalog) Mac was born 1921 in San Jose, Nueva Ecija, Philippines and died 1995 in Glendora, Los Angeles, California of Liver Cancer. He never knew his parents, as they died when he was quite young in a car accident, and he was orphaned. My mother-in-law/My children’s Lola (grandmother in Tagalog) Ampy was born 1926 in Gapan, Nueva Ecija, Philippines, and was the eldest of fourteen children. She died 2011 in the Philippines (having gone back just a couple of years before for her eldest daughter to take care of her) of a Brain Tumor. They married in 1951 in Manila and had seven children. Four of their children, including my children’s father, immigrated with them in 1985; one emigrated to Australia; and two stayed behind in the Philippines, as they had their own families.  My In-Laws; 1966-©
Filipino families are very tightly knit, and they take great pride in their heritage! Celebrations of any kind are huge and grand, and they almost always revolve around food! 😊 Ever since the patriarchs of this family had passed, the huge family gatherings died down little by little, and we are now only left with memories of what was. Some of the Family Memories that Are Still Fresh:
Some of Our Family's Traditional Filipino Foods:
All the main dishes are always served with rice, usually Jasmine rice.
Can you tell that food is an important part of Filipino culture and heritage, from all the pictures I posted?! I know, I posted a lot! Not only did I post many photos of food because food is an integral part of Filipino heritage, but I also had to make up for the lack of photos that my family wouldn't let me post! 😉 Family gatherings ALWAYS revolve around food! Food is a way to spend quality family time together whether it be by cooking together, sitting down and eating together, or even cleaning up together. It's a chance to catch up, along with hearing stories of the past. How you can observe Filipino American History Month and Embrace the Filipino Heritage or Your Own Filipino Ancestry: 1. Research your Filipino ancestors! 2. Give voice to one of your Filipino ancestors, through video, with MyHeritage’s DeepStory photo tool 3. Blog about one of your Filipino Ancestors 4. Write a short biography on one of your Filipino ancestors 5. Make a Filipino heritage scrapbook 6. Visit a museum that includes Filipino art and culture 7. Visit a Filipino-American Town, such as “Historic Filipinotown” in Los Angeles CA, “Little Manila” in Stockton CA, “SOMA Pilipinas” (Filipino Cultural Heritage District) in San Francisco CA, Delano CA, Saint Malo LA, and “Little Manila” in Queens NY, and more! 8. Listen to Filipino Music 9. Try a Filipino Recipe 10. Try out a Filipino restaurant 11. Go to a Filipino bakery 12. Read up on the contributions Filipino Americans have made to American society and culture 13. Join a Filipino-American Heritage Festival 14. Read Filipino literature or a book from a Filipino-American author 15. Research famous Americans with Filipino heritage and learn about their accomplishments 16. Learn how to speak Tagalog (the official language of the Philippines) or learn some Tagalog words (Did you know that English is the other official language of the Philippines?) (Did you know that there are 8 major dialects in the Philippines, along with many others?) 17. And this list can go on forever! 😉 Questions: Do you have Filipino ancestors? If so, where did they come from and when did they immigrate? How did your Filipino American ancestors help shape America? How will you celebrate Filipino American History Month and honor your Filipino Ancestry or Filipino Americans? Do you have something to add to this list? *Note: All family photos are copyright protected and are owned by me and may not be downloaded, screenshot, or saved in any other way without my explicit permission This post is a participant in the Genealogy Blog Party!  Celebrating Your German Ancestry during German-American Heritage Month! Not only is the month of October National Family History Month, but it is also German-American Heritage Month! To celebrate my German ancestry and honor my German immigrant ancestors, I thought I’d embrace my German heritage and ancestry by sharing a little about it, my ancestors, and ways you can celebrate your own German heritage and family history. 😊 What is German-American Day: German-American Day is a holiday in the United States, that is observed annually on October 6th. It celebrates German-American heritage and commemorates the founding of Germantown, Pennsylvania. It started off as German Day in 1883, to commemorate the 200 year anniversary of the landing of the first German families on October 6, 1683 in Philadelphia, but it died out during WWI. It was then brought back through proclamation in 1983, as German-American Day, by President Reagan. It was put into law by 1987. About German-American Heritage Month: German-American Heritage Month is observed in October. Stemming from German-American Day on October 6th, the month is also related to Germantown’s history and October 1683. It’s a month-long observance of German-American Heritage! German-Americans have contributed greatly to our society, ever since their families began settling in Pennsylvania in 1683. Did you know that 15% percent of Americans are of German descent and that they’re the largest ancestral group in the U.S.?! That’s a lot! German Influences on American Society and Culture: Did you know that kindergarten, graduate school, the social security system, and labor unions are all based on models that sprang from Germany? Did you know that the Christmas Tree, “gift-giving” Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny also came from Germany? German-Americans also introduced P.E. and vocational education in public schools. Recreational facilities can also be attributed to the German-Americans that helped shaped our country, as well as the forming of social clubs and groups. Do you like the “Weekend”? You can thank German-Americans for that too! There are many, many, German contributions to our society, and this list is in no way exhaustive. 😉 My German Immigrant Ancestors: My German immigrant ancestors were Johann Adam Steinman(n), Eva Elisabetha (Marquardt) Steinman(n), Peter Steinman, and Karl “Frank” Caesar “Smith”.
Johann Adam Steinman(n) and Eva Elisabetha (Marquardt) Steinman(n) were my 4th great grandparents, who left Erlenbach and emigrated to the U.S. on July 31, 1831 through the Port of Bremerhaven, arriving through the Port of Baltimore MD sometime between September 16-20, 1831. They emigrated together with their children, including my 3rd great grandfather, Peter Steinman, along with 2 of their nephews. They were part of the Oldenwald Emigration Group that included the Famous Dove shipwreck, which you can read about with the following links below. This group was a group of family, friends, and neighbors that got together to flee high taxes, military conscription of their sons, and expensive land, who were bound for Hancock County, Ohio. Most of them were farmers. My 3rd great grandfather lost his baby sibling during the journey, and he was “buried at sea”. They first settled in Pennsylvania, for the first 6 years or so, before reaching their original destination of Ohio. They had 2 more children here in the U.S. My 4th great grandparents were devout Lutherans and were members of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hancock County, Ohio. Johann Adam was very well respected in his community and contributed greatly to it and the church.
Karl “Frank” Caesar “Smith” was my great grandfather who left Wiesbaden and emigrated to the U.S. through Rotterdam, arriving on April 7, 1893, through the Port of New York. The story told of why he immigrated was to flee his tyrant father and that his mother helped him to do so; although, the reason is still unknown. My great grandfather was said to not want to talk about Germany nor his family there. During my research, I'd come to learn that he had changed his name for some unknown reason, and that no one knew of his true name. We knew him as Frank Smith, and we were told that his name came from the German name Schmidt, which was untrue. He enrolled in the military right away, hearing that it would also help him to speed up his naturalization. It seemed that he left many of his German ties behind, and that the only thing left was his thick German accent, his love for Limburger Cheese, and his nostalgia of his homeland landscapes. He even built his home far back in the lot to have plenty of room to plant fruit trees and create a garden oasis in the remaining ¾ or so in the front of the house. Frank contributed to America by joining the military, by which he contracted T.B. and later died, leaving his wife and small children behind. My 3rd and 4th great grandparents are farther down the tree, and I had never met my great grandfather, so I thought I would keep their memories alive in another way, by celebrating them during German-American Heritage month. https://www.lutheranforum.com/blog/2017/8/3/lutherans-in-peril-on-the-sea https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=158918 https://jahcmft.blogspot.com/2017/09/coming-to-america-shipwreck.html https://mahalodonna.com/schiffbruchs-gottesdienst/ How you can observe German-American Heritage Month and Embrace Your German Ancestry: 1) Research your German ancestors! 1) Give voice to one of your German ancestors, through video, with MyHeritage’s DeepStory photo tool 2) Blog about one of your German Ancestors 3) Write a short biography on one of your German ancestors 4) Make a German heritage scrapbook 5) Join a parade, like a Steuben Parade 6) Visit a museum, like the German–American Heritage Museum 7) Visit a German town, such as Alpine Bavarian village in Vail CO, “Little Bavaria” in Frankenmuth MI, Helen GA, Fredericksburg TX, Hermann MO, Leavenworth WA, Castroville TX, Amana Colonies IA 8) Listen to German music (don’t like German music, then listen to some Broadway musicals, influenced from the Germans!) 9) Make some German Food (Don’t like German Food, then eat a hamburger or hot dog to commemorate; they originated from Germany!) 10) Go to a German restaurant 11) Go to a German bakery 12) Read up on the contributions Germans made to American society and culture 13) Join a German-American Heritage Festival 14) Join an Oktoberfest Celebration- Top 15 Oktoberfest Celebrations in the U.S. 15) Read German literature or a book form a German-American author 16) Research famous Americans with German heritage and learn about their accomplishments 17) Learn how to speak German or learn some German words 18) Use the hashtag, #GermanAmericanDay on social media to celebrate your German heritage 19) Trace the U.S. Presidents’, Theodore Roosevelt; Dwight D. Eisenhower; Herbert Hoover; Richard Nixon; George W. Bush; Barack Obama; and Donald Trump, German ancestry back to Germany 20) And this list could go on forever! 😉 Questions: Do you have German ancestors? If so, where did they come from and when did they immigrate? How did your German-American ancestors help shape America? What will you do to celebrate German-American Heritage Month and honor your German ancestry? Do you have something to add to this list? Related Content: The Best German Genealogy Research Resource! Note: All family photos are copyright protected and are owned by me and may not be downloaded, screenshot, or saved in any other way without my explicit permission This post is a participant in the Genealogy Blog Party! |
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September 2023
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HoursM-Su: 8am - 8pm
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Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family is dedicated to promoting family history and genealogy, while maintaining commitment to client care and professional service, and adheres to the Code of Ethics and Professional Practices put forth by the Association of Professional Genealogists.
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