Archive for October, 2007

Family Superstitions?

October 31, 2007 at 3:55 pm · Filed under Family History ·Tagged ,

Family history and genealogy doesn’t always have to be serious and focus on names and dates.  Finding out if your family heritage held superstitions is a fun family history exercise especially this time of year.

You can write down family “superstitions” that have been handed down through your family that you are aware of, but you can also research superstitions from around the world to record superstitions and traditions that your ancestors that came from different countries may have held.

Give it a try, and you might be surprised what you come up with.

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Family History by Timeline

October 29, 2007 at 10:02 pm · Filed under Family History

We found a resource to help genealogy enthusiasts created a time line of events for themselves or for other family members.  The resource is offered by OurStory (more can be read about it and a video demonstration of the family history time lines here).

We created a free account and found that you can create a time line with pictures and stories for free.  To create multiple time lines under one account, you have to pay for a subscription, but the free account should work for most visitors.

You can embed an interactive time line in your website or blog.  It’s pretty cool.

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Family Websites

October 15, 2007 at 9:16 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

I enjoy creating websites.  It’s a great way to stay connected with family and friends.  We’ve found a couple of resources that are free and easy to use:

The first two options are for blogs, but they’re very easy to use.  MyFamily.com offers free websites that have different functionality and may appeal more to some people.   For more on family websites, click here.

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Web Cams

October 10, 2007 at 9:14 pm · Filed under Uncategorized ·Tagged

A great little way to stay connected is with Web Cams.  You can get a web cam at great prices today.  Go get one (and make sure the family member or friend you have gets one too), and download the program called Skype.  Add your friend to your Skype contact list, and you can talk over the Internet for free!

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Ever Wish you were Related to Someone Famous?

October 10, 2007 at 3:32 pm · Filed under Uncategorized

You can now find out if you’re related to someone famous (U.S. Presidents, Royalty, Famous Scientists, and Pioneers).  Instructions can be found at http://www.familyhistoryquickstart.com to access a free resource to determine if you’re next in line to be king or queen.

Click here for the the tutorial page.

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Family Tree

October 9, 2007 at 8:54 pm · Filed under Genealogy Resources ·Tagged ,

There are a lot of family tree resources out there one of the best we’ve found is at http://trees.ancestry.com and it’s free.

Another free resource for family trees is http://www.tribalpages.com

For a more descriptive list of family tree options (if you happen to be tech-savvy, you’ll like one of the options for sure) click here.

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Accessing Ancestry.com

October 6, 2007 at 8:37 pm · Filed under Genealogy Resources ·Tagged , ,

You know, I came across something very a number of weeks ago.  You may not have it in your area, but it’s worth a shot just to find out.

One of the best resources for family history and genealogy work is Ancestry.com.  The only problem with ancestry.com is that it can be quite pricey for those who have tight budgets.

I remember that I signed up for the free trial with hopes that I’d be able to get all my research done within the free trial period, but I didn’t, and I forgot to cancel and ended up having to pay for a subscription.  Don’t get me wrong, the service is worth it, I just didn’t have much money.

Well, a number of weeks ago, I sat down to read my local city newspaper and an article mentioned that a special, free version of Ancestry.com was available at my local library.  I could even access the site from my laptop instead of a library computer.

So, I went to the library, and it worked.  So, you never know what you might find at your library. For other research tips, visit http://www.familyhistoryquickstart.com

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Personal History – Get it Written

October 4, 2007 at 8:31 pm · Filed under Family History ·Tagged

Need help writing that personal history?

Lots of people, and maybe yourself, have thought that tiny little thought that you should put down some of your life’s experience on paper. Maybe you blog all your thoughts to the world, but perhaps you don’t. Either way, a lot of us at one time or another have thought about recording some of our most important life events.

Big problem however, writing a personal history:

  1. Takes a lot of work
  2. Takes a lot of time
  3. Usually gets started but never finished
  4. Don’t go into too much detail because there’s too much to cover

Well, not anymore. Family History Quick Start has a guide for writing your personal history that can help you take some bite-sized chunks of that personal history, get it done, and end up with a better overall history. Click here to check it out.

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