Rootstech Keynote Speaker 2017-Levar Burton

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Finally after nearly a year the most amazing keynote speech most of the attendees have ever heard was released to the public.  This one is will amaze you, touch your heart and probably make you tear up. Don't miss it.

Le Var Burton, was the young man who played Kunte Kinte in the adaptation Alex Haley's book, "Roots" published in 1976. The grass did not grow under the feet of  television producers as the mini-series was released in 1977. The book and then the series have been credited by some to have been the catalysts that awaken the desire in many people to pursue their own roots. 

During Rootstech last year this talk was put up on youtube immediately but removed within hours.  It must have had something to do with limitations due to his contractural agreements with current or former employers.  People have wanted to see it again and share it but were unable to until now.

I hope you enjoy it!  It is a 24 minute experience you will remember!  Rootstech is known for their outstanding keynote speakers from all walks of life, but this one was the best ever!

https://www.rootstech.org/video/levar-burton

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Amy Johnson Crow Has A Great New Idea About Researching Our Ancestors

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I had the chance to check out a few bloggers this week.  I really like Amy Johnson Crow as I mentioned last week.  She is a very practical teacher and a good writer.

' A Surprising Skill for Genealogy "If we had to list the skills or traits necessary to be a good genealogist (defining "good" however you want), we would probably include things like attention to detail, curiosity, and persistence. There is one I would like to add: The willingness to be surprised. I don't mean that just in the sense of DNA, though it is certainly true. If you're not willing to be surprised with what you find, don't take a DNA test. We need to be willing to be surprised in the records we find and what we discover in them. We need to be willing to be surprised that our preconceived notions of "what life was like back then" might not match the reality. We need to be open to the possibility that a couple's first child might have been, shall we say, "premature." We need to be willing to be surprised when it turns out that great-great-grandpa's second wife was the "boarder" who lived with them before the first wife's death. We need to be willing to be surprised when we've built a narrative in our minds that our ancestors were poor, illiterate farmers... and then discover a will that specifies that the daughters be taught to read and write. We need to be willing to be surprised when we read a Civil War pension file that says, "The soldier was married 7 times up to this point, as far as known." (Yes, that's been a fun file to work through!) When we are surprised, we must then be willing to investigate further and not just discount what we have found. We need to be open to the reality that our ancestors were real people who did real things, some of which are going to surprise us.  What surprising things have you found?" ***************************************************************** If you have found this to be a fun and interesting post you may wish to follow Amy Johnson Crow and sign up for her newsletter.  She'll be teaching at Rootstech as well.

Introducing My New Blog-Using The Family History Guide

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This is not the corporate blog for The Family History Guide. That one is being developed right now and can be found on the website http://www.thefhguide.com under the More link on the Home page. The Family Has Guide's official blog was launched yesterday and has only a few posts at this time. 

This new blog I have created is for training purposes and contains all the Facebook posts I have done since July on various aspects of the FHG along the way.  At some point you may want to just switch over to the official one, but for now I hope you enjoy this one.  I'll probably continue on posting in both places as time goes on.  

https://usingthefamilyhistoryguide.blogspot.com/