Meet our 2017 Sponsor: Past and Present Pathways

Today's interview is with the women behind the genealogy business Past and Present Pathways. Tina Sansone, Roccie Hill, Sheri McNeil Savory, and Carla Maitland. For this interview Jean discusses genealogy and their new business with Tina, Roccie, and Carla.

Jean: Tina, you are not new to the Gena and Jean activities. We did a recording with you last year to promote our cruise for 2016. Your radio program reached a great many folks and I have a sense that it had some influence on your new venture, Past and Present Pathways. Am I correct and, if so, how did the one venture lead to the next?

Tina: When Sheri McNeil Savory and I were doing “A Savory Spotlight”, we covered a number of topics and really promoted DNA, too. During this time, I met Roccie Hill, a published author, and soon I realized that she was a very good genealogist as well. I am also the genealogist for the Royal Society of St. George, California Chapter and St. Lazarus of Jerusalem groups, and I needed a personalized website for those groups. I wanted to branch out more by doing some other specialty fields, such as Probate and Lineage Documentation, so the partnership with Roccie Hill, Sheri McNeil Savory, and Carla Maitland was formed.

Roccie: I have been working as a genealogist, editor, and author for over 15 years, and since leaving my non-profit management career, have dedicated my life to expanding my genealogy research business.  Quickly, it becomes clear that a genealogist cannot answer all questions on all eras and geographies.  Specialization and profound knowledge in a handful of areas is critical because dissecting the repositories of information is so complex.  One of the reasons I was attracted to being part of Past & Present Pathways, is that we are an association of experienced and reputable genealogists, each of us with specializations.  This allows us to find the best answers for our clients in the shortest possible time and with the least possible expense for them.

Carla: I’ve been researching my own family’s history since the mid-1970s, originally trying to prove two family stories that had been told to me my whole life. As it turned out, I honed my genealogical research skills by proving that the one story I did not believe was true, and the other that I did believe was not true! Naturally, I became “addicted” to the research bug early on and being a history teacher helped me pass along that love of family history to my students. I’m delighted to be invited to participate in this wonderful new venture, Past and Present Pathways, along with such a distinguished group of professionals.

Jean: In looking over your website, I am intrigued by your various services. The first one that caught my eye was “Ghost Writing Your Family Histories.” This cannot be an easy task, but my guess is that you have included this because you have already been involved in this type of project. Please tell us how you go about setting up this sort of activity (without giving up your trade secrets, of course). Can you share an experience?

Tina: While all of us have written family histories, Roccie has branched out in this field. I’ll refer this question to her.

Roccie: One of the most interesting and beneficial tasks of a genealogist is to take the bare facts and turn them into a factual narrative, including cultural, political, and economic factors that influenced the client’s family tree to develop in the way it did.  This brings alive to my clients how and why they married the people, traveled the lands, and worked the jobs they did.  This also teaches us more about history than we ever learned in school.  I have written ghost-written books for clients, written my own, and also write reports based on this thought, if the client asks for it.  Genealogy is much more than lineage societies…it is bringing the history of our families to life.

Jean: You also tell your prospective clients that you assist “lawyers in finding heirs for legal cases” and that you assist “those in the legal field look for descendants . . .” A lot of people are unaware of how genealogists are involved in heir research. Is it possible that someone might try to hire you to locate someone, but for an illegal or immoral purpose? And, if so, do you do some sort of background search to be sure you don’t find yourself on the wrong side of a lawsuit?

Tina: Yes, this can very well happen. I have attended Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy conferences and that topic was discussed. Here are a couple of examples: A man in prison wanted me to pull a land deed to find out where a local hospital was and to try and prove it was on federal land, versus state land. It would make a difference on his legal charges. I never answered and turned the letter over to the police. Secondly, I have had people ask me to help find someone, and the only way I have ever done it is after talking to them and making sure it was for legitimate reasons. I never gave them information on the living, but instead I got their information and let the other person involved make the decision whether or not they wanted to communicate with my client. For me, these cases have always had a good outcome, but you do have to be cautious.

Jean: You are not trying to do all of this solo . . . I see that you have a good group of team members and you tell a little about each on the website. How did you four meet? After all, it looks as if you are not in close proximity. I have had this type of arrangement with people I work with and it can be cumbersome. How do you split up the work . . . do you do conference calls, get together at conferences, or have other ways to connect?

Tina: Carla Love Maitland and I served on the Tennessee Genealogical Society Board of Directors a few years ago. Due to both our husbands becoming ill at the same time, we had to slow down our volunteering, but we have always kept in touch. Carla is a retired school teacher, and I rely on her expertise in editing. Sheri McNeil Savory and I met a few years ago when we were promoting her book, A Face to My Name, an early DNA series on her family and client work. Then we were co-hosts for “A Savory Spotlight” on LA Talk Radio and partners at “ResearchDNAWriters,” for which we both still work on cases.  I have learned so much from Sheri about DNA and am in awe of all the work she has done using DNA to solve our cases. Roccie Hill and I met when she hired me to work on a family line where she had encountered a “brick wall.” We instantly became friends, and instead of my working on her family solo, she became a very active researcher along with me. Roccie is an established author and has worked on Ghost Writing for some of her clients. Once I saw what a great researcher she was, I knew she would be a great addition to the team.  We are all independent researchers with our own specialties and fees, but we collaborate on many ventures.

Roccie: Jean, fyi, Roccie has two published novels (Three Minutes on Love, 2008 and Window of Exposure, 2015), many journalistic articles, a Master of Arts degree in English (SF State) with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy and History (UCLA).  She is an award-winning writer; an exhibited photographer; former community college teacher; non-profit executive; lover of dogs; lover of our armed forces (daughter is a Major and pilot in the USAF); and experienced speaker.

She lived for 8 years in Paris, where she worked as the Marketing Officer for the French Statue of Liberty 100th anniversary celebrations, and where she taught Literature and Creative Writing at the American College (now University) in Paris.  She also lived for 8 years in England, and worked as the Director of Resources Development for Sir Peter Scott’s Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust.  There, she produced several short promotional films for non profits, and organized a private educational dinner at the Gloucestershire home of HRH, Prince Charles.
She has studied pre-Roman British history and Biblical history for decades, as well as the history of North American Native Americans, Texas, and the US Southwest.

She is fluent in French, and competent in Spanish, facilitating her ability to read and translate historical documents in these languages.

She has taken many courses, in person and online, in genealogy, and belongs to the following organizations:  NEHGS, DAR, Colonial Dames, APG, NGS, the Ulster Historical Society, the Palm Springs Genealogical Society, the Royal Society of St. George, the Plantagenet Society, as well as others.

Carla: Jean, I’m probably the “senior” member of this exceptional group! Although I’ve spent most of my professional life in the field of education (over 25 years as a history teacher and 15 years in an administrative capacity), my true passion has always been history, genealogy, and writing. I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, French, and Secondary Education from the University of Memphis, and did my graduate work there in history and economics. Because of the many educational presentations and conferences that I have given and organized over the years, I turned those experiences to the field of genealogy after my retirement in 2011. I have been a lecturer and workshop leader in such areas as beginning genealogy, women’s history, and ways to share research results. I’ve also provided private consultation, helping others develop their family history research and personal family trees. I’m a member of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the United States Daughters of 1812, the National Huguenot Society, the Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia, and the Clan Maitland Society of North America. I also belong to the Tennessee Genealogical Society, the West Tennessee Historical Society, the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society, the Southern California Genealogical Society, the Celtic Society of West Tennessee, and a number of other historical/genealogical organizations. I’m very proud to be a member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors. I was the First Place Winner in Category IV (Unpublished Authors) in their 2012 Excellence-in-Writing Competition. I love to write about the wonderful family stories I’ve encountered over my years of researching, as well as how I came to discover those stories. I currently maintain two blogs: http://sassygenealogist.blogspot.com/ and http://sassyjustwrites.blogspot.com/.
As Tina mentioned earlier, my husband developed an illness that has now caused me to become a full-time caregiver and basically homebound for the most part. So my contribution to this outstanding group will be as a “silent” partner, editing work whenever possible and providing any other support that I can.

Jean: You also have a specialty of lineage research. This is a great service. Can you elaborate some on the St. George Society – you have a page titled “Grand Priory of the United States of the Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem.” I admit, I have never heard of this . . . please explain!

Tina: The Royal Society of St. George, California Chapter is a newly formed chapter. The Royal Society of St. George is the premier English patriotic society, attracting members from all walks of life by: celebrating important dates in English history; supporting and encouraging the young; sharing and maintaining our culture, heritage and traditions; having a voice on issues that affect our country; and supporting charitable causes. I am their genealogist, and Roccie Hill is also a member and the Webmaster. The “Grand Priory of the US of the Hospitaller Order of St. Lazarus of Jerusalem” is one of the largest chivalric organizations worldwide. It is about the daily emulation of our medieval Lazarite forefathers and their commitment to Hospitaller work and giving from the heart without asking for anything in return. Many groups, such as firefighters, animal shelters and abused children, have benefited from this organization. While this group is not particularly a lineage society, many of its members have a great interest in family history, and I was chosen to be their genealogist to assist them.

Jean: You are a relatively new service so probably most folks have not heard of you. Will you have a booth at upcoming conferences and, if so, which one/s?

Tina: I think I can speak for our group that most of us, due to our schedules and family obligations, will attend local meetings and conferences. Sheri is lucky that she lives in Los Angeles and has been able to represent us at Jamboree.

Roccie: Next year we will definitely be represented at the main conferences!

Jean: You also have a blog and a recent post, by Sheri McNeil Savory, dealing with DNA and understanding the results. Will Sheri work directly with people needing explanation? Any interesting stories you can share about discoveries from that area of genealogy?

Tina: Sheri will definitely be our “go-to” person for DNA, as well as other research specialties. She has done analysis for many of my clients and helped them get a better understanding of what their DNA results really  mean. Many of them have continued using Sheri to help with their DNA cousin matches. Sheri and I worked on two particular cases that were solved using DNA. In one case, our client discovered his surname was not his blood surname. It taught me the importance of educating our clients beforehand about potential results. A current case we are both involved in is helping a man in his late 80s discover his ancestry and go to visit his ancestral land of Wales this Spring. Sheri is also ghost writing his family history to hand down to his descendants.

Jean: Another blog post deals with Facebook resources for genealogical research. This is another way folks can network and assist each other across a great expanse. Do you have any stories of a discovery that happened because of the use of Facebook? Please tell the experience(s)!!

Tina: While I was not directly involved, I attended a local lecture at the Tennessee Genealogical Society. A member was excited as she told us a DNA match cousin was in town and coming to the lecture, and they would meet for the first time. They had corresponded up to that point via Facebook. It was a great moment to share with them.

Jean: One last question from me . . . the photo on the home page of your website is lovely. Is there a story behind it? I love the split of the two roads and wonder what’s down each one . . . can you tell us?

Tina: The entire team has had client work that has delved into their client’s past and present day families. Family history is not only researching ancestors, but also sharing and learning about their descendants, especially today with the important contribution of DNA. Personally, I do Probate, and it involves the ancestor who has died and researching his living heirs.

Roccie: So very happy to hear your comment on the photo, Jean.  Thanks!

Carla: I, too, love that photo and believe that it is a perfect representation of Tina’s vision.

Jean: Is there anything else that you want folks to know?

Tina: We invite everyone to visit our website, www.pastpresentpathways.com or to email us with any questions or comments at research@pastpresentpathways.com. While Sherie, Roccie, Carla, and I work as a team, we all know the importance of networking and learning from others. That is why we felt it was important to sponsor an educational opportunity that Jean and Gena are doing on their Cruise.

Thanks Tina, Roccie, and Carla!

--Jean Wilcox Hibben

Meet our 2017 Sponsor: Janice M. Sellers, Ancestral Discoveries

Note from Gena and Jean: Today we are proud to introduce 2017 sponsor Janice M. Sellers of Ancestral Discoveries. Make sure to check out her Southern California Genealogy Jamboree presentation Reconstructing a Family When You Start with Almost Nothing on Sunday, June 11th.

Family history fascinated me at an early age as I listened to my mother and grandmother talk about family members, birthdays, and anniversaries. The connections between people and family stories stayed with me. After finishing a junior-high-school assignment to research my family tree back four generations, I was hooked. I still have the original purple mimeographed tree (for those of us of a certain age, remember that smell?) and all of my original notes from interviewing relatives, even after many years and many, many moves.

My mother supported my interest in learning about not only her Jewish side of the family but also my father’s family and ancestors, who were primarily English Quakers and German Baptists. She encouraged me to contact family members whenever I traveled. Though my mother passed away more than 20 years ago, I think she would be proud of the information I have found on the family and the number of relatives with whom I have connected, including tracking down just which cousins used to live in South America and learning that I have cousins who were born in Cuba. One of the inspirations for the name of my company, Ancestral Discoveries, is that I’m still discovering new things about my family, more than 40 years after I started my research.

As I continued to trace my own family, I became interested in doing genealogy research as a professional after participating in a Jewish research week in Salt Lake City a few times. I learned that a common recommendation for a first step was to volunteer to do research for other people, such as friends and extended family, to find out if you actually enjoy exploring other people’s family history. So I did, and I ended up researching the families of all of my coworkers, who joked that I knew more about their families than they did. I also started doing black American research for extended family—my aunt’ sister—who asked if I could find information on the family of her second husband, whose ancestors were enslaved in Georgia for several generations.

It was becoming obvious that I enjoyed this work, so one day I decided to “hang out my shingle” and placed an advertisement in the newsletter of a local group to which I belong. That ad brought my first client, for whom I did extensive research for five years.

My work focuses on a range of ethnic and topical research specialties. I am deeply experienced in Jewish and black American research, partly because of my own family and also due to affiliation with the San Francisco Bay Area Jewish Genealogical Society, where I serve as Vice President and editor of the ZichronNote journal, and the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California, where I
am a member of the board of directors and editor of The Baobab Tree journal. My research has also led to focuses in forensic genealogy and newspapers.

In addition to my research expertise, I have extensive
language skills. My interest in other languages also developed when I was young. I grew up hearing a lot of Yiddish words, though not actually conversation, from my mother’s family. My mother could also speak rudimentary German and Spanish, having learned the former from her grandmother and the latter from living in Miami, and she regularly sprinkled German and Spanish words into conversation. On entering junior high school, I began taking Spanish classes, adding German and French courses in high school. For college, I was a French major, later adding Spanish and Russian as minors and also taking Italian. I can still speak Spanish and French, though not as fluently as I used to, and can say a few words in Russian, Italian, and German. I can, however, read all five languages, which is immensely useful for genealogy research.

Along with research, I have given many talks over the years, starting with instructional presentations in the 1980s and genealogy presentations beginning in 2009. I speak at the local, regional, state, and national levels, including teaching classes at RootsTech, the International Black Genealogy Summit, and five U.S. conferences of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies. Topics include historical newspapers, Jewish and black research, and using specific types of records for genealogical research. I’ll be speaking at the 2017 Genealogy Jamboree conference, on the topic of how even a tiny amount of starting information can help you build a family tree and learn a lot about your family in the process.

I currently live in Oakland, California. For more information on me, my research, and my presentations, visit my website at http://www.ancestraldiscoveries.com/ or e-mail me at
janicemsj@gmail.com. You can also find me on social media: 

Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/AncestralDiscoveries

Google+
https://plus.google.com/+JaniceSellers

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/janicemsellers/.

Genealogy Journeys® Sponsors at 2017 NGS Conference in Raleigh

The National Genealogical Society Annual Conference is taking place this coming week in Raleigh, NC. We are so pleased that some of our own sponsors will be represented there.

We would like to recognize these folks who have been supporting us.

How exciting that Cari Taplin with Genealogy Pants will be a speaker:

But also look for our sponsors in the exhibit hall:

The In-Depth Genealogist at booth 434:

Genealogists.com at booth 528

Genlighten at booth 225

Moorshead Publishing at booth 217

Preserving Your Heritage at booth 507

RootsMagic at booth 408

So if you happen to be at the conference and stop by any or all of these locations, please tell these good people that we are thinking of them and wishing we could be there with them. I know they would like your business and/or an opportunity to be part of your roots pursuits.

Meet our 2017 Sponsor: Ron Arons

Note from Gena and Jean: We are proud to post the following from Ron Arons, a returning cruise sponsor. Ron has some great publications and presentations on genealogy. Be sure to check them out on his website RonArons.com.

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Jean Wilcox Hibben has asked me to comment on WHY people should do family history. The question, WHY?, is critical to my answer and I'll get to that in a moment. While in college my father showed me the family tree he had been working on. I did not have the heart or courage to tell him at the time that I found his hobby to be boring. I got into genealogy for all the wrong reasons. I started researching my family because I had a need to do so. You see, 26-28 years ago, both of my parents succumbed to cancer. In that same 18 month period, I lost two jobs and a significant relationship. In short, I was depressed.

While I saw a therapist and went to bereavement groups to deal with my grief, what really pulled me out of my funk was to research my past. I needed to determine: a) who I was, and b) where I came from. I started like most family historians do, by collecting documents of my ancestors and building a family tree. This is quite normal and expected.

What I did not expect to find was a direct ancestor behind bars at Sing Sing Prison in New York, one of the most, if not THE most notorious prison in American history. How could this possibly be? Until that discovery, I had always considered myself a "goodie two-shoes," always doing the right things and very far away from the law.

My great-grandfather made newspaper headlines in 1897 (for bigamy), in 1916 (for stealing from the musical instruments company Gretsch), and in 1925 (for attempted extortion working as a NY State income tax auditor). He confused me for the longest time because, on various documents, he went by three different first names and by three different middle names. Furthermore, he listed New York, Pennsylvania (specifically Scranton), London, and Hanley, England as his birthplace.

I was so captivated by the life of my great-grandfather that I explored him in as much detail as I possibly could and have continued to do so even until this moment. Just this year, after 20 years of researching his life, I determined that he applied for Social Security not once, but twice. As more records become available, his life story continues to unfold.

The true benefit of taking the time to investigate an ancestors life is such detail, is that I got to know him really well (even though he died nine years before I was born. More importantly, understanding his behavior provided me with the answer to the question, WHY? (Why did certain events take place during my childhood?) Extended psychotherapy, if you will, and very powerful stuff!

I took a three-year training course in "family systems theory", a branch of family therapy that explores family dynamics through multiple generations. What I had come to understand on my own (that family members have an impact on subsequent generations) has been thought about and taught to social workers and mental health professionals for decades. In short, genealogy can be much more than collecting names, dates, and places to build a family tree. It can help you to understand yourself.

Meet our 2017 Sponsor: Paul Friday of Search-ne

Note from Gena and Jean: Today we welcome our returning sponsor Paul Friday. More information about Paul can be found on his website, Search-ne.

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Search-ne (for Search New England) conducts genealogical and historical research, primarily in New Hampshire, but also in the other New England states.

The owner—Paul Friday—is a board-certified genealogist (2009) and a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. He successfully completed the 17-credit BYU certificate program in North American Genealogy (2001), and the Advanced Methodology courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (2008) and at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (2008). He began client research in 2009.

Search-ne provides onsite research followed by a complete research report that documents and analyzes the findings. The sources Paul consults include vital records, census, probate, deeds, tax, newspapers, military, and manuscripts. He travels throughout New England to visit any repository that might hold the solution to your quest. If you prefer to conduct the research yourself, he will prepare a detailed research plan that you can use to continue your search (this is called a consultation).

Bear in mind that many records have been lost (fire, flood, etc.) or may never have been created in the first place. This lack of records can make it more difficult—but not impossible—to solve some research puzzles. Indirect/circumstantial evidence can be accumulated and used to arrive at a conclusion. This approach generally requires additional research time, but can be successful.

Paul has published articles in four journals, and has compiled two books: Military Manuscripts at theState Historical Societies in New England (518 pp.), and Vital Record Manuscripts at the State Historical Societies in New England (297 pp.). Both are partial inventories of the military and vital record manuscripts at the six historical societies. Manuscripts are often overlooked in a research project, but they contain a great deal of extremely useful original and printed material. Unfortunately, not all of those documents appear in a repository’s catalogs; the two books uncover some of these “hidden” documents. The books are available in book stores or at Amazon.com.

You can contact Paul at searchne@gmail.com or through his website www.search-ne.com. He wishes you the best of luck in your research journey.

Meet Our 2017 Sponsor: Yolanda Campbell Lifter of Ohio Family Research

We are excited to introduce you to our sponsor Ohio Family Research and its owner Yolanda Campbell Lifter. Jean sat down with Yolanda and learned more about her genealogy journey.

Jean: Yolanda, it is hard to know where to start. You have so many interesting things on your website, I cannot imagine you having time in your life to sleep! I’d like to take a moment for you to tell us about some of your projects, the first, of course, being the major one: Ohio Family Research. Now, I’m pretty good with United States geography and the first thing I see is that you are promoting research for those with Ohio roots, but you live in Florida. Do you get to Ohio often and is it because you have family there or do you do that travel for research?

Yolanda Campbell Lifter

Yolanda: I was born in Ohio, and spent my first 13 years there. I returned to Ohio for a funeral in 1995, after being away for 21 years. My sisters and I visited my father’s grave (who had died in 1969) and we were talking about how we did not know much about his family. They suggested that since I was a stay-at-home mom, I should start finding about his family.

Once I returned home, I started with my paternal grandmother’s obituary and went from there. I had obtained quite a number of Ohio resources and began to do look-ups for others. My husband said since I was spending so much time on this, I should start charging people. So in 2000, I founded Ohio Family Research.

I do visit Ohio on a regular basis (at least 3 times a year) for on-site research. I also have a personal library of Ohio resources.

Jean: Because of the different repositories you list, it appears to me that you drive back and forth between the two states. Do you set up research jaunts along the way?

Yolanda: I drive or fly to the repositories. My mode of transportation depends on the time of year and the amount of time I have to spend at each locale.

When I drive, I do try to get some research done along the way in various counties and states. My next trip is scheduled for April 2017, and I also have one in May 2017. I will fly to one, and drive to the other.


Jean: You grew up in Ohio, like many of your relatives . . . when did you relocate to Florida?

Yolanda: My mom moved the family to Warner Robins, Georgia, in 1973. I came to Florida in 1978 to attend college, and never left.

Jean: It intrigues me that you are the president of the Great Lakes Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists . . . it sounds like it would be awkward to get to meetings! I have that same role in Southern California and find it time consuming while living in the target region . . . How on earth do you manage the role from so far away?

Yolanda: Our annual meeting of the Great Lakes Chapter APG is always held at the annual conference of the Ohio Genealogical Society which I have been attending for quite a number of years. We try to have a couple of gatherings each year so I make those if possible. In 2016, a number of us had lunch at the NGS Conference in Fort Lauderdale. 

Jean: I know I’m focusing a lot about you as a person, but the organizations to which you belong are likely to be of interest to our readers. I would suggest people go to your website to read about them all, but let me focus on one in particular: The Graveyard Rabbits. I remember when this group was established and know a few other “rabbits.” So, what makes one a Graveyard Rabbit and how does that affect the genealogical community?

Yolanda: Cemeteries are my favorite aspect of research. This is rather ironic since up to about age 22, I would close my eyes every time I passed a cemetery (or look away if I was the one driving!). Relationships may be found based on burial locations and children that died between census years may be discovered.

Becoming a Graveyard Rabbit gave me a way to tell a story about a particular cemetery or individual. When I blog about an individual, I try to give a little glimpse about their life, not just the dates listed on their gravestone. I am very fortunate that I am able to travel to where my ancestors were born, lived, and died.

Jean: Another thing I learned from your website is that you graduated from the ProGen Study Group – in fact, the 4th one! That was a long time ago. To whom would you recommend this program and why?

Yolanda: I believe any person involved in genealogical research would benefit from ProGen. It is a wonderful program to help you develop your research skills personally and/or professionally as a genealogist. I learned so much for the course and one of the pluses was the feedback from my peers for the assignments.

Jean: You are a member of the Guild of One Name Studies. What is that and what does that membership do in the process of family history research?

Yolanda: The Guild of One-Name Studies is the research of a particular surname, usually throughout the world. My single name study is Stoops (Stoop/Stoup/Stoups/Stope/Stopes) which was the surname of a paternal 3rd great-grandmother. I thought the name was rather unusual and would not be too overwhelming to research versus some of my other ancestral lines (Allen, Campbell, Harrison, etc.).

I think I have found a Stoops in every state at some point in time. My goal is trace all the Stoops in the United States back to their immigrant ancestor (there are two men with the surname who are possibilities). I have just started to use DNA to help with the study.

One of the pluses about a one-name study is that I always have something to research wherever I go. If I complete my research to-do list at a repository and still have some time left, I research Stoops. It also provides me the opportunity to research in other parts of the country. By doing so, I become familiar with the records in other locales.

Jean: I see that you are a member of the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors. Can you tell us something about your writing projects – places one might read articles you have written or publications with which you are associated?

Yolanda: I am a want-to-be writer. I have written articles for genealogical society newsletters, and for my blogs (Graveyard Rabbit Journeys, Ohio Family Research, and Yolanda’s Yesterdays). I do have a book I hope to finish in 2017 that was started as a ProGen assignment. It is a research guide to an Ohio county. I also have a couple of cemetery book projects in the works.

Jean: I always like to ask a question about a researcher’s genealogical experiences . . . so, without violating confidences or naming living individuals, can you tell us a short story of one of your research exploits? 

Yolanda: One of my most unusual projects was research of a client that had family who were members of a gang in Columbus, Ohio. Several brothers committed a number of robberies in the 1920s. They seemed to be good at what they did since their exploits made the newspaper quite often. One brother died in the fire at the Ohio State Penitentiary in Columbus in 1930, and is buried in an unmarked grave. Another brother was buried under an alias. This family seemed to be elusive even after death.

Jean: Is there anything else that you want folks to know? 

Yolanda: Although Ohio is my specialty, I am available for research throughout the United States. So far this year, I have trips scheduled for Alabama, Georgia, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia. Additional information about me and my services may be found at my website.

Thanks Yolanda for sharing your Genealogy Journey with us!

--Jean Wilcox Hibben

Save, Save, Save: The In-Depth Genealogist Digital Magazine

We are happy to pass along a great opportunity and a conference like RootsTech is always full of special offers.

Get the In-Depth Genealogist digital magazine at just $20 for the year. Your subscription also provides you with the IDG archive of issues for the last 4 years!

The In-Depth Genealogist brings together genealogy authors from around the globe to provide you with the latest in technology, methodology, and resources. This is a great opportunity to pick up some important reading material at a great price. Sign up now!

And if you are at RootsTech, stop by the IDG booth and say hi.

Genealogy Journeys Sponsors at RootsTech

Well, most everyone remotely connected to genealogy knows that this is the week of RootsTech in Salt Lake. Gena and I aren't there . . . we are preparing for a cruise, getting ready to record more podcasts, and handling other projects. But a lot of our sponsors ARE on site at the location. Please stop by their booths and tell them that Genealogy Journeys says "Hi" and "Wish we could be there"! Thanks. Oh, and check out their products and services as long as you are at their booths!

Need a record pulled or a photo taken somewhere you aren't? Stop at this booth for some ideas. Or sign up to be a Genlighten staff member!

Dear Myrtle will be in the blogger area . . . Say "Hi!" and learn about all the help she offers in the form of podcasts, videos, and recommendations!

Looking for some expert help with a brick wall or genealogical mystery - see if these folks can give you the help you are looking for - WORLDWIDE!

Stop by to pick up a Cruise flyer or see Terri to register for the cruise while you are there at RootsTech. While you are there, check out all the services they have to offer . . . they just might have the answer you have been looking for!

Check out all the magazines at Moorshead Magazines, LTD . . . subscribe right there on the spot before you forget!

Register for the Jamboree; learn about the webinars offered all year (their archives are free to So. Calif. Genealogical Society members and you won't find a better deal west - or east - of the Rockies . . . join right there at the booth)!

Meet Our 2017 Sponsor: Cari Taplin of Genealogy Pants

https://carigenealogy.wordpress.com/

**The following is from our sponsor Cari Taplin of Genealogy Pants.--Gena

"Genealogy often starts out as an isolated hobby. You work from home at your desk and begin looking into your family history. For me, I had worked on researching a family story for about a year before I even knew that genealogical societies even existed. From there I learned about all of the education opportunities that were available at national conferences and institutes. (I began in 2000, so there weren’t as many online opportunities as there are now.)"

"I have a desire to help other genealogists succeed in their research and other genealogical endeavors. I teach a lot of classes through the Austin Genealogical Society, and am a local, state, and national speaker. I enjoy sharing some of the findings, tips, tricks, case studies, and brick wall breakthroughs, with the hope that they will help another researcher think about their genealogical problems differently and help solve some of their mysteries."

"Everyone has their own reasons for pursuing family history research. Some may wish to gain greater understanding of their family through stories. Others might find understanding and compassion through family dysfunction or estrangements. Loneliness and depression are big problems in our current society, possibly because of those family dysfunctions. I believe pursuing genealogy can give one a feeling of being enveloped in familial love even though those family members might not be living. Genealogy can offer a feeling of strength or realizing one’s potential. Whenever I get to feeling down about some life circumstance, I think about my ancestors who survived the loss of children due to disease, the loss of health due to military service and unsanitary conditions. I think about my own grandfather, who even though he had a debilitating hip injury since he was nine, managed to farm 80 acres of land, drive a cement truck, and raise a family."

"My company name is GenealogyPants. Let me explain…I had decided to move from being a high-level hobbyist to a “professional” and needed to come up with a business name. My husband and I brainstormed and came up with many ideas that all seemed to fall flat. I wanted something that would stand out, that would be a little quirky, and didn’t have some variation of roots, trees, family, or ancestors. In our family, we had been in the habit of calling each other “fancy pants” or “smarty pants” and so during this brainstorming one of us simply said “genealogy pants” and it just felt right. It is quirky and a little bit weird, kind of like my sense of humor. And so it stuck."

"I research my genealogy to honor my ancestors and to gain an understanding of how I became who I am and where I am, because of who they were and where they had been. Through my educational and consultation offerings, it is my passion to share that mindset with others and to help them learn the best path forward in their own journey."

Meet Our 2017 Sponsor: Dear Myrtle

Returning as a official sponsor of Gena and Jeans Genealogy Journeys (tm) is our friend in genealogy, DearMYRTLE. This is the nom de plume of Pat Richley-Erickson, author of the award-winning DearMYRTLE Genealogy Blog, consistently among the top 5 family history blogs internationally, where the focus is beginning genealogy topics.

DearMYRTLE hosts several weekly hangouts including Mondays with Myrt, Wacky Wednesday, and moderates more intense study groups including Beginning Genealogy, Mastering Genealogical Proof, The Written Conclusion, and Genealogy and the Law.

Online since 1985 in membership development with Q-Link's Your Family Tree and later on the leadership team of AOL's Golden Gate Genealogy Forum, Pat/Myrt is a retired post secondary computer instructor. She and her husband link in Salt Lake City, just a stone's throw from the Family History Library.

A speaker at regional and national conferences, including several live streamed videocasts at RootsTech 2011-2013. DearMYRTLE has served RootsTech as an official blogger and ambassador (2011-2016) and will present and serve as an official Ambassador at RootsTech 2017.


DearMYRTLE is a co-founder of the Genea-Quilters group on Facebook, and founder of www.GeneaWebinars.com, a centralized calendar and blog for all known genealogy webinar hosts and virtual presenters. She serves as admin for The Organized Genealogist Facebook Group together with her hangout co-host, her real-life Cousin Russ Worthington.

Find out more at www.DearMYRTLE.com
(Yup! She's a dot com!)