Have you heard about the new Church Family History site yet?
I spent an hour and a half in the family history center last night flirting with the librarian, (Diane not Jack though Jack is very nice and we did have some quality moments googling 1957 Pontiac Chieftans). I carry my family history on a flashdrive for moments like this so when the opportunity arose I signed onto the Church's newest web server and found out the first name of my Great Great Great Grandmother as well as being introduced to five more generations of my ancestors.
I have always been excited about my Scot/Irish heritage. This is on my mother's side. My dad had no idea where he came from (genealogically speaking).
So after checking out GGGG Esther Fairchild I starting clicking the arrow indicating more ancestors. Each click took me back another generation in family and time. After a few clicks I found myself in Connecticut in 1631. I was stunned of course but I had still not made the jump over "the pond" to the UK.
Then it happened. One of the Fairchilds was a merchant and was born in.....
OKay, now I'm looking for Dublin but instead I get.....
Andrew, Devon County, yes that's right....England.
Well....That was a stunner. The cool thing is that Devon is very close to Cornwall which is the Southwest tip of Great Britain. The reason for significant coolness is that the people of Cornwall created and maintain the cool pirate accent. Arrr! I'm sure my accent is a direct result of this genetic component. Arrr! Expect more such Arrr!s when next we meet.
So last night my family grew to twice it's former size. Did I mention that many of the new family members were submitted by distant cousins of mine? Many of them listed their email addresses so that I can communicate with them. How about that?
The new website is only available to family history workers, priesthood leaders and consultants within our temple district. It will come online for everyone in weeks. If this really floats your boat I can give you a tip.....there is an announcement for a training meeting that will occur on Saturday, June 28th at 2pm in the Puyallup South stake center for all of the above plus "Interested members". I bet you can get the info to log on if you attend.
It seems like only yesterday that I was getting a security clearance to go to the National Archives in Seattle to see the 1880 census and wondering how I would ever connect to my family. Then the "four generations" program was announced and we were promised that if we could find these four generations that the way would be opened to connect us to the rest of our family.
It would seem to have come to pass.
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2 comments:
Wow, that is really profound. I have worked on geneology through the years with my dad, because he's a convert and the only one in his family who is working on it, but I don't think we've ever made that huge of a discovery. Love that you can get in touch with those who are submitting the info. That is so great. Congrats!
Yay! Nice job Dad. So do you think we will ever connect to Scotland or Ireland? Don't get me wrong, I can get on board with National Talk Like A Pirate Day (September 19th), I'm just wondering if I still have to work on acquiring a taste for corned beef and cabbage.
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