Seekerz

OK, correct “SPELLING” is a good thing. But it isn’t the only thing. In Genealogy handwritten documents might contain a “G” could look like a “C.” A small “a” could be mistaken for an “o” or the reverse. Names can also be spelled in various ways, Jon or John. I know a woman that spelled her name Lynda, not Linda. Then there is Petersen instead of Peterson. A woman may be under her maiden name or her husband’s last name. Depending on your name, how many ways can it be spelled? You get the picture. When searching, don’t be constrained […]

Getting Started with a Genealogy BusinessBy Jason Kenner2022.12.14 Are you interested in pursuing a career in genealogy? Do you have a passion for helping others learn about their family history? If so, starting your own genealogy business may be the perfect option for you! This blog post provides an overview of what you need to do to get started. We’ll also share some tips on how to build a successful business in this growing industry. So if you’re ready to take the plunge, read on! Find a genealogy niche market that you can focus on Genealogy is a fascinating and […]

I have said before that when I get bored, my mind tends to wander into wild and weird places. And the following proves it. Many times, I find things in my Family searches that were hidden from me and quite surprising. For example, I found that my Dad was married before he met my Mother. I also found two of my own Daughters and their families, and they been a blessing in my life. Genealogy can be quite an adventure. It can be enlightening, and it can be a laugh. Genealogy lets one get a better feel for who one […]

I didn’t think this Grumpy Old Man could get anymore GRUMPY, but the CoronaVirus can do that to you.  I am SO ready for it to be a bad memory. I am one of the people that the “Government” deemed “Essential.”  While it is nice to know at 70 yrs old I am needed, it doesn’t hold the same weight with my Great Grand Kids.  I hope the Governor doesn’t find that out. While my life has not been affected all that much by the virus, it has affected my Genealogy searches.  There are massive amounts of information on the […]

At one point, the microfilming that remained to be accomplished in Scandinavia was left for me to organize and oversee personally. The first project I had to organize in that area was about six weeks of filming in the Faeroe Islands, a cluster of small islands in the North Atlantic between Norway and Iceland. The logistic problems were such that I had to spend time in Denmark getting things sorted out prior to accompanying a camera operator from Germany to get the project started. While in Denmark I attended a church service in Aarhus. Two ladies came into the row […]

During the nearly three years I worked as Supervisor of the European Microfilming Operations, I was constantly aware of and amazed at the millions of U.S. Dollars being spent annually by the Genealogical Society to acquire photographs of millions of pages of records of births, baptisms/confirmations, marriages, deaths and burials of people who had lived many years ago in faraway places. And remember that 1972-1974 U.S. Dollars had considerably more purchasing power than the 2020 U.S. Dollars. On one occasion I asked the Manager of the genealogical Society how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints justified the great […]

In 1974 I was working for the Genealogical Society as Supervisor of the European Microfilming Operations. As the archive records were filmed in each European country, they were sent from the filming location to an Emery Air Freight station in that country, and from there air freighted to the Genealogical Society in Salt Lake City. There they were developed, inspected, and processed for cataloging. Following the completion of the work in Vesoul, France, the last batch of films, representing several weeks of work by two camera operators, failed to arrive at the air freight terminal in Paris. Several weeks passed, and plans were begun to re-do the […]

In 1969, the Genealogical Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted The World Conference on Records. This event brought together people from all over the world who were interested in and responsible for the safety and preservation of archived vital records. The records of primary interest included recordings of births, baptisms and confirmations, marriages, deaths, and burials, as well as probate records and other records helpful to genealogical researchers. The theme of the Conference was “Records Protection in an Uncertain World.” It was held to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee year (75th Anniversary) of the Genealogical Society of […]

I’d like to share a good example of the benefits of having access to vital records on films. Several years ago, as my wife and I were working as volunteers at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, I was struggling with the library’s computer system to locate a town in the Netherlands called Renswoude, where I had learned one of my ancestors, Antje Konink, had been born. I was grumbling, apparently somewhat loudly, at not being to find Renswoude. Behind my back a lady whom I recognized as a native of the Netherlands and one of the […]

​In the course of my correspondence with a retired Catholic priest in New Brunswick, Canada with whom I had common Acadien ancestry, he expressed delight at learning that I was a “descendant of pirates”. It seems he translated the word “privatier” as pirate instead of privateer, which is a seaman authorized to plunder enemy shipping, in this case British shipping during the mid-1700s. The priest saw the events from a Canadian point of view. I started taking interest in my ancestry in 1960, but delayed engaging in any serious research until 1968. When I finally did get interested in researching […]