I love this picture, not just because of my son, but because of why he is sitting with this man in the middle.
This man clearly shows what he loves most. It's all right there, behind him, all over his wall, and there is even a calendar, depicting a temple.
I am sure everyone of these pictures has meaning to him. In October he will turn 93. His wife has since passed away, he has been lonely without her. He has served in an LDS temple, and has written family history books, and has archived all of these precious pictures, priceless memories.
I have been interested in stories my whole life. I love family history, not just for the sake of putting names to a face, and entering data into a tree, but seeing a life well lived, or in some cases not.
I am a ward family history consultant in my ward. And this Sunday I taught a class on using social media to do family history work. It just happens to be, that my son, is only 40 minutes away from where my paternal great grandmother was born. Through social media, like Instagram, Facebook, FamilySearch.org, Ancestry.com, LDS.org, google maps, taking a DNA test and email and a smart phone, I have been able to connect with my long lost family members.
By using an iPad, I connected with an aunt, we used Facebook to find a ward wall, and to get her help in better using her iPad. She brought with her an amazing binder, of hand written pedigree charts, which we made photo copies of. I saw a picture of my father's mother, when she was a bit younger than me. I had never seen her as a younger woman. I knew her when she was in her 80's.
We made photocopies of an old address book. I discovered those addresses were over 80 years old, and belonged to my Great Grandmother, my Oma's mother! I made connections with people who were listed in that phone book, and I am still trying to put the dots together. I dropped a pin on every address to see if I could see a pattern. I made phone calls.
I ended up calling the branch where my son is serving, because it was the only one near where my great grandmother had been born in Zinnowitz.
On Family Search, I discovered digitized records from the 1850's that I could not read, but the family history could. I posted them to her Facebook wall, and she researched for me, together we made amazing discoveries. She took it a step further and took my son, his companion and two ward members on a trek to find what was left in those towns.
From all of this, I made new friends, found relatives, learned new skills, how to use the internet of everything, how to use technology better. All of this, has given me a new view of myself, and of the world around me. I have added a new perspective to my 44 year old history. I have had my own, "Who do you think you are?" experience. PS, I love that show!
Here is to a fresh start on my family history blog.
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