FamilyTreeWebinars.com Offers FREE Webinar Access This Weekend

Celebrating their 500th webinar episode, Legacy Family Tree is opening their entire library of webinars for FREE. For the first time ever, they will be unlocking the membership key which means you pay nothing during this special event--to view 500 Genealogy related webinars from the best in the industry.

Legacy Family Tree blog reports, "Beginning Friday and continuing through Sunday evening, the entire library - all 500 classes - will be open and free to the public. Just visit www.FamilyTreeWebinars.com and browse or search for any topic or presenter and enjoy!"

Be sure to mark April 14-16, 2017 on your calendar and visit the Legacy Family Tree blog for more information on the event including a few of Geoff Rasmussen's favorite speakers, episodes, and bloopers.

Family Skeletons--What Do You Do When You Find Them?

The My Heritage Blog has a great post entitled, Scandal! Dealing With Skeletons In Your Family Tree. W. Scott Fisher, creator and host of Extreme Genes, America’s Family History Show, shared some of his personal experiences and perspective. Click on the link to read the entire blog article.

Family Skeletons--I've been wrestling with them ever since I decided to have my DNA tested a month ago. What if I find something I don't want to know? And if so, what am I supposed to do with that knowledge?

I loved Fisher's insight, "My personal rule is, the feelings of the living, even if the individual in question is dead, must be taken into account. A record that causes pain or embarrassment is contrary to the purpose of family history research and the strengthening of future generations."

I couldn't have said it better myself. Thank you, Mr Fisher.

How to Start Family Food Traditions from Scratch

FamilySearch is all about celebrating family and family stories. What better way to do that than by encouraging families to preserve favorite family recipes and the memories those dishes hold? But how do do we get started?

According to the FamilySearch.org/recipes , "Whether you cook traditional recipes handed down for generations or are starting your food traditions from scratch, here are three ways to weave your own unique heritage into your family meals, both on special occasions and every day of the week."

Preserve an important part of your heritage by sharing recipes, photos, or memories of your family’s favorite foods and the stories behind them at familysearch.org/recipes .

Ever Wondered If You Might Be a Little Bit IRISH?

Or maybe you already know you’ve got Irish ancestors but don't know where to look?  To celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Findmypast.com is making its entire collection of Irish records completely FREE from March 13 - 17.

Share your favorite Family Recipes on FamilySearch

Did you know FamilySearch.org now has a way to share family recipes in the Memories section?  We can now share favorite recipes and food traditions and attach them to family members in our tree. Check out FamilySearch.org/recipes for details.

What are you waiting for? Grab those handwritten recipes, take a photo and upload them to the FamilySearch.org/recipes site or use the FamilySearch Memories phone app and start tagging family members today. 

I Finally Did It! I'm ready to find out who I really am...

Saturday I took the plunge and bought an Ancestry DNA kit at Roots Tech 2017.

For years I had no idea the man I grew up calling "Dad" was not my biological father. It wasn't until about 12 years after he passed away and I was almost 30 years old that my mom told me the truth--or at least a very small portion of the truth.

I still have no idea who my biological father is, how they met, what became of him, or even what his name is--she refused to tell me. I do know that the only man I knew and believed to be my father adopted me a few years after they were married in 1964. They made a promise to each other never to divulge what happened in the past--especially to me.

But now, I made a conscious decision to discover who I am genetically and who my biological ancestors are.  And, it's not just "about me". Now that my children are adults, they have a right to know, too. So here goes. I'm taking my Ancestry DNA package to the post office today and hopefully in 6-8 weeks I will begin my journey.

I do have one fear--and that is hurting someone or possibly even an entire family that has no idea that I'm alive and that I'm looking for answers. For the record, I'm not looking for a new "dad", but I can't deny some emotional need, pull, or whatever you call it, inside myself that's looking for a connection to my ancestors.

Dec 1: Jesus Lifted Others’ Burdens and So Can You