oktober 31, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Legacy Tree Honored as One of Utah’s 100 Fastest Growing Companies for the Third Year in a Row

Legacy Tree Genealogists has been named to MountainWest Capital Network’s (MWCN) 2019 Utah 100, the annual list of the state’s fastest-growing companies. This is the third year in a row the company has made the list, this year being ranked at #56.

MWCN’s exclusive awards program brings together investors, entrepreneurs and professional service providers while recognizing Utah’s 100 fastest-growing companies and the economic and business impact they bring to the state.

Legacy Tree Genealogists’ president, Jessica Taylor.

Founded in 2004, Legacy Tree Genealogists provides full-service genealogical research for clients worldwide, helping them break through genealogy “brick walls” to create and preserve their family legacy. The Legacy Tree team also provides essential DNA analysis, helps clients identify unknown parents or grandparents, helps clients prepare to visit their ancestral homelands, completes probate research for attoneys and investors, and much more.

“We are excited to receive this recognition once again,” said Jessica Taylor, founder and president of Legacy Tree Genealogists. “Our continued growth wouldn’t be possible without the efforts of each member of our team and their commitment to provide consistently high-quality research for our clients.”

Utah 100 honorees were chosen based on both their percentage and dollar revenue increase between 2014 and 2018. MWCN’s award event, now marking a quarter century of recognizing the top companies in the state, honored award recipients at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City.

“Utah’s economy has never been stronger, and it’s in large part thanks to the tremendous efforts of these companies and others that make Utah truly the place to be for business,” said Ryan Dent, chairman of the MWCN Utah 100 committee. “We’ve had 25 great years of honoring the companies making Utah great, and we look forward to the next 25 years and beyond.”

Legacy Tree Genealogists combines both traditional genealogy research with advancements in genetic genealogy to resolve even the most difficult research questions. Contact us today to request your free quote.

oktober 25, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 2 Comments

Legacy Tree Onsite: The National Archives in Iaşi, Romania

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Iaşi, Romania, to share his experiences with genealogy research in Romania at the National Archives in Iaşi, and the records available to help with your family history.

The city of Iaşi and its archives – an overview

The city of Iaşi is the largest locality in the northeast of Romania, a region called Moldavia. Not to be mistaken with the Republic of Moldova, which represents the eastern half of the former Principality of Moldavia, occupied by Russia after 1812, a region called Bessarabia, which belonged to Romania only in the interval 1918-1944.

Source: https://ro.wikipedia.org

The city of Iaşi was the capital of the Principality of Moldavia from the 17^th century to the year 1862, when the Principalities of Moldavia and Walachia united and when the capital was set in Bucharest.

According to modern standards, the Archives of Iaşi were constituted on January 1^st, 1832, with one headquarter. Until 1832, the documents were kept in the institutions that issued or received them, or in private archives (secular or confessional). Hence, between 1832 and 1862, Iaşi was the headquarters of the Moldavian Principality Archives, and subsequently they acquired a regional character, within the Romanian Archives. Though they were founded in 1832, thus far the deposits of the Romanian Archives in Iaşi have gathered many old documents, dated even to the 14^th century. Until the present, the Archives in Iaşi harbor almost 17,000 linear meters of documents, from the oldest one (within the 14^th century) to the present, thus the second largest archive in Romania.

Visiting the National Archives in Iaşi

The current headquarters of the Iaşi archives are on B-dul Carol I no. 26, on one of the most prestigious and select streets, close to “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University. The hours for the lecture hall – where researchers are granted a free permit – are listed on the website of the institution. However, as far as research, only little information is available online. Consequently, for most research topics, genealogy included, it is mandatory to actually stay in the library. Researchers may access 15 documents and 5 registries daily. You are allowed to take photos using your own camera, and the daily photo fee is Lei 7 (less than 2 US dollars), without any limit on the number of photos taken.

Documents useful for genealogy research in Romania

As for the documents useful for genealogy research in Romania, it is worth knowing that – by the legal character of the documents preserved in the archives – there are differences in terms of the historical period and the category of population to which the searched family belonged.

Ownership documents

Until mid 19^th century, most preserved documents pertain to the ownership of buildings and lands within cities or to lands owned outside the cities. Thus, a genealogical reconstitution before the 19^th century is possible only for the families who owned properties. It must be mentioned that, based on medieval law – in force until mid 19^th century and in case of Jews until 1918, when they were granted full civil rights – only the Orthodox Christians were allowed to own properties outside the city territories. Catholics and Armenians had a derogation only concerning the lands with vine. Consequently, until the 19^th century, the best chances for retrieving the genealogy concern the families of boyars (noble families) and to a certain extent, the rich urban citizens, and almost null for the other categories of population.

Statistical documents

There is a category of useful documents for genealogical studies. Such documents are dated to the second half of the 18^th century and they represent tax censuses; authorities noted the family heads in those lists. Based on the lists, it is possible to develop the genealogy of certain families, until the second half of the 19^th century, when – mainly after 1832 – such tax censuses were organized every seven years. Only a part of those lists has been published. For the city of Iaşi, two volumes were issued, titled Documente statistice privitoare la istoria oraşului Iaşi, vol. I (1755-1820) and vol. II (1824-1828) [Statistical Documents concerning the History of the City of Iaşi], Iaşi, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Press, 1997.

Also in the first half of the 19^th century, various categories of taxpayers were recorded separately, such as merchants, artisans or foreign subjects who lived in the Moldavian Principality, most of them in the urban areas. Many of those who had the status of foreign subjects were Jewish. A volume that reunites the census of the foreign Austrian subjects in 1832 was published recently at the Al.I. Cuza University Press in Iaşi (The Austrian Subjects in the Moldavian Principate (1833-1835), Iaşi, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University Press, 2014 – in Romanian language; http://www.editura.uaic.ro/produse/rezultatele-cautarii-pentru/silviu-vacaru/supusii-austrieci-in-principatul-moldovei-1833-1835-contributii-1307/1), but the archives of Iaşi host many other such lists, still unpublished.

Civil status registries – marital status as registered by parishes

Along with the statistical and tax-related documents, for the period between 1832 and 1865, the Archives in Iaşi also includes civil status registries, drafted in parishes. Unfortunately, thus far, only a small part of the civil status registries were inventoried and available for research.

Before analyzing the period after 1865, it must be stated that – along with the Cyrillic paleography of the old documents – the genealogical research is made even more difficult by the fact that, until 1865, no strict rules were imposed concerning last names, though attempts had been made since 1832. For this reason, in the tax and civil status records up to 1865, individuals were generally registered using the formula: X the son of Y, and in the subsequent generation, Z the son of Y, but there were also cases of formulas such as: X + occupation. The preservation of a name across several generations is frequent only in case of noble families; for the others, such cases are rare.

Civil status records – after 1865

More information, comprising a greater number of details pertinent for genealogy research, is available for periods after 1865. In 1865 the organization of the Civil Status Service following the French model entered into force; thus, the births, marriages and deaths were no longer recorded by parishes, but by civil offices constituted within city halls.

In terms of advantages compared to the previous period, first of all, they began drafting up the documents using Latin characters, and then they enforced the standard of using last names. The Civil Status Funs has been inventoried almost integrally and it may be researched. Unfortunately, they are not available online, and the registries even less so. Consequently, documents may be consulted only in the study hall. A researcher may research the lists of people who were born, got married or who died in the period 1865-1916 and he/she may order up to 5 registries. According to Archives rules for the protection of personal data, civil status documents newer than 100 years old are not available for public research.

The Archives of Iaşi preserve the registries of people who were born, got married or who died for all the localities within the county of Iaşi, the city of Iaşi included. For the other localities in Moldavia, registries are within the Archives of each county centre (Suceava, Botoşani, Piatra-Neamţ, Bacău, Vaslui, Galaţi, Focşani). The research rules are the same as for the Archives in Iaşi, but the hours may differ, (they are usually shorter).

In the Archives of Iaşi we find – for the period 1865-1908 – approximately 3,000 registries for the births, were 59,779 births were recorded. For the period 1865-1905, there are approximately 1,500 marriage registries, where 21,731 marriages and divorces were registered. For the period 1865-1908, there are approximately 4,000 registries of deaths, comprising around 80,000 deaths.

It is also worth noting that, in terms of the demographic structure – mostly in the cities in northern Moldavia, the city of Iaşi included – in late 19^th century, the Jewish population accounted for around 50%. Since the last years of the 19^th century, the number of Jews decreased gradually, initially through immigrations across the Ocean, mostly in the USA; after the Second World War, due to the massive emigration to Israel, the Jewish population in Iaşi and in Romania, in general, dropped dramatically. Currently, the community of the Jews in Iaşi counts around 200 members.

Hence, in order to study the genealogy of the families who – since late 19^th century – left the urban localities in the county of Iaşi, emigrating from Romania, the types of documents presented here briefly – mostly those pertaining to civil status dated after 1865 – are very useful.

Here, is an example of a death record within a registry of civil status.

National Archives of Iaşi, Civil Registrar of Iaşi, Deaths, 14/1866, f. 27 recto

TRANSLATION:

Civil Registrar for deaths

Death certificate

In the year of one thousand eight hundred sixty-six, on the fourth of August, at eight o’clock a.m., came to us, officer of the Civil Registrar of the commune of Iaşi, police district no. three, county of Iaşi, Mr. Daniil Lazar, aged forty-five, an old clothes man, the uncle of the deceased, domiciled in police district no. three, Târgul de Sus, and Mr. Avram Herş Ox, aged twenty-nine, a shoemaker, domiciled in zone (police district) no. four, Sfânta Vineri street, and they declared that on the third of August, at ten o’clock p.m., Mr. Leiba, son of Moise Lazăr, aged seven, Israeli, domiciled with his parents, son of Mr. Moise Lazăr, old clothes man, domiciled in district no. three, Târgul de Sus no. 990, and of Mrs. Feiga, the latter’s wife, has died in the house of Herşcu Marcu, because of cholera.

After we made sure of it ourselves, we drew this certificate that the declarants, after reading it, signed with us.

Officer of the Civil Registrar, Th. Codrescu <m.p.>.

The declarants sign.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Romania to continue extending your Romanian ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our team of genealogists is experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

juli 29, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Legacy Tree Onsite: Top 3 Record Collections for Researching Jewish Genealogy

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Lviv, Ukraine, to share the top 3 record collections for Jewish genealogy research at the State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine.

The State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine

The State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine holds the largest Ukrainian collection of historical Jewish documents. This includes Jewish populations that were part of the Polish Kingdom (before 1772), the Austrian (1772-1867) and Austro-Hungarian (1867-1918) Empires, the Republic of Poland (1919-1939), the Soviet Union and under Nazi German occupation.

Top 3 Record Collections for Jewish Genealogy

There are a number of documentary repositories, also known as Fonds, which contain documents of Jewish genealogy, but there are main three collections of interest:

Fond 701 – Although this collection of 5672 documents is called the “Lwow Jewish Religious Community,” it contains 420 registers of Jewish vital records from 63 towns. More information and lists of vital records can be found here.

Other documents of genealogical interest in this Fond include the Lwow Evidence books 1796-1860. Lwow was a unique city with a big Jewish population and Austrian authorities established family numbers given to a limited number of Jewish families who had an official right to reside in Lwow. Those given family numbers were official members of the Lwow Jewish community, they paid community taxes and had a right to have an official businesses and property in Lwow. There were 3768 Jewish families officially residing in Lwow in the 18th – 19th centuries which can be found in this collection.

Lwow Evidence books 1796-1860s

In spite of most documents from the Nazi German occupation not being well preserved, a source of great value found at the archives is the book of burial registrations in Lviv from 1941–1942. This collection numbers over 6,000 people. These books recorded the date of death, address and age of the deceased. You may come across the names of the famous Lviv professors, doctors of medicine, or lawyers.
In addition, there is a 1941–1942 card index of the inhabitants of the Lviv Ghetto. These cards recorded names, addresses, birthdates (years), positions and places of work. The collection contains over 20,000 cards, and these are some of the only extant sources for the Holocaust period.

Card index of Lviv Ghetto 1941-1942

Besides the documents concerning Jewish residents of Lwow, the Fond also includes a collection (about 1000 cards) of personal cards of emigrants from Russia who lived in Lwow in the 1890s on their way from Russia to the West.

2. Fond 166, also known as the “Tabula Registers” was founded in 1780 and existed until 1939. This is a huge collection of various documents concerning real property: sales, purchases, rental agreements, settlements, deeds, testaments, marriage contracts, promissory notes, guarantees, obligations and various business contracts concerning real property and business relations between realty owners. Having a deed listed in the Tabula Registers was the only way to make a deed legal so all sectors of society are represented. The most important use of this collection for genealogy purposes are the records concerning the distribution of inherited property.

Jewish genealogy record collections

The Tabula Registers were common for all sectors of the population –property was registered for landlords and magnates, state institutions, banks, the state railroad, rural and city communities, churches, monasteries, etc., as well as various contracts of petty-traders, testaments, and promissory notes. The collection even includes auction sales notes from tiny towns in the poor provinces on the boundary of the Austrian Empire.

Fonds 178, 179 – this Fond includes the documents of educational institutions of Galicia known as the “Province School Council” (1797–1921) and “Curatoria of Lwow School Circuit” (1921–1939). These documents are often the only source of information with regard to Jewish genealogy of the Interwar period.

These documents recorded the activity of elementary schools, gymnasiums [high schools], teachers’ seminaries and professional schools.

The documents of genealogical interest in this collection are:

Lists of students
Examination letters, graduation certificates, school certificates
Teachers personal fileThese documents include dates, places of birth and sometimes the names of parents. Examination letters even contain student photos!

Here are just a few examples of Jewish genealogy records that may be found onsite within the collection at the State Central Historical Archive of Ukraine:

Photos of Genesia Preminger (1929) and Sabina Horowits (1937) from their school certificates.

List of children of school age born 1921 in the town of Ottynia

Zygfryd Adler’s graduation certificate from Stanislawow High School, 1929

Birth certificate of Bruno Schulz from his teacher’s file

While an increasing number of records are being digitized and made available online, many, many more are nestled among the shelves of historical archives and repositories around the globe, and may just be the missing piece you need to continue your family history research.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents to continue extending your Jewish ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our experts are experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in locations around the world, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

juni 28, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

“Did My Ancestor Serve in the American Revolutionary War?” Research Steps to Prove a Family Legend

We frequently have clients contact us wanting to know, “How do I prove a family legend is true (or untrue)?”. In this article, we highlight research that was completed to find out whether the family legend of an ancestor serving in the American Revolutionary War is fact or fiction.

prove a family legend Many of us want to learn about our ancestors’ lives, and this is a key motivator for completing family history. Yet some people also want to know what role their ancestors played in history, and if certain noteworthy events occurred in their lives, or perhaps even a royal connection exists. In fact, many of our clients come to us with oral family history stories – what some call “family legends” – and seek our help in proving or disproving these stories.

Recently one of our clients found herself in that same situation. She wanted to determine if her ancestor, Samuel Megginson, had truly served in the American Revolutionary War. I’ll review her particular case to illustrate how to approach proving or disproving a family legend, and what record collections may frequently be used.

Finding Evidence to Support Family Legend

Clearly, the first step is for us to find corroborating evidence that helps support the claims made in the family legend. This particular story included some specific details such as a Dr. Cabell setting Samuel’s broken arm in or around 1760. Specific details can either mean the story has a basis in fact or that it’s been retold within the family so much that it’s essentially just accepted without proof. Therefore, our evidence-finding should center around the specific details which our client shared.

Compiled Sources

We began our research by performing an internet search for “Samuel Megginson broken arm”. The most promising hit was a Find-A-Grave memorial for Samuel Megginson created by a Dr. Gresham Farrar. Dr. Farrar had previously researched Samuel’s life. He identified an extensive, compiled genealogy titled Virginia Cousins: A Study of the Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode of Whitby, A Virginia Colonist of the Seventeenth Century, with Notes Upon Related Families, A Key to Southern Genealogy and a History of the English Surname Gode, Good, Goode or Good from 1148 to 1887. This particular book did mention that Samuel’s arm was broken and set by old Dr. Cabell.

G. Brown Goode, Virginia Cousins: A Study of the Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode of Whitby, A Virginia Colonist of the Seventeenth Century, with Notes Upon Related Families, A Key to Southern Genealogy and a History of the English Surname Gode, Goad, Goode or Good from 1148 to 1887 (Richmond, VA: J.W. Randolph & English, 1887), pp. 69–70, books.google.com

Although the book included no reference or citation to the source of the Samuel Megginson entry, we were able to document that this was part of the family story. Here’s how. Dr. Farrar’s memorial mentioned that Samuel received 243 acres of property in Buckingham County, Virginia, from the lieutenant governor of the colony on 14 July 1769. The document that Dr. Farrar referenced to prove the land grant is located in the Special Collections Research Center at the Earl Gregg Swem Library at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Military Service Records

Dr. Farrar had already found Samuel Megginson’s military service records. The first record was one regarding Captain Nicholas Cabell, who organized a company in the spring of 1776 that drew men from Amherst County and surrounding areas. Samuel, his brothers William and Benjamin, and their brother-in-law William Horsley, all enlisted in this minuteman militia company as privates. Samuel served from 25 May 1776 until 12 September 1776—right at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War. During this time the company marched “to Manchester, Jamestown & Williamsburg” and “did not return until late in the month of September [1776]”. Samuel’s brother William died during these campaigns, on 31 August 1776.

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/115369833/samuel-megginson

Tax Records

We did some more digging to learn more about Samuel’s life. We determined that Samuel was in Virginia until at least 1785, when he was taxed there in Amherst County, and was in Montgomery County, North Carolina, by 1800 and there until 1815, when he signed a deed giving much of his property to his son, also named Samuel.

Genealogical Proof Summary

We continued studying Dr. Farrar’s notes and noticed what he wrote concerning the ancestry of Samuel Megginson, Sr., that “there is no ‘direct’ evidence proving” the relationship between Samuel and his father William Megginson. However, Dr. Farrar was able to compose an extensive genealogical proof summary that was accepted by the Jamestowne Society as proof of the parent-child relationship between Samuel and William. Samuel’s mother was Mary Goode whose lineage had been proven back to Jamestown, Virginia! Given the client’s interest in historical context, we wanted her to have this information about Samuel’s parents. We asked the Jamestowne Society to please send us a copy of Dr. Farrar’s genealogical proof summary. They would not, but they did forward the summary of Dr. Farrar’s application for membership, which verified Samuel Megginson was the son of William Megginson and Mary Goode. Also, it gave each generation from Samuel Megginson to Christopher Branch, a famous Jamestowne figure. If our client chooses to join, she qualifies for membership into the Jamestowne Society. Learn more about the requirements for membership in the various lineage societies in our article, Hereditary Societies and You.

A Legacy for Future Generations

It can be so fulfilling to learn of your ancestor’s historical legacy. This particular client was pleasantly surprised and wrote us to say: “My report arrived today and it is so very interesting! I love the connection to the revolutionary war and am amazed by it.” The client had not known her ancestral connection to Jamestown, Virginia or that she was a descendant of Christopher Branch. She now has a (documented!) legacy to pass on to her children and grandchildren.

Sometimes our family stories are exactly what we think they are, sometimes they are different, and sometimes they are even better. When you prove or disprove family legends by connecting documents to your family stories you may be amazed at what you learn.

Need help with your research? Uncertain how to negotiate fact from fiction? Contact Legacy Tree today for a quote!

[1] G. Brown Goode, Virginia Cousins: A Study of the Ancestry and Posterity of John Goode of Whitby, A Virginia Colonist of the Seventeenth Century, with Notes Upon Related Families, A Key to Southern Genealogy and a History of the English Surname Gode, Goad, Goode or Good from 1148 to 1887 (Richmond, VA: J.W. Randolph & English, 1887), pp. 69–70,http://books.google.com, accessed April 2018.

[2] Revolutionary War Pensions, Nicholas Cabell, Captain, Amherst County Minute Men, Revolutionary War, children’s pension, pension no. R1577, National Archives and Records Administration, http://fold3.com, subscription database, accessed April 2018

[3] Lineage application of Gresham Talmadge Farrar, Jr., national no. 6954B, Jamestowne Society, supplemental (Christopher Branch), approved 2010.

juni 21, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 4 Comments

Online Resources for Researching Your Norwegian Ancestry

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Norway, to share his favorite online archives and record collections for researching Norwegian ancestry.

There are about as many descendants of Norwegians worldwide as native Norwegians. Easy access to Norwegian record collections are therefore important for family history researchers worldwide. In this article, we share our favorite online archives and record collections most used by family history researchers to extend their Norwegian ancestry.

The National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) building in Oslo.

1) The National Archives of Norway

The National Archives of Norway (Riksarkivet) preserves the non-current records of government ministries and other central offices. Norway launched their first Digital Archives in 1998. It was run by the National Archives of Norway in collaboration with the University of Bergen and was among the pioneers of online publication of archival content. Since then the Digital Archives have expanded significantly and is today the most important Norwegian archive for family history researchers. It is run by the government and is free to use worldwide. In 2018 it was decided that the Digital Archives will be further developed to become the nationwide portal for publishing of digitized archives, regardless of origin or place of storage in Norway.

How to Search the Digital Archives

The Digital Archives offer user searches for historical individuals often based on name, place of residence and year of birth in a number of different source types. Some sources also permit searches for properties and residential buildings.

Your initial search at the Digital Archives could be a simple search in their website search box, followed by a more advanced search if required. If you are not familiar with the different search options, it could be well spent time to read the user guides. In particular, the information about searching with special search characters is recommended. The wildcard character is often used since the spelling of names varies a lot in Norway. We also recommend spending some time becoming acquainted with the sources available for the area and period of interest by searching the find source page.

A section of the Digital Archives website with the simple search box, excellent for the initial search. Click the green “Trace your ancestry” button and you will find information about how to use the Digital Archives and how to find Norwegian ancestors.

What Records are Available on the Digital Archives?

The Digital Archives have scanned all released parish registers and made them available online. A significant portion of these registers have also been transcribed and made searchable. In addition, the censuses for 1801, 1865, 1875 (incomplete), 1885 (towns), 1891 (incomplete), 1900 and 1910 are also searchable. The remaining of the 1865 and 1875 censuses, already searchable at MyHeritage and Ancestry, are expected to become online later in 2019. In 2020, all released parish registers (baptism, marriage and burial) after 1800 and the 1920 census are planned to become searchable.

Norwegian ancestry

In terms of volume and frequency of use, the parish registers and the transcribed censuses make up the main components of the current Digital Archives. The digitized Norwegian Records of Emigrants from 1867 to 1930 are also popular sources for family historians due to the significant emigration to America and some other countries during that period.

Norwegian ancestry

2) The National Library of Norway

Another important source for family historians is the National Library of Norway. Their overall goal is to digitize their collections of books, newspapers and other documentation. Already, they have digitised all Norwegian book publications up to year 2000. This include the popular farm and family history books (bygdebøker) that is available for many municipalities. Their search engine also allows you to search the content of the books and newspapers. Unfortunately, their online database is only accessible from a Norwegian IP-address. This excludes users outside Norway. If that is your case, our team of worldwide researchers is available to assist with onsite research needs.

3) MyHeritage Norwegian Ancestry Collections

Over the last couple of years, MyHeritage has become very popular in Norway. This has resulted in a very unique and huge collection of Norwegian family trees. Several hundred thousand Norwegian family trees are now available in the MyHeritage SuperSearch database. Additionally, MyHeritage recently announced that they’re partnering with Arkivverket (the National Archives of Norway) to include the 1891, 1900 and 1910 censuses in their own collection. Information from these family trees and census record collections, combined with the data from the Digital Archives and the National Library provides you with a very powerful combination of tools for exploring your Norwegian ancestry.

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Norway to continue extending your Norwegian ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our team of genealogists is experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

juni 10, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 1 Comment

Legacy Tree Onsite: Beginner’s Guide to Jamaican Ancestry Research

Legacy Tree works with researchers all over the world to access records for our clients. We asked one of our onsite researchers, located in Jamaica, to share her experiences with researching Jamaican ancestry.

Jamaica is a multi-racial society. Though African ancestry occurs in eighty-five percent of the population, there are a large number of persons who also have European ancestry, East Indian Ancestry, Chinese ancestry, Jewish ancestry, and Middle Eastern ancestry. The first mistake made when starting to do Jamaican ancestry research is forgetting the fact that Jamaicans are “out of many, one people,” which incidentally is the coat of arms motto of the country.

Courtesy of wikimedia.org

The History of Jamaica

The first inhabitants of the island were the pre-Columbian peoples, who settled the island in two different waves in 670 AD and 800 AD, culminating in a culture that is called Taino by academics today. The Taino were the people who greeted Christopher Columbus in 1494, when he first came to the island of Jamaica. However, the Spanish colonization of the island had a devastating effect on the Indian population. Through disease and harsh treatment they were brought to the brink of extinction, though a few survived, with there being descendants of those first Jamaicans today still living on the island.

Early Jamaican Records

The Spanish ruled the island for 145 years, which ended with the invasion in 1655 by the English. By 1660 the English were victorious, and civil administration under the British was established. With this came the division of the island into parishes, with each parish having a parish church centered in a parish capital. Each parish church’s rector was charged with the task of recording all baptism/births, marriages, and burials in his parish. As the population grew, more churches were added and an island curate was appointed to supervise the growing responsibility of record keeping. All records were kept with handwritten duplicates: the original registers and their companion copy registers. These were housed in separate locations to protect the information as best as possible. The Anglican church was the official church of the colony and the only church whose records were officially recognized until 1870, when the passing of a new set of laws heralded the fledgling beginnings of civil registration. Originally called Law 6 Registration, it soon allowed all records, not just Anglican ones, to be considered official state records and all citizens to be registered.

A 1740 map of Jamaica, courtesy fo the British Library.

However, before this law was passed, inclusion was attempted after the emancipation of slavery in 1838, with the addition of the Dissenter records for marriages, which were officially collected by the Anglican church. (Dissenter faiths were all other denominations besides the official state church and included Baptist, Methodist, Moravian, and Presbyterian faiths.) However, the Dissenter baptism records were omitted and could only be found scattered all over the island held by each individual church.

Jamaican ancestry Also started in 1659 with the establishment of Island Secretary’s Office was the collection of colonial administration for all parishes and general record keeping, including state papers, patents of land grants, wills and their accompanying inventories of estates, crop accounts, and deeds of transactions, which could include slaves’ sales and purchases, land or dowries or sundry other legal disputes. Slave returns were kept to record the rise and decline of estate slave populations through births, deaths, and absconding or running away. Cadastral and estate maps were drawn up and lodged with the relevant offices. Laws and private acts were recorded, and these too are useful for the genealogist, as private acts deal with specific families being granted specific rights and freedoms or rights to dispose of large estate holdings. There are many more records to be found, but those named are the most relevant for genealogical purposes.

Top 3 Archives for Jamaican Ancestry Research

The most common question any genealogist will ask is where to get started with their research efforts. The following three locations are the best places to begin with tracing your Jamaican ancestry:

The Jamaica Archives and Records Department originally evolved out of the old secretary’s office and was established in 1955 as a division of the new records keeping arm of the colonial government as the Island Records Office (IRO), with the appointment of a government archivist. The division became an autonomous department in 1982 in and of itself with the passage of the Archives Act. Here you will find patents, government and colonial state papers, ship manifests, inventories of estate probates, manumissions of slaves, crop accounts, historic naturalizations, and slave returns, to name just a few. They also house the unindexed baptism, marriage, and burial original parish records for the IRO.
Registrar General’s Department of Jamaica, which also encompasses the Island Records Office. The RGD, as it is more commonly called, contains the right to collect and store all records associated with civil registration, hence continuing the role of the IRO and the earlier Secretary’s Office, and still has the rights to house the historical records associated with baptism/births, marriages, and deaths. So it’s here the researcher must come also to find wills and transactional deeds, and also housed are the original law books from 1659, though those are no longer available for use. Finally, the RGD also holds the deed poll ledgers and a number of other records that may or may not be helpful to genealogical research, but are not available for viewing by visitors to the RGD.
National Reference Library of Jamaica, a compendium of rare books, cadastral maps, estate maps, original illustrations, photographs of various places and people, and newspaper publications all oriented around Jamaica and to some extent the wider Caribbean. The library also holds biographical information on individuals of note and collections of manuscripts dating from the Spanish era through to English colonisation into the independence era of the island. Here the genealogical researcher’s first stop should be the Fuertado manuscripts collection of notable luminaries, military and civil administrative and elected representatives of the Houses of Assembly and the Council, which are arranged easily in alphabetical order. The researcher can also consult indexed newspaper publications, both defunct and active, to acquire primary data about events that would have influenced their ancestors’ lives.

In addition to the three archives suggested above, we also recommend consultation of the Jamaica Almanac collection for information on military placements and property ownership listed by the parish in which the properties were located. The researcher can locate original estate maps, to see an estate’s boundaries and property features, such as the placement of planting fields, where the estate factory was located if it was a sugar plantation, where warehouses were placed, and last but not least, the location of the Great House, the name used in reference to the property owner’s house on a plantation. The Great House often was the grandest structure on the estate apart from the factory facilities and also where the slave quarters were located.

Happy hunting to all my fellow genealogists seeking their roots in Jamaica!

If you need help accessing and obtaining documents in Jamaica to continue extending your Jamaican ancestry, our professional genealogists and onsite agents are ready to assist you! Our experts are experienced at tracking down all kinds of family history records in a variety of locations, and can help you extend your ancestry as far back as records will allow. Contact us to discuss which of our project options would best fit your needs.

april 12, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

What If the Vital Record Doesn’t Exist? 3 Vital Record Substitutes You Can Use in Your Genealogy Research

In this article we explore several vital record substitutes you can use in your genealogy research when vital records are not a research option.

vital record substitutes in genealogy research

Inside the National Archives Building photo credit: https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/XwIC_Au-BcrKIw

Today, the United States Legislature governs US vital record-keeping including registering births, marriages, and deaths. These vital records make it easier to follow a paper trail from parent to child and extend our genealogies back several generations. However, some states did not mandate vital record recording until the 1900s. Because of this, in certain states we do not have primary records before 1900 that capture each person’s birth date, place, year, and parents. And for some of the states that did require information to be recorded, those records no longer exist for a variety of reasons. How can we continue family history research if the vital record doesn’t exist? In this article, we’ll share three vital record substitutes you can use to identify earlier generations and extend your family history.

Let’s use one of our recent projects as a case study in finding non-vital southern US records to identify ancestors of an early 1800s person. A client was interested in extending her ancestral line from Alexander Hanson Craven born 1806 in Kentucky and died on 1 November 1882 in Raywick, Marion County, Kentucky. Research in the South is often challenging since records are limited – few were created and even fewer preserved. Several counties in the South are known as burnt counties (due to the Civil War) and basically, no records are available. With that said, our searches would need to focus on other avenues outside of vital records to pursue the parental information for Alexander Hanson Craven. We determined it would best be accomplished through three vital record substitutes: civil war pension files, census records, and wills.

As in all research projects, we had to ensure that any records of “Alexander Craven” which we found were actually records for Alexander Craven, our client’s ancestor, and not for someone non-related but with the same name. The best method for verifying ancestral relationship, and not simply a name, is to search for the ancestor within the context of their family unit. Since so many individuals throughout history have held the same name, selecting someone with the right name at the right place and the right time (but not actually your ancestor) can be a common mistake. So, let me take a moment to clarify what I mean by “family unit context.” If you are looking for someone born in England named Jane Williams, you would likely find many hits that match your search criteria. But if your ancestor, Jane, had two sisters and two brothers, and lived with both of her parents and all four siblings, you could isolate that family of seven. When searching for Jane Williams, you would look within records to track her family and not just her individually. And you would eliminate any results where some of the family of seven cannot be verified. You would also not throw out search results with different spelling, as long as the family unit could still be verified (spelling inconsistencies are all too common on historical records). This method of searching for an ancestor within the context of their family is critical to avoid linking with the wrong individual, which of course would make any further research into their ancestors incorrect as well.

Our client knew that their Alexander Craven was married to Lavinia Lucas and they had at least eleven children. Alexander served in the Civil War with six of his sons. Alexander’s parents were believed to be John Craven of Somerset, Washington County, Pennsylvania and Nancy Miller of Nelson County, Virginia.

Civil War Pensions

Civil War Pensions provide details that are often not available on other records. For a veteran to receive a pension he had to prove Civil War service or the veteran’s widow had to provide proof of his service and provide their marriage information. Since Alexander and six of his sons were in the Civil War, looking at Civil War pension records was a good place to start research and see what pension records were available for Alexander and his sons. Most Civil War pension files have not yet been digitized, and therefore must be copied at the National Archives. We ordered the files for Alexander Hanson Craven Sr. and Jr. because he had a widow’s pension file.

Alexander H. Craven, Jr., Pension Record courtesy of the National Archives

When the files arrived, Alexander Jr.’s file was reviewed for any genealogical information that might help extend his father’s ancestry. Unfortunately, his invalid file contained just information and testimonials about his state of health. The pages in his widow’s pension stated that Alexander Jr. was born on 12 September 1844 in Raywick, Marion County, Kentucky. The other lengthy pages of information detailed how his widow was denied her pension because she could not prove her age or marriage to Alexander Jr. She had evidently married him after his service and therefore was not entitled to a widow’s pension. She did not produce any family information that would help extend his ancestry, though his children and several brothers were listed along with variations of his middle name.

Our search uncovered that Alexander Hanson Craven Sr. applied for his own pension, which was rejected. It was rejected because he did not submit the required paperwork. His widow tried to continue the invalidated pension, but her claim was also rejected because she did not or could not send proof of her husband’s death or her marriage to him. She was recorded as Vienna in some of these records, instead of Lavinia. There was no mention of Alexander’s birthdate or parents’ names. The information did confirm that in the 1840s the Cravens resided in Marion County, Kentucky.

Census Records

Census Records are beneficial for information and contain every name in the household post-1850.

1850 U.S. Census, for A.H. Cravens courtesy of MyHeritage

In 1850, A.H. Cravens was living in Marion County, but his wife’s name was recorded erroneously as Jemima. His household consisted of some of his children: Thomas, R.J., L., Wm, David, A.H., Zachariah, and G.W. Alexander Hanson Sr. was a farmer with $300 worth of real estate. It was imperative to know the family relationships (or context of the family), so that we could verify that this family was in fact the family of our client’s ancestor, even though in the census the wife’s first name was incorrect, only initials were used to indicate Alexander, and the family name was listed as Cravens instead of Craven.

The 1840 US census records only documented the name of the head of household, along with the genders and age ranges of the other members of the household tallied statistically without biographical detail. On this census, Hanson Cravens was recorded with one male under 5 years old, two males between 5-10, one male between 20-40, two females under 5 and one female between 20-40. Based on the estimated birthdates the client provided us, this census record matches his children: Rebecca (age 5), Sarah (age 2), and William (age 1), plus Hanson (age 34) and his wife Lavinia (age 31). The two males between 5 and 10 could be Thomas (age 6) and another unknown male. To this point, our research has shown that Alexander Hanson Cravens has been documented in records as Alexander, Alexander H., Sr., A.H., and Hanson.

Ten years earlier, the 1830 census showed Alexander Craven and presumably his wife Lavinia in his household—both were in the age range of 20 to 30. Since her name was not recorded, she was just listed with a hash mark. The couple lived in Washington County, Kentucky, a different location than later census records indicate. Our research into the formation of Kentucky counties showed that Marion County was not created until 1834. The couple had not moved – instead the county lines changed as a new county was created.

Probate and Land Records

Probate and Land Records were searched for both Alexander Hanson Craven(s) and his presumed father John Craven(s). If John died in 1813 his probate record would be in Washington County, Kentucky. Searching the records of both counties did not reveal any wills or deeds for either of the men, though several deeds were found for Alexander Hanson in Marion County. While these land deeds showed that he lived in Marion County from at least 1864 to 1884 with his wife Lavinia, they did not depict him selling or receiving land from any family members.

Deeds, 1863-1901; A.H. Cravens and Lavina Cravens courtesy of FamilySearch

The records of Washington County revealed that the only Cravens selling or receiving land were Levi and Jeremiah Cravens. This Levi could be a presumed uncle of Alexander Hanson and a brother of John, but none of his grantees had the Craven surname. Jeremiah and Levi were settling a dispute between themselves and the heirs of Jost Myers who were: Jacob Swope, Jacob Myers, John Myers, David Myers, Michael Myers, and Abraham Bosley. This certainly implied that Jeremiah and Levi were related, however, the records did not show any connection to Alexander Hanson Cravens or his presumed father John Cravens.

Finally, the records for Nelson County were searched, since it was the parent county of Washington County, which was created in 1792. In so doing, we discovered the will of John Craven which named all of his children, including Alexander Hanson, confirming that John was indeed his father. John’s will has been transcribed as follows (original spelling and capitalization preserved):

In the name of God amen. I John Crayven of the county of Nelson and state of Kentucky Being debilitated in body but of sound memory and understanding do Constitue and ordain this my last will and Testament.
1st. I. I will and bequeath to my three suns Naimly James Cravin, Reason Cravin, John Cravin all the lands that I Possess to be Equealy Divided between the three.
2nd I. I will and bequeath to my sun Solomon Cravin one Gray mare and my saddle the mare four or five years of age.
3rd. I will and Bequeath to my three oaldest Daughters naimly Nancy Cravin, Debborah Cravin, Cassy Cravin one bed and furniture each and one bow to each of them and all the puter and Delph weave belonging to me to be equaly Divided between the three Named.
4th. It is my will that my daughter Nancy Cravin have one sorrel mear about five years old.
5th. It is my will that my sun Solomon Cravin have a bay stud four years old.
6th It is my will that the Balance of my horsses sheap and hogs be equaly divided between my three suns Solomon Cravin, Hanson Cravin and Kinsy Cravin.
7th. It is my will that my sun James Cravin and sun Reason Cravin have one bead sted apeace the other two one to Nancy Cravin and the other to Debborah Cravin.
8th It is my will that my three oaldest daughters have one linen wheel apeace
9th It is my will that my Daughter Nancy have the cubbord
10th It is my will that my daughter Debborah have a chest.
11th. It is my will that my sun James have a table and Sun Reason one
12th It is my will that the sorrel Horse with a small Blase and snip that was mentioned in the Balance of my Horrsses for my sun James Cravin.
13th It is my will that my two suns James and Reason have two plows swingle trees gears, ax and four hoes Equealy divided between the two mentioned
14th It is my will that my daughter Nancy have all the Woodden weare such as pails piggins and Chirn.
15th It is my will that my sun Reason have one ten Gallon Kettle and hooks
16th. It is my will that my daughter Nancy have one three gallon pot and hooks.
17th It is my will that my daughter Debborah hav one dutch oven and skillet and bails and flesh forks.
18th. It is my will that the chears be quealy divided between my two suns James and Reason.
19th It is my will that my wearing apprel be equealy Divided between my three oaldest suns
21st It is my will that an order that I have on James Cipsell for twenty five Dollars be equealy divided between my sun Solomon and daughter Nancy
22nd It is my will while the family and stock Continues on the plantation they are to be separated with the Corn and Bacon and after the famaly and Stock is Broke up the Balance of Corn and Bacon to Be sold and the money put to Interest for my youngest daughter Polly Cravin.
23rd It is my will that my Daughter Polly have twenty Dollars out of money due me from James Cipsell an put on In trust with the other
24th It is my will and desire after all debts that is that is Due me is Collected and my Debts is paid the Balance to be put to in trust and Equealy divided between my two youngest suns Hanson Cravin and Kinsey Cravin.
25th It is my will that my sun James have the woollen wheel, Chect Real and Sifter and all the Tubbs and loom
26th It is my will all the Spinning that is dun about the house should be wove and equealy divided among all my Children Except James and Reason.
To this my last will and Testament I appoint Levy Cravin my sole Exetor this 17 day of March 1813. I heare unto set my hand and affixed my seale.
Witnesses present: Charles Hayden, Barnaba Nalley, George Hayden

At a County Court held for Nelson County on Monday the 19th Day of April 1813.This Last will and testament of John Cravin decd. was proved by the Oaths of Charles Hayden & George Hayden two of the subscribers witnesses thereto & ordered to record whereupon Levy Cravin the Ex[ecut]or Therein named having Taken the Oath prescribed by Law & Executed bond with James Craven & Reason Craven his securities in the penalty of $600 Conditioned according to law. It is Ordered that Certificate of probate of said will be grated the said Executor.
Teste Ben Grayson C.N.C.C.

Besides confirming all of the children of John Cravens and adding to the family an additional daughter, Polly, John’s will provided other clues. First, the fact that his wife was not mentioned suggested that she had died before he wrote it on 17 March 1813. Second, John was doing well financially and was landed with a plantation, several horses, and other animals, furniture, clothing, and other wealth mentioned in his bequests. Finally, his executor was Levi Craven.

We traced Alexander Hanson Craven through the various Civil War pension records, census records, land and probate records to confirm that he was living in Marion County, Kentucky from at least 1864 to 1884 with his wife. The will of his father, John Craven, confirmed their relationship. John Craven’s will also gave the names of all of Alexander Hanson Craven’s siblings and established a relationship link to Levi Cravens, John’s executor.

As you can see, spellings and names were fluid in this recorded documents. Contextualizing the family members and building a timeline substantiated the claim that Alexander Hanson Craven’s father was John Craven. Early southern research requires focus on frequently-changing county and state boundaries in order to find census, land, and probate records. When vital records are not available for research, vital records substitutes can prove relationships and provide the necessary links to earlier generations.

If you’ve hit a genealogy brick wall because vital records don’t exist for your ancestor, let Legacy Tree Genealogists’ staff of experienced researchers help you. We have knowledge of where to look to help solve your “family history mysteries”. Contact us today to request your free quote.

april 5, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 2 Comments

Keys to Making Your Unknown Parentage Case a Success

You’ve hired the pros to find your biological family member. Now here’s a list of ways YOU can help make your unknown parentage case a success.

Congratulations! You’ve given this a lot of thought, and you’re ready to find your birth parents. You know this is a big job, so you’ve asked Legacy Tree Genealogists to help. We’re on it, and we can’t wait to get started.

Here’s a secret, though: A lot of our success here is going to depend on you. We’ve helped a lot of people, and we feel like we’re pretty good at this, but we still need your help. There’s a lot you can do to make sure we find your biological parents as efficiently as possible. Here are seven ways you can make sure we’re successful together:

Tell us who these cousin matches are.

It’s likely that you’ve already taken a number of DNA tests before you begin working with us. That means you’ve seen your cousin match list. We’re going to see that list too, and our first task is to figure out who those people are. There’s no way to find your unknown parent without those cousins, so we absolutely have to identify them. That means you can preserve valuable research time by telling us everything you know about these people. If you’ve already corresponded with them, send us those notes. If you recognize Myrtle as your mother’s second cousin, don’t keep it a secret. If you’ve sent them five messages and haven’t heard a peep back, that’s okay. We have ways of working around that, but we need to know every detail about what you’ve done first. Without that information, we might spend time uncovering facts you already know, and that’s frustrating for everyone concerned.

Test everyone related to your case.

If you’re looking for your father, and your mother is still living and willing to take a DNA test, you can save a great deal of time and money by testing her before we start. Doing so will allow us to quickly eliminate maternal cousins, so we spend all of our research time on your dad’s family. If your mother isn’t available, a maternal aunt or your half-sibling can test as well. Even testing a first cousin can help save time by eliminating matches from consideration. Learn more about how testing additional individuals can help resolve your case in our article, Covering Your Bases: Introduction to Autosomal DNA Coverage.

Test everywhere.

DNA tests have become much less expensive over the years. That means that tests aren’t the place to economize, because more cousin matches mean we’ll need fewer research hours to solve your case. We occasionally find we can solve a case with matches from just one site, but it’s rare. More often, we use results from multiple DNA sites to solve unknown parentage cases. Most sites have sales around World DNA Day (25 April), Mother’s Day and Father’s Day (mid-May and mid-June in the United States), and the period from mid-November to Christmas. If you’re looking for recent ancestry in Europe, it’s especially important to test at MyHeritage DNA, which has a rapidly-growing database of European clients (yes, even in Germany!).

During the research phase, find another hobby.

It’s tempting to continue to contact cousin matches or take the information from case updates and put them in your shiny new public family tree. We love this kind of work, so we get it. Jumping ahead can sometimes spook the cousins we still need to correspond with, and that can really bring research to a screeching halt. Sit tight and let us do our thing, and when we’re done, you’ll have tons of fun new material to work with. If you see something new that you think we should be aware of right away, it’s fine to email your project manager and make sure they’ve seen it. In fact, if a cousin you contacted months ago finally responds, be sure to let us know. We get responses from years-old cases, so “better late than never” is part of our daily work.

Tell us about the parent you know.

Unknown parentage cases sometimes involve finding just one parent, not two. If you’ve already identified one biological parent, we need to know every detail about that person. What was her address? Where did she work or go to school? What did her parents do for a living? What kinds of activities was she into? These details can make or break your case. Your parents intersected at some point, and we frequently see cases where they lived on the same street, worked in the same factory, or attended the same school. Sometimes their parents were in the same profession, and the parents met at the company picnic (true story!). You may think it’s strange that we want the name of the obstetrician who delivered you, but it may turn out that he’s the uncle of your birth father (another true story!). Tiny details matter a great deal when it comes to solving unknown parentage cases.

Sometimes, this step can be the most difficult part of the whole process. Parents are people, and people are imperfect. You might know some facts about your parent that are not fun to share, because they’re not things that make you feel proud. We get it. Our relatives aren’t perfect either, and we do this sort of work for a living. That means we’ve seen a lot, and we’re not here to judge you or your family. If the parent you’ve already identified had a complicated life, please tell us. We just want to help you solve your case, and information is our biggest weapon in breaking down brick walls that stand between you and the answers you need.

Share your hunches with us.

Did you spot a packet of old letters from a guy named Bob in your mom’s sock drawer when you were 12? Tell us. Bob is a common name, but when we get to the point where we’ve found your grandparents and they had three sons, the fact that one of them was named Bob might suddenly seem very important. Family secrets are often not all that secret, except from the child in question. If you heard whispers, or Aunt Martha thinks your father might have been missing a thumb, or your cousin says she heard something about a guy who worked at Dairy Queen, let us know. Those little details can save a lot of time in solving your case, because they help us narrow the field of possible candidates.

Don’t cling too tightly to what you “know.”

It’s important that we’re aware of that bit about the letters from Bob in your mom’s sock drawer, because that might matter. On the flip side, it might just be a pile of letters from a guy named Bob. Don’t discount any possibility just because it doesn’t fit with what you’ve been told in the past. Your Aunt Martha might be absolutely certain that your dad was Bob with the Missing Thumb, but DNA knows more than your Aunt Martha does. Sometimes the DNA evidence leads us in a direction that is very different from the one expected at the beginning of the project, and it’s important to be prepared for that. This is especially true for adoptees who have non-identifying information from their adoption agencies. That information can range from 100% accurate to complete fiction. Sometimes the information is so detailed that it seems like it couldn’t possibly be wrong…but it’s wrong. Our job is to gather every single clue, and then let the evidence tell us what’s true. If you’re prepared to do that as well, the emotional side of this journey will be much easier.

Identifying your biological parents is a huge step. We’re glad to be with you on this trip, and we want to work together to get there as quickly as possible. You can help by giving us the information we need to laser focus on finding your birth father or mother (and maybe even a sibling or two).

The experts at Legacy Tree Genealogists are experienced at helping reunite families, present and past. We can help you make sense of your DNA matches and identify your unknown family members. Contact us today for a free estimate.

april 5, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists Leave a Comment

Meet Maggie, Project Manager for Legacy Tree Genealogists

Maggie Stevenson was born and raised on the east coast of Scotland, in the historic Kingdom of Fife. She studied English Language and Literature at the University of St Andrews in Scotland. After graduating she qualified in TEFL – Teaching English as a Foreign Language – and spent three years living and working in the south of Italy.

After several years in Italy she returned to the UK and worked for a non-profit organization supporting homeless individuals. She worked as an assistant to the fundraising team, communicating with donors and organizing fundraising initiatives as well as managing the publication of fundraising campaigns.

In 2002 she relocated from London to San Francisco with her husband and young son, primarily for her husband’s work. In 2005 (now with 2 small sons) they moved from the west coast to the east coast and lived in Manhattan for 8 years. They also spent many happy weekends in Woodstock, New York.

In 2013 she returned to the west coast and San Francisco once more. Maggie started an extensive family history/DNA project to identify her husband’s unknown great-grandfather on his paternal line. What started as a hobby soon became a fascination. In 2015 she took the Boston University online course in Genealogical Research. Maggie attended SLIG in 2017 and took the DNA Bootcamp with CeCe Moore (where she met both Paul and Gretchen, genetic researchers for Legacy Tree!) Towards the end of 2017 she was able to gain some traction through DNA on the identity of the unknown great-grandfather. A surprising documentary find from a cousin in New Zealand, as well as a Scottish sheriff court paternity decree and targeted Y-DNA testing led to a solid conclusion as to which one of four brothers had been the man in question. One DNA cousin was even able to provide a photograph of him.

Maggie has worked professionally helping scores of adoptees and others in unknown parentage searches. She has also completed research for clients with family ties to California, New York, Michigan and Ohio, as well as Canada, England, Scotland Wales, Ireland and Italy.

mars 4, 2019 by Legacy Tree Genealogists 1 Comment

RootsTech 2019 Recap: Everything You Need to Know

Family history brings connection, healing, and joy. This was the overarching theme of the RootsTech 2019 Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. We were thrilled to once again be a part of celebrating all the good things family history brings to the world and the technology and innovation driving it forward.

Legacy Tree Genealogists was once again invited to participate as a RootsTech Ambassador for 2019. As such, Legacy Tree president Jessica Taylor and marketing director Amber Brown were invited to attend the Media dinner Tuesday evening, where they had the opportunity to mingle with other ambassadors and get a sneak-peek into the exciting events planned for the coming week.

RootsTech Ambassadors at the media dinner held Tuesday evening.

RootsTech attendees enjoyed numerous classes throughout the conference on a wide range of topics, from DNA to digital photo restoration and Chinese genealogy to Colonial New England research. Recordings of select sessions are available to watch here. Legacy Tree team experts shared their knowledge as they held question and answer sessions and taught various classes during the course of the week on topics such as “Freedmen’s Bureau 2.0: A Better Way to Do Slave Research” and genetic genealogy collaboration titled, “Looks Like We’re Cousins”.

Legacy Tree Genealogists president and founder, Jessica Taylor, teaches a class on the MyHeritage SuperSearch feature.

Legacy Tree Genealogists DNA Team Lead, Paul Woodbury teaching a class at the FTDNA booth. Love the DNA & Relationship Chart shown in his presentation? Snag your own FREE copy here: https://www.legacytree.com/dna-relationship-chart

We also enjoyed interacting with many conference-goers at the Legacy Tree booth in the Expo Hall.

The conference began Wednesday with an exploration of the healing effects of family history research. In the general session, the International African American Museum (IAAM) in Charleston, South Carolina, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints announced a joint effort to help those of African American descent discover their families through the Center for Family History, to be located at the museum. The CEO of the IAAM, Michael B. Moore, spoke of the healing that can come when the blank places in our heritage are explored. Special guest Martin Luther King III then expressed appreciation for the way the efforts of the genealogical community help the world progress toward making his father’s famous dream a reality.

On Thursday, the keynote address was given by Emmy Award winning actress Patricia Heaton. Patricia appeared in television shows Everybody Loves Raymond and The Middle, which both centered on the ups and downs of real family life. She related experiences from her own life that helped her understand that family really is everything. Growing up in a large Catholic family, Patricia has over 100 first cousins, and consequently, often runs into previously-unknown relatives. She was thrilled to add even more “cousins” to her family tree as FamilySearch revealed new information about her immigrant ancestors from Ireland and Germany live on stage.

The inspiring story of Saroo Brierley, subject of the film “Lion,” was the theme of Friday’s general session. In his address, Saroo told how, at five years old, he became accidentally separated from his family in India and was eventually adopted by a couple in Australia. Despite his new loving family, he always felt something was missing. When he was in his 20s he decided to seek that missing connection by trying to find his biological family. The search was painstaking and took years, but Saroo eventually found his way home and was reunited with his mother. His message to the RootsTech audience was to never lose hope and to “solider on” in our most challenging endeavors.

The Genealogy Business Alliance Get-Together.

On Thursday evening, the Genealogy Business Alliance, co-founded by Family ChartMasters owner, Janet Hovorka, and Legacy Tree Genealogists president, Jessica Taylor, held their annual RootsTech Get-Together. The event was well-attended by industry professionals interested in networking and growing the genealogy sphere.

Friday evening’s entertainment was titled “Connecting through Music and Dance,” and featured six-time Dancing with the Stars champion Derek Hough and the award-winning Brigham Young University Ballroom Dance Company. Derek was introduced to the RootsTech attendees by his own father, Bruce Hough, who revealed that Derek’s great-grandparents met at a 1926 marathon dance contest, that his grandparents were dance instructors, and that his parents (Bruce himself and his wife, Marianne) met in a college ballroom dance company. Derek gave an energetic address about how moving our bodies affects how we feel and how dancing with his family members has brought him a feeling of connection and joy. This was demonstrated in several fun home videos of him dancing with his siblings and even his grandparents at various times throughout his life. Derek left the stage to dance with a surprised and excited audience member, field questions, and hug enthusiastic fans.

Legacy Tree DNA Team Lead Paul Woodbury and Project Manager Carolyn Tolman participated in a Legacy Tree Live DNA Q&A session, broadcast on the Legacy Tree Genealogists Facebook page. They answered questions users submitted about genetic genealogy and using their DNA test results to resolve research questions. To be notified of future live Q&A sessions, sign up for our newsletter.

The conference was infused with youthful excitement on Saturday when thousands of children, teenagers, and families joined RootsTech for Family Discovery Day. We were happy to celebrate these budding family historians at our Legacy Tree booth with “Future Genealogist” stickers and treats.

The incredible musician Jake Shimabukuro and his ukulele took to the stage Saturday for the final RootsTech general session. Jake delighted the audience with several amazing numbers and spoke about his ancestors who immigrated to Hawaii from Japan generations ago. He said there is a Japanese phrase that means “lose to win,” which reminds him how his ancestors sacrificed and “lost” much so that he could “win” in life. He encouraged us to make the necessary sacrifices to make the world a better place for the upcoming generations.

We enjoyed connecting at RootsTech with so many others who share our love of family discovery and are excited to be part of the experience again later this year at the first-ever RootsTech London. The event will be held at the EcCel London Convention Centre, October 24-26, 2019. Whether it’s in London this year or at one of our other scheduled conferences for 2019 we hope you will join us next time in celebrating the connection, healing, and joy of family history!

The experts at Legacy Tree Genealogists are here to help you connect with your ancestors and preserve your legacy for generations to come. Get started today by requesting your free consultation.