“Scat Thomas!” Appalachian Sayings and Family History

Many relatives on my maternal side were (and many still are) firmly entrenched in Appalachia. I once heard someone (I don't recall who) explain how to pronounce it as "apple-at-cha"—because if you say it wrong, they'll throw an apple at ya. 

According to the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Appalachian region includes parts of 12 states and all of West Virginia:
Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and all of West Virginia

Those of us who grew up with Appalachian/southern relatives know the dialect and sayings can be...well...unusual, at best. One of my cherished recollections is of my grandmother, Grace Alice (Robertson) LeRoy (1909-1989), who always—and I mean always—said "scat Thomas!" instead of "bless you" when someone sneezed. It appears this may be a version of "scat there, Tom - your tail’s in the gravy". I actually wasn't able to find any reference to the specific shortened version of "scat Thomas". While there's little to no actual evidence for how or where this colloquialism started, it seems quite a lot of Appalachian families had a version of this saying. At A Way With Words, one podcast delves into the theory it may be a reference to expelling evil spirits from the body when a sneeze happens. Or possibly it's just a joke about a sneeze caused by cat allergies. In any case, as I get older, I find myself saying it about 1/2 the time now. Perhaps my "nanny" (the word I always used to refer to both of my grandmas) is sitting on my shoulder or I'm channeling my inner hillbilly!

While I didn't find any reference to the exact phrase "scat Thomas", I did find some fun Appalachian resources. Do you need these resources? Not likely, unless you're trying to read a diary or journal (most likely from the south), or you need to converse with a southern relative and need a little "translation". And yet, these sites hold some neat insights and actual useful information—like traditions, sayings, recipes and folklore. 

• Hillbilly Slang - "describes the vocabulary, linguistics, food, culture, and ways of life found throughout Appalachia and the American South." I particularly like the recipe section because there's nothing quite like southern home cooking! The rest of the site, curated by The Hillbilly Dude, is amusing and quite entertaining, featuring folklore, proverbs, sayings and stories.
• Blind Pig & the Acorn - shares a journey "to preserve and celebrate Appalachia". Appalachian dialect and food feature prominently.
• Southern Home & Hospitality - Although highly geared toward decorating and entertaining, they do have a list of 120 Best Southern Sayings That’ll Charm Your Britches Off. As you read through the list, you may find yourself nodding and thinking "I've heard this one before!"

Only one of these sites receives a place in my Genealogy Toolbox. Hillbilly Slang has been saved in a newly added section called "Regional/Geographic Resources". It really didn't fit elsewhere, but due to the sheer volume of easily searchable region-specific information, it could be useful for those looking to learn more about the areas their ancestors hail from. Another site worth knowing about (and saved in my Genealogy Toolbox) is the Dictionary of American Regional English (DARE). This is a vast collection of "American regional words, phrases, and pronunciations." Some university and public libraries provide free access to the DARE database online (with an institutional subscription), or may have print copies available. DARE also offers an individual subscription for $49 per year (though this is a somewhat specialized collection and you'd likely be better off checking for free library/university access).

As a final note on regional dialect, while those of us in the United States may be familiar with and easily understand regional slang without giving it much thought, for those whose first language isn’t English or who live in countries with different regional dialects, it could be far more challenging to understand. AI may be wonderful for helping folks transcribe what's been written, but unless you're aware there's slang being used, it may not clarify actual meaning.

Image by DW Davis from Pixabay
Note: Prices referenced in this post were current at the time of original publication of this post.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own. 

Not So Wordless Wednesday: A Family Math Book and a Note from 1917

This math book, Arithmetical Solutions and Mensuration by L. M. Sniff, A.M., fifth edition, with copyright dates of 1879 and 1887, belonged to my great-grandfather, Francis Asbury James (1875-1950). According to the inscription, it was given to him by Henry Jacot. His son, Virgil Ray James (1901-1979), used the same book in high school (per my father's recollection to me), and he wrote a note in 1917, when he was 15, and placed it inside the front cover, where it still remains. The book was passed to my father and now belongs to my son.

I was able to identify a Henry Robert Jacot (1867-1962) who lived in Wayne County, Ohio. I don't know who he was to my great-grandfather, but if I've located the correct person, the 1910 census lists him as a probate judge (District 0187, Wooster, Wayne County, Ohio).

This historical math textbook was published in the late 19th century. It was written by Littleton Moore "L. M." Sniff, a well-known educator and long-time president of Tri-State Normal College (now known as Trine University) in Angola, Indiana.

I had not known the bit about L.M. Sniff until I was writing this post. Both my father and my brother attended, and graduated from, Tri-State University (now Trine University). It makes the history of the book even more interesting!

While my grandfather's penmanship was pretty good for a 15-year-old, I did need a bit of transcription help from ChatGPT. I believe this is a relatively accurate transcription:

Notice

This was written shortly
after my graduation from the
Geitgey school. May, 2, 3, 1917.

In the eighth grade at the—
time there were three pupils!

Names
Mary Shreve
Harold Geitgey
Virgil James.

I went to this school the
years of one thousand nine hundred
seventeen and sixteen

Wooster. Ohio.
R.F.D. #4.
Virgil James, Age. 15.
May, 21, 1917.

I was completely unfamiliar with the school name he mentioned. It took a little searching to properly identify it. Once I had the spelling correct, it revealed a bit more about the one-room schoolhouse located on the border of Wooster and Franklin Townships in Wayne County, Ohio. It was located on the Geitgey property—and I suspect Harold Geitgey was a member of that family.

The Geitgey family were early settlers of Franklin and Wooster Townships in Wayne County, dating back to the early 19th century.

The book is hardcover, but quite compact—measuring only 5" x 7" x 1/2" thick. While the book has little monetary value, at almost 140 years old, it's a priceless piece of family history.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with transcription of the handwritten notice, a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Except where otherwise indicated, the content is my own.

Can You Change an Accepted Ancestry Hint? What I Found

Have you ever accepted a hint on Ancestry, only to realize as you're filling in the information—the hint actually doesn't match up? It happens! Probably to all of us at some point. For ages, once you accepted an incorrect hint, the only thing you could do was delete any incorrect facts, sources and potential images, and then make a note the hint was subsequently removed. Frustratingly, the hint itself stubbornly remained as Accepted. I never understood why this wasn't addressed. I’ve wondered whether this could affect future hints for the person.

Before I explain my latest discovery, I want to be clear—I have no clue if this is an oversight on the part of Ancestry's programmers, or if it's an intended new (as of yet undisclosed) feature. I haven't seen any official mention of this. While I've tested it on a couple of different occasions, and it seems to work, I cannot conclusively say it will work for every situation. And I can't promise it will remain available. With caveats in place...here's the big reveal!

So, you've just realized you accepted a hint in error? First, go back to the hints page for the person. I did test this from the person profile, by viewing the source and choosing View Record, but it does not work from the person profile:

Don't try this from the person profile

You want to go to the person's Hints page, scroll to the bottom where you can see Undecided, Ignored and Accepted hints. Expand the Accepted section and find the hint you want to change. Right-click to reopen the hint in a new browser tab. (Note: I did try single click to open the slider and while some hints worked, others did not show all the options to reselect. Opening in a new tab seems to behave consistently.)

Access accepted hints from the person's hint page

This will open the hint again. You'll notice from the highlight below, it clearly shows as attached to a person in the tree. But you also have the ability to choose again: Yes, No or Maybe. On the Hints page, those choices appear under Accepted, Ignored and Undecided, respectively.

Reselect the appropriate choice

Before I change this hint (as it is actually correct and I will accept it again when I’m done), I want to show you how many hints showed as accepted before I do this:

Before the change

After I go back and click "No", now look at the results:

After the change

For this test, I did not delete anything on the person's profile before making this change. I wanted to be sure of what happens when this is done. I want to emphasize—my test shows the hint moved out of Accepted while the attached source and facts stayed on the profile. Ancestry does not make any changes to the person profile. If you want to remove the incorrect Source and any associated facts, you still need to do this yourself manually. This is exactly as it should be. Ancestry does not make changes to people in your tree - you do!

My workflow for these cases is as follows:

• Remove facts first. 
• Then remove the source. Note: Any time you remove a source, it also removes any corresponding image from the Source tab in the gallery (such as census or death certificate images). This is not new and is exactly as I would expect it to be since the source image is part of the Ancestry source.
• If you checked a box to use the image as the profile picture (such as a yearbook photo) and it was saved in the Gallery separately from the source image, you may still need to remove it manually.
• Then I go back to the Accepted hint and reselect either No or Maybe.

So, for my like-minded OCD fellow family historians, it certainly seems you can now "clean up" when you make a bit of a mistake. As far as I know, there has been no change to how you remove a photo you've saved. You've always been able to delete those directly in the Gallery. We've also been able to move between Ignored and Undecided for ages, but Accepted was completely different. Now it seems, at least for the moment, we have an option to correct these little Oopsies! 

Once again, no promises this will remain available. I can also only say it seems to work on the US site. If you use one of the international domains and try this out, please comment and let me know if it also works for you.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay  

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own.

Ancestry's New ThruLines®: What's Changed and What Hasn't

Although I'm still settling in to the numerous changes with Ancestry hints and person profiles, I would like to mention a change I don't have any real complaints about—the new ThruLines® presentation. The redesign of this page has been done somewhat more thoughtfully and was rolled out without the jarring feeling of being dumped into a completely different interface. It's a little different, but not as much as it may first seem. For me, it does still show as Beta, so there's always a potential for additional changes. This is not an all-inclusive tutorial. I'm only touching on some of the highlights.

After navigating to DNA > Matches > By Ancestor, I'm presented with a few options. I can choose vertical, horizontal or card view to see all my ancestors. I prefer the card view (very much the same as it was before), but I'm sure others may prefer the more familiar tree views. Good news is—you have options! Pick the one you're most comfortable using. One thing I've seen in user groups is people saying "everything is too small to read" in the tree view. But you can actually scroll, using your mouse, to increase or decrease the size of the display. Card view can be adjusted, but you'll need to do so via your browser, not just by scrolling. 

Once you've selected an ancestor, you'll be presented with a tree in vertical view (horizontal isn't an option here, possibly because you'll be expanding generations down to your DNA match(es)). If there are too many generations to fit on the screen all at once, you'll see a small image with a number in a black oval shape under some of the names. It looks something like the image at the left. Clicking on this image will expand the generations below, down to your DNA match(es). You can also scroll to enlarge or shrink the information on this screen. If some descendants are not already in your tree, they may have a dashed line and show a tag of "Evaluate". If not already in your tree, your actual DNA matches will say "Potential" next to the relationship. If they are already linked to your tree, it won't say "Potential". If you prefer to work from a list view instead of the tree view, you can still select it and use it just like the "old" list view. I like the list view, but it does not easily indicate who may already be saved to your tree. It appears you have to click on "View Relationship" to figure it out. 

Now is a good time for a friendly reminder—ThruLines® may connect you with actual DNA matches, but the suggested family-tree connections between you and a common ancestor still need to be researched and verified. While many potential ancestors may be completely correct, and they could be great leads, please do the research and verify for yourself so you don't find yourself deleting a whole bunch of people later. Obviously, a true DNA match is a true DNA match. But the path between a DNA match and your common ancestor needs to be investigated and documented. 

My one "wish list" item on ThruLines® would be a way to visually see how many people are not already attached to my tree in card view and list view. I'd love to see there are 40 potential matches, and 10 are not already attached (and to be able to see who those 10 are). Since a DNA match will likely show under more than one ancestor as you move back through the generations, it feels repetitive to me to have to re-verify over and over. Rather than looking up the same person 4 times, I'd rather have a quick way to know "Oh! They're already attached to my tree." It seems a different color DNA icon for an attached DNA match, or "View in Tree" instead of "See Relationship" would immediately make it clear if I needed to check the person or not. 

If you prefer the old view, you can still toggle to "Classic View" for a few more days. This is currently slated to be removed October 1st. Personally, I had issues with the old view. When working on a small screen, it was a challenge to drag the various branches around on the screen. I know it shouldn't have been difficult, but I always ended up dropping the person and it would take me 4–5 tries to move across the screen. I'd often have to shrink the view drastically, just to move it and then enlarge it again. This wasn't an Ancestry problem, it was a me problem. I found myself using list view only because it caused fewer headaches, even if I had to click on the same people more than once. This new layout, with smooth scrolling, has solved this issue for me. But I can only speak for myself, and clearly some folks have felt the changes more than I have.

Ancestry has much more detailed information on ThruLines® available here. It does a great job explaining what the various views include. Fall is also the time Ancestry has historically updated ethnicity reports. I've seen a few people who've already received theirs, but as the rest of us wait with bated breath for the new results to drop, it's a great time to check out the new ThruLines® if you haven't already. Comment below and let me know your experience with the new layouts. 

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own.

Updating My Genealogy Surname Word Cloud—and a Little Blog Housekeeping

As I'm winding down my end-of-summer staycation, I took time to do a little housecleaning on my blog. Below are the updates I made to the general layout.

• Removed links to social media sites I'm no longer monitoring. Ancestry (patndoris94) or Threads (@patndoris) have evolved into the best "off-blog" ways to contact me. Of course, you're always welcome to leave comments directly on any posts here on Blogger! 
• Added a text link to show I'm a member of the New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS). 
• Updated disclosures to include how I use ChatGPT for titles, search descriptions, and to review posts for clarity, punctuation and grammar. I will continue to use disclosures on individual posts as well.
• Updated disclosures to clarify that prices and features of any site I review were current at the time the post was published.
• Updated my notice regarding sharing to clarify it's fine to share my posts on other social media sites by linking directly to a post.
• And my favorite! It's been 2 years since I posted my first surname word cloud using ChatGPT. I've updated it to reflect the current distribution of names in my tree. The current surname word cloud appears in my sidebar.

Take a little peek at the changes to my surname distribution. The first image is the newly generated image for 2026. The second picture is the original surname cloud from 2024. While they look similar, some of the names have grown in font size, indicating I now have more of these family members in my tree. My original 2024 image was based on 677 individual surnames. The new 2026 image is based on 971 individual surnames—an increase of approximately 43%!

Surname word cloud 2026

Surname word cloud 2024

Generating a word cloud with ChatGPT is very easy! I used the Publish feature of Family Tree Maker (FTM) to create a Surname Report. I chose to include all individuals, but you can also select immediate family, extended family, or choose specific individuals. I generated the report and then exported it to a CSV file. I removed the total line (otherwise the word Total will be included as a surname). Then I asked ChatGPT to create a word cloud using the attached CSV file, with the font size reflecting the number of individuals for each surname. I was happy with the default colors it used last time, but you could absolutely prompt it to use alternate color schemes if you wish.

As always, I'm thankful for everyone who stops by to read my blog. I'm especially grateful to those who regularly share my posts so they can reach more family historians, and to those who comment to let me know when a post resonates in some way. I know housekeeping updates aren't exciting, but I do want to be transparent—especially about my use of AI and how to best share my content with others.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to create my surname word cloud. I also used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own.

GPC eBook Library: 800+ Genealogy Books at Your Fingertips

I primarily research online. I have really bad anxiety, and driving outside of my immediate comfort zone (a few miles around my hometown) is something I simply don't do. This makes any meaningful in-person research trips pretty much impossible. Vacations (like my current 10-day time away from work!) are staycations. For this reason, I'm always on the lookout for ways to maximize my research online. This is also the reason for having so many online subscriptions. It dramatically expands my research world. 

The "Big 4" sites certainly present me with more hints than I'll ever work through. These help me find out where my ancestors lived or moved, their occupations, military service, many family members and (hopefully) the important birth, marriage and death dates. Newspaper articles (if available) can help fill in more about their daily lives. And obituaries often contain a wealth of information. But I always feel there's more to be found, so I keep an eye out for other ways I might find additional information. And I'm always interested in continuing my education to make my journey as rewarding as possible.

When I came across Genealogical.com a few years ago, I felt like I hit on a gold mine. This publisher focuses on genealogy and family history and has been publishing for 65 years. From the website:

"Genealogical.com is the leading–and oldest–publisher of genealogy books in the country. Under the Genealogical Publishing Company (GPC) and Clearfield Company imprints, Genealogical.com features a catalog of more than 2,000 publications..."

In addition to providing physical books, they offer an eBook subscription called the GPC eBook Library. It provides access to a collection of over 800 books through the Bookshelf platform. The library can be accessed from any internet-connected device. You can also download your books for offline access. The website also says the eBook library contains "Books of records focusing on Colonial America to about the Civil War" and "The undisputed best and most comprehensive collection of How-To and Guide Books." This includes Evidence Explained, 4th Edition by Elizabeth Shown Mills!

Subscriptions to this eBook library can be purchased directly on the website for 3 months ($45), 6 months ($75), or 1 year ($135). Access to 800+ books for this price is definitely a bargain. But an even better deal may be an American Ancestors Digital Access Membership at a cost of $49.95. Since I'm focusing on Genealogical.com, if you want to learn more about the many valuable perks of the American Ancestors Digital Access Membership, please read my post American Ancestors: Perks Well Worth the Cost. A membership with American Ancestors includes access to the GPC eBook Library at no additional cost. For $5 more than a direct 3-month subscription, you get a whole host of resources!

One great feature of the GPC eBook Library is the ability to search across all books at one time. This saves a ton of time scrolling through titles and reading book summaries. They've also added an AI assistant to help clarify and explain various concepts in each book. "...it’s like having the author sitting next to you, explaining laws, customs and processes." You can also copy, paste and print. Understandably, the amount of a book you can print is limited, to respect the work of the authors. You can also highlight, make notes and set bookmarks if you wish. Please note: If you download and access offline, highlights, notes and bookmarks will sync when you reconnect online. If you prefer, you can use search filters to limit the GPC eBook Library by region, subject or time period. 

I firmly believe continuing to study and learn is every bit as important as working with hints and records. While you may or may not find any books specifically mentioning your ancestors, this library provides a wonderful opportunity to access reference books to help you expand your knowledge, improve your skills, and become more efficient in your research. As always, this site is linked in my Genealogy Toolbox. If you're already using Genealogical.com's GPC eBook Library, comment below or reach out and connect with me on social media. I'd enjoy hearing about your experiences with the eBook library.

Note: Prices and features referenced in this post were current when I reviewed the sites in August 2026.

Image by G.C. from Pixabay

Disclosure: I use ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. I also used ChatGPT to review this post for clarity, punctuation and grammar. Unless otherwise indicated, the content and all opinions are my own.

Not Too Wordy Wednesday: My Grandfather's Pocket Watch

I've never done a Wordless Wednesday post—and since I'm rarely wordless—this one is a "Not Too Wordy Wednesday" post!

My father told me my grandfather, Virgil Ray James (1901-1979), received this monogrammed Hallmark pocket watch from his father, Francis Asbury James (1875-1950), as a reward for reaching adulthood without smoking or drinking. Although I can't recall exactly, I believe it was for his 21st birthday. This would have been in 1922. It was passed on to my father, and he passed it on to my son. At 104 years old, it's a treasured James family heirloom.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description, and to check for grammatical or punctuation errors. All content is my own.

AI in Genealogy: There Are No Shortcuts

As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes more commonplace, it's important to remember—there are no shortcuts in genealogy. Let me repeat this: There are no shortcuts in genealogy! As a family historian, it is your responsibility—your duty—to review records thoroughly and carefully before deeming them accurate. Certainly, AI may be able to assist in locating publicly available records, but it is your job to confirm the validity of them.

This past weekend, I read an article titled "How AI Is Changing Genealogy and Bringing Old Family Records to Life" on Popular Archaeology. In the opening paragraph, it highlighted a site called Vestigee. This is an AI-based website, and I was curious to see the offerings. The features of the site are listed as:

• Family Tree Builder
• Colorization
• Enhance family pictures
• Translate document
• Resolution Enhancement
• Photo Restoration
• AI Animated Portraits
• OCR Text Extraction
• AI Family Portrait
• Facial feature origins
• Family video
• Animate family picture
• Import GEDCOM
• DNA Test Kits

At the bottom of the main page, there are also comparisons between this site and Ancestry, MyHeritage, Geneanet, Filae, FindMyPast, WikiTree, Archion and Heredis. It certainly gives the impression this site has a lot to offer. But not so fast! As I scanned the comparison for Ancestry, where Vestigee claims to be the #1 alternative to Ancestry, I noticed some of the photo tools I currently see available on Ancestry weren't reflected in the comparison. It also claims to be the #1 alternative to MyHeritage...and FindMyPast...and this is where I stopped looking at the comparisons.

It also shouts "Discover your ancestors in 2 minutes" when you reach the main page. Sounds amazing, doesn't it? But what exactly does "discover your ancestors in 2 minutes" mean? Can it return records for you to review in 2 minutes? Absolutely! But can it do all the hard work for you? Not a chance! In fact, the article says "This doesn’t eliminate the need for human verification. Family historians still need to examine original records and determine whether a suggested connection is genuinely relevant." It's a good warning, but how many of the people drawn in by a promise of locating an ancestor in 2 minutes are going to truly heed said warning?

I was going to try the 5-day free trial just to give it a fair shot, but after reading user reviews on Trustpilot, no way am I completing the sign-up process. At the time I checked, more than 25% of the reviews gave it one star, and the overall rating was 3.7 stars. Among the Trustpilot reviews I read, one recurring complaint came from users who said they did not realize their card would be charged automatically after 5 days. Some reviewers also reported being charged after they believed they had cancelled. The individual plan is advertised at $16.99 per month, billed annually. The cost comes to $203.88 per year. It could be worse, but it's a hefty price to pay for wanting to try a site out. And if you want a family subscription to share with up to 10 family members? The family plan is advertised at $83.94 per month, billed annually at $1,007.29. I'm shaking my head here (can you hear my brain rattling around?) 

Since I chose not to complete the free trial, I haven't personally tested Vestigee's family tree, record search, photo or AI tools. My observations are based on the information available on its website and the outside reviews I read.

I've shared previously, I have a lot of subscriptions. I have the All-Access Family plan with Ancestry and the Omni Plan with MyHeritage (among several others...but I won't bore you with the whole list). The cost for BOTH of these top-tier subscriptions—which include Newspapers.com Publishers Extra, Fold3, sharing Ancestry with 4 additional family members, all the wonderful photo editing tools on MyHeritage along with Scribe AI for transcription, access to OldNews, Geni.com Pro and full access to Legacy Family Tree Webinars—is still less than the cost of a family subscription at Vestigee. I can even toss in my American Ancestors digital subscription (with a nice long list of extra research resources included with it), and the total is still less than the cost of a family subscription at Vestigee. And let's be real...are you really going to share with 10 people and try to manage getting part of your money back from each of them? 

Getting back on topic, Vestigee claims to offer 40 billion records from 159 archives in 45 countries, along with 850 million photos. "We search over 40 billion records including birth certificates, marriage records, death certificates, census data, military records, immigration documents, and historical newspapers. Our database includes records from the US, Canada, Europe, and other regions worldwide." Clicking the "see all" button returns this list of data sources, but if you try to "explore" any of these, you need to sign up. I found myself wondering how many of these data sources consist of freely available record sets. Since I didn't sign up, I wasn't able to explore the collections further and can't answer this question. If many of the underlying collections are freely available elsewhere, I'd question how much additional value the service provides compared with searching those collections yourself or using AI to help locate potential online sources.

If it's photo tools you're after, you can use ChatGPT, Canva or the AI tools on the major subscription sites to help with photo cleanup and colorization. Ancestry has decent (but fairly basic) editing and enhancement tools, but if you have a MyHeritage subscription, you can already easily do animations and photo enhancements with their wide range of photo tools. Of the big subscription sites, MyHeritage has been at the front of the pack for several years when it comes to photo tools and use of AI.

Vestigee also offers a DNA kit for $68 (and it includes the first year of individual site access). After this, it renews at the individual subscription price. There's nothing about their DNA offering I personally find compelling. As with many other consumer DNA tests, you get your origins and DNA matches. While Vestigee says it has 2 million users, I couldn't find information indicating how many of those users have taken its DNA test. I also couldn't find information identifying the lab used to analyze the test. On the pages I reviewed, it's simply referred to as their "partner lab." With Ancestry, MyHeritage, FTDNA, LivingDNA and 23andMe, we're dealing with established names in consumer DNA testing. Vestigee was created in early 2025. I don't know about you, but I'd personally like to know just who's getting my DNA. Would you trust your DNA analysis to a 1 year old? Oops! I mean a 1-year-old company? I know I wouldn't!

So after all this rambling, I can only say "I won't do it!" I'd encourage anyone considering the site to carefully review the pricing, renewal terms, available collections and DNA information before signing up. I often add useful websites and tools to my Genealogy Toolbox, but Vestigee doesn't even come close to making the cut. When it comes to genealogy, AI has many wonderful uses. I embrace it and use it virtually every day. I know many others who use it as a part of their research and writing. But no matter how I slice and dice it, based on what I've seen, I just can't find enough value in Vestigee to justify the cost for my research. If you want to use AI for your research, use it carefully, verify its results and never treat it as a substitute for doing the research yourself. And now, I'm jumping down off my little soapbox, tucking it under my arm and scurrying off to jump into a pile of little green leaves on Ancestry.

Note: Prices, ratings and features referenced in this post were current when I reviewed the sites in August 2026.

Image by Lindsay_Jayne from Pixabay

Disclosure: I use ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. I also used ChatGPT to review this post for clarity and to help distinguish my observations and opinions from claims I could not independently verify without signing up for the service. The content and all opinions are my own.

Summer on the Farm: Remembering How Our Ancestors Lived

As the lazy, hazy, hot days of summer wind toward autumn, I've been thinking about my ancestors and how they spent their summers. By and large, the vast majority of my ancestors were farmers from the mid-1800s to mid-1900s. We still have a few farmers in the family today, but times have changed dramatically. Farming isn't an easy life, and not many of my family follow in the footsteps of those who came before. A child's life on the farm was very different from life today. It wasn't a time for roaming around freely enjoying summer sun. Summer was a time for all the family members to work.

Many of the families of the past were large. Quite frankly, farmers needed bodies to do the work, and kids were a free source of labor. Summer was a time of grueling work, ensuring the farm was both productive financially and the remaining bounty could sustain the family until the next planting season. For the men and boys, fields of crops needed tending, fences needed mending, trees needed chopping, animals needed caring for. For the women and girls, laundry needed washing, mending/sewing needed to be done, eggs needed gathering, gardens needed weeding and food needed picking to put on the dinner table. Canning the harvest for use throughout the year was something most girls learned to do, but it's virtually a lost art form today. 

I fondly remember my mother working late into the night, aided only by the small light over the kitchen sink, preparing fresh produce and fruit to can or freeze. It was a skill she learned as a girl, and it served her well. It was not a skill I learned though. Sometimes, I wish I had. I still have one mason jar of tomatoes my mother canned. She gave them to me when I moved into my first apartment (almost 35 years ago). They moved with me to my house, and have lived in my cabinet ever since. Although long past being edible (I'd be terrified to even open the jar!), they still remind me of my mom. She may not have pursued employment outside of the home, but her efforts as a homemaker kept everything running smoothly. Our home was her "work".

Today, children might go to camp, play video games, chat online, hang out with friends...but only a few play outside. Food on the table comes largely by shopping at the local grocery, rarely by harvesting crops or livestock. Some families do embrace having a garden if they have space (or participating in a community garden). My parents always grew some of our food and I did occasionally help pick a few vegetables or berries, but it was never something I really enjoyed—and I never learned the finer points to carry the tradition on. Compared to generations past, many children now have (probably too much) time to do whatever they feel like doing. Chores are emptying dishwashers, taking out the trash, walking the dog or folding laundry—not chopping down trees, baling hay or milking cows. Far from countless hours of leisure, days on the farm were spent working sunup to sundown, seven days a week. Night wasn't a time for tv or hopping online, but a time to sleep and recharge for the next day.

No doubt, while there might have been a few hours for fun, most farm kids learned early the value and necessity of hard work. They learned early how to entertain themselves. They came from a different generation—indeed a different time. I recall my dad saying when he was in boot camp, you could easily tell the farm boys from the city boys. The farm boys had no trouble with the exercises and obstacle courses (often finishing first) and some even gained weight during the training because they had more food than they did at home. City boys often struggled far more than their "farm-grown" counterparts.

Whether true or not, his observations hit the nail on the head. Farm children grew up with physical activity and hard work. It was the norm for them. The lessons they learned as children, by watching and learning from their parents, helped prepare them for adult life. Whether they remained on the farm, or opted to take different paths in life, they knew the value of hard work. They taught themselves how to find fun and relaxation in the small moments of free time. 

As we head toward the end of another summer, I find myself thinking about the immense efforts my ancestors expended this time of year. I sit in my air-conditioned home with a laptop, internet and cable TV. Technology aside, my ancestors never would have "lounged around" as much as I do. I am definitely thankful for the lessons I learned from my parents. I have a solid work ethic, I'm fairly frugal and I'm loyal to a fault. But sometimes I wish I'd embrace more of the lessons they could have taught me. But I suppose as they watched the world change, they passed on the concepts they thought I'd truly need to know. It's kind of ironic how much I gain from researching my past. I definitely get excited about new discoveries, but I also feel a profound sadness so much of our history was passed down orally and has been lost to time.

Image by The_Northern_Photographer from Pixabay

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist in titling and a search description for this post . All content is my own.

Our Memories Are Family History, Too

Recently, I was watching Hazardous History featuring Henry Winkler. If you're in my age bracket, I'm sure you remember The Fonz. While we swooned over his motorcycle, leather jacket and bad-boy image in the 70's and 80's on Happy Days, he's just as enjoyable now on the History Channel. Though he no longer sports the leather motorcycle jacket, he does rock a brown suede jacket appropriate for his age. (Right now, I bet you're wondering why I have an image of a giraffe instead of Fonzie? Stick with me and read on!)

I was watching S3Ep13, titled "Animal Anarchy" and was reminded so much of my younger years. Virtually everything they touched on in the episode brought back truly fond memories. Memories I don't think I've even shared with my male offspring. Here are some of the highlights...

First, they delved into how, years ago, you could buy baby alligators in Florida, to take home as a pet.  While they actually stopped selling them around 1967 (the year before I was born), I vividly remember asking my dad, while on a trip to visit family in Florida when I was in elementary school, if I could have a baby alligator...he said no. I was too young to understand it was no longer legal, or to comprehend baby alligators turn into great big dangerous alligators. Besides, Baltimore hardly boasts the proper climate to raise a happy gator.

During the 1960's and 70's, baby monkeys were all the rage. There was even a time you could mail-order baby squirrel monkeys (who knew?!) As a teenager in the 80's, I recall being insistent I wanted a capuchin monkey. They're easier to train and have better dexterity and problem-solving skills. I was convinced it would make a great little sidekick. My mother promptly squashed every dream I had of getting one. I remember her telling me I'd be changing little diapers forever, since they can live 40+ years with proper care. Not to mention, capuchins like to throw poop! Being a know-it-all teenager, it never once occurred to me to actually research the drawbacks. I just knew they looked cute. In hindsight, I'm awfully glad she told me—in no uncertain terms—"absolutely not!"

In the show, they also highlighted a new experience of the mid-1970's—the African wildlife preserve—where you drove your own car through the park. In 1974, Kings Dominion (just north of Richmond, Virginia) opened their 100-acre Lion Country Safari. I was 6 years old at the time. I had been on a camping trip with my father and older brother. On the way home, I was napping in the back of our pastel blue VW bug. All of a sudden, my father exclaimed "Wake up! What is that??" When I sat up, I was completely amazed to see lions and giraffes wandering around. I'm told I said with amazement "Where are we??!!" The park included lions, tigers, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, zebras, antelopes, and many types of exotic birds. By 1975, just a year later, the ability to drive your own car was replaced with a much safer (and air-conditioned) monorail. Although it probably wasn't the most prudent way to see the wild (sometimes predatory) animals, it was positively amazing and something most people will never have the chance to experience. I'm so glad my dad saw the signs for the park and decided to give it a go. I only wish we'd had a camera with us. While I remember the "experience" (I actually do have a memory of waking up and being both confused and amazed...along with a vague feeling of the vast expanse of the "savannah"), I don't have any real memories of the actual animals. 

My father used to delight in sharing his memories and stories. He was a wonderful storyteller and I wish I'd recorded him, because no one can share the stories quite the way he did. His eyes always sparkled and he'd grin like a guilty little schoolboy when he'd say "Did I ever tell you about the time...."  His stories were always recalled in such vivid detail and with obvious fondness. I rarely document my own memories (I guess I figure they won't be all that interesting to anyone else). Hazardous History prompted me to share these few small little bits with you. Because, if I can be fascinated by a letter about how well the crops in the early 1900's were or weren't doing, perhaps someone will enjoy hearing about my safari adventure (and may even recall similar adventures of their own).

At its core, genealogy is about history—our history. It's the story of our families, their triumphs and tragedies—and everything in between. For most leaves on our tree, we only have a tiny snapshot of their lives, comprised of various (mostly) factual records and (if we're lucky) some photographs. We're often left to imagine how the blanks get filled in. In some cases, we probably just leave the blanks and never think about them. It's wonderful to see genealogists share both family stories and their own experiences, capturing them for future generations. 

Image by Gregor Mima from Pixabay

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist in titling and a description for this post. All content is my own.

Under Certain Conditions, Quick Edit Can Quietly Delete a Death Fact

I was very surprised yesterday when I saw someone in my tree on Ancestry marked as living, despite having a death date fact. I had just found the death location, so I updated the fact, but the profile header didn't update, even with a refresh. 

I went back and marked him as deceased in a "Quick Edit", and the profile then showed correctly. To test if it's a wacky new change, I went back and marked him as living and it totally erased the death fact with no prompt it was going to happen. I'm not sure if this behavior existed before the recent changes. I don't believe I've ever run into this specific scenario before, and I can't say I recall ever testing this previously. Normally, if there's a death fact, it's reflected in the profile header. I typically wouldn't have a reason to flip a confirmed deceased person back to living—at least not intentionally. Living should only display if there's no death fact.

With any other fact, if you choose Edit and Delete, you'll be prompted with a pop-up asking you to confirm you're sure you want to take the action.

This prompt does not appear when you change a person from deceased to living using Quick Edit. The fact is simply unceremoniously erased. While this makes complete logical sense—a living person should not have a death fact—it doesn't account for the possibility of human error. I'd much rather see a prompt so users aren't caught unaware. Perhaps a pop-up saying "A death fact exists for this person. Changing them to living will delete this fact. Are you sure you want to make this change?" I went back to the person's profile and added the death date and location back in again, and the profile did again update correctly. 

To see if this behavior was consistent, I went into a living person's profile and marked them deceased.** I was pleased to see the profile did update properly. I went ahead and added a death fact, and it also saved properly. Then I did a Quick Edit, and marked the person living again, and it again totally deleted the death fact without any prompt. In this test, the deletion was appropriate and it confirmed this appears to be consistent behavior.

**It's more common to see others marking someone deceased temporarily to try and cajole the algorithms into a few new hints. I'd like to point out, this is not recommended since it potentially makes details of a living person visible to others if you don't have a private and unsearchable tree. While it's not best practice, if you choose to do this, please be sure you set the person back to living to protect their privacy. 

The original issue, the improperly displayed header, was more than likely a hiccup. But if you accidentally mark a deceased person living, it certainly appears your death fact will be quietly deleted. It may seem like a small issue, but if you've attached multiple sources or records to the death fact, restoring everything could become a bit of a chore. And let's face it—oopsies can and do happen. It's not outside the realm of possibility someone (especially new users or those who are technologically challenged) might accidentally make a mistake. 

While unlikely to cause any widespread issues, it does highlight there are still some hiccups happening with all the recent changes. It's good to be vigilant. Sometimes we notice things we never noticed before. And sometimes, especially in the absence of a user facing change log, we find unexpected changes in logic. As I said, I can't say this didn't happen before—but it's certainly the first time I've noticed it happen.

Image by Thomas from Pixabay

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist in titling and creating a description for this post. All content is my own.

Searching for Abijah LeCroy: A New Lead Through Nancy Williams

Typically, I don't add people in my tree unless I'm pretty darn sure they're correct. But being stuck on Abijah LeCroy/LeRoy, or any other name he may have gone by, has been frustrating me for over a decade. Yesterday, I decided to see if adding any potential relatives of Nancy Williams (his wife) would magically make anything appear. I currently have no records of Nancy prior to the 1850 census showing her as married, with her children—but her presumed husband Abijah is nowhere in sight.

I recalled seeing a person I believe may have been Nancy's brother in the 1850 census, living next door to her. His name was....wait for it!...Abijah! Abijah Williams. Since the 1850 census doesn't indicate relationships, I made the assumption he's shown with his wife Malissa and their children. I've seen references to Malissa's maiden name being Meeks, and indeed, just a few houses away were several Meeks. Does any of this mean I'm right? Not necessarily! But I'm willing to take the chance for now (and I know who I added so I could easily delete them again should I decide I'm wrong.) I also added Nancy's father as "_____ Williams", using 5 underscores so I don't mess up any hints the algorithms might decide to serve up. I didn't get any immediate new hints for Nancy (disappointing) but I still have hope! It's not a total guess. Unless she was adopted, it's fairly safe to assume her father's surname was Williams.

Recently, Ancestry suggested Nancy's father may have been Edward. I added his name and searched, but didn't find any supporting records. Another person's tree shows his name as Alexander. Again I searched, but I've not found anything to support this either. This doesn't mean either is wrong, I just can't prove either is correct. So for now, the elder Williams will remain with an unknown given name. But as I was searching for Abijah Williams I found a marriage record. It's for Abijah Williams in Habersham, Georgia (correct location) and Malissa Meeks! I'm one record closer to....a discovery?....something?....anything?!

After adding this record, I now have 13 hints for Abijah Williams and 11 for Malissa Meeks. One interesting twist I'll have to figure out is the 1860 census showing them as surname Harper. It appears the enumerator just used a ditto mark for the family prior to them. Was this an oversight? Did they actually claim to be related? Did they intentionally use another surname for some reason? I'm not sure, but I do know there are Meeks family members shown just a few houses away—and Abijah and Malissa aren't exactly common names. So I'm pretty sure the record is correct, but the surname shown may not be.

Also in my new hints is a legal record where Nancy LeCroy filed against Thomas LeCroy for the value of some fabric. Also mentioned is Abijah Williams. This is a good omen. I'm feeling pretty confident this is Nancy's brother! Who was Thomas LeCroy? I'm not sure yet. There's also a Revolutionary War Pension record for Abijah, so I now have even more threads to follow. Perhaps I'll find some military records, or maybe a DAR application with even more information? Don't burst my bubble! I have hope I might actually be on to something.

 

Of course, this all hinges on the name Nancy Williams being correct. She's shown as the mother on the same death certificate indicating Abijah LeRoy was the father. Everything hinges on a single death certificate. And while we'd all like to believe legal documents are correct, during a time of loss and grief, people do make mistakes. Still, I feel somewhat energized from the finds. Maybe I won't find Abijah LeRoy, but maybe I'll push a bit further back on the Williams line.

Image by marcelkessler from Pixabay

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. All content is my own.

Ancestry Hints Update: My Notes Are Back!

I posted an update on the original post as well, but thanks to a commenter here at A Tree With No Name, I was made aware sometime between yesterday mid-afternoon (the last time I worked with hints) and now, the checkboxes and comments for accepted/rejected/undecided hints are BACK!!! I am so thankful to the Ancestry development team for fixing this (and I know a lot of others are as well).

As for the rest of the Hints changes, I will adapt. I still wish clicking the person hyperlink on the All Hints page took us directly to the profile but it's not the end of the world. I do understand change is sometimes necessary. 

I've also seen a potentially positive change in how hints are updating. Yesterday, I corrected a birth date on a child who died in infancy. Immediately, hints for people who lived into teenage years and adulthood were removed. I haven't seen this happen widely on other people yet, but potentially the algorithms are being tweaked to provide better overall results. I'll give Ancestry a slight win on this while we wait to see if it's a true change or just a coincidence.

Credit where credit is due—thank you to the Ancestry development team for restoring the user-entered notes so quickly. Let me know how you're finding the changes overall. Are you settling in or are you struggling a little?

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. Post content is my own.

Three Years, 201 Posts and Counting

Three years ago today, I started my blog (and it just so happens I restarted my tree on July 14th, 2023). My blog and my tree are "almost" twins! As an amateur genealogist, my goal is to document and share my journey, and all the things I've learned (and am still learning) along the way. I enjoy writing, and blogging is good for my soul. If I can help motivate other family historians by sharing my progress, it's all worthwhile.

So here I am, 201 blog posts later, with a growing tree comprised of over 3200 people, spanning 10 generations (going back to 1689) and 950+ different surnames. I'm just as excited about doing genealogy today as I was when I first started — though I still try hard to gather every detail from each record so I won't ever feel the need to start my tree all over again. And because a tree is never truly "done", I'll constantly be learning and discovering for....well, forever!

Over the past 3 years, my site has had over 116,000 pageviews. I'd like to offer my heartfelt thanks to each and every visitor to my site (even the bots and crawlers). I very much appreciate all the comments and shares. With your help, I'm able to reach a wider audience. 

It's hard to see, but in the graphic, the notebook says "Passion, Purpose, Community". I am definitely passionate about genealogy. Anyone who's ever listened to me prattle on as their eyes glaze over will attest to it! And both my blog and my tree have a definite purpose. Community is the big one! I've found the genealogy community is filled with wonderful people. Sure, there are some who protect and guard their trees fiercely, but there are many more who freely share their trees, expertise and knowledge. I'm truly blessed to have made many new friends, and virtually "met" some amazing cousins. 

The genealogy community is welcoming and warm. I feel truly blessed to be a member of such an amazing group of people, and to share my journey with you. I look forward to many more years of blogging ahead.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to create the graphic, assist in a title and search description. All other content is my own.

Ancestry's New Hints Page: More Than a Layout Change

Update: As of 20 Jul 2026 the checkboxes and notes appear to be back!! (A big thank you to the person who commented on my post!)

I truly have no words (well, no words I can share here) for the abysmal change Ancestry rolled out to me today. The change is to the Hints screen within a person's profile. At first, I thought I was just dealing with another frustrating layout change. Then I discovered something far worse.

First, from the All Hints page, if you click a person's name (a hyperlink) instead of being taken to the person's profile, you're now unceremoniously dumped on their Hints page (and no, it doesn't look anything like it did before!) One would think a name hyperlink would take you to the person, but now, you have to backtrack to get to the profile. So if you like to review your person before working with new hints—you now have the joy of more clicks.

Once you do manage to get to the person profile, Hints is no longer a nice easy separate tab. It's a button underneath the relationship. 

When you click said button, all your hints, accepted, rejected or otherwise, are now on one big long page. If you want to see previously accepted, rejected or undecided hints, you'll need to scroll to the bottom of the page, past all the unreviewed hints and then click to expand the section you want to see. I know, I know, scrolling and extra clicking is obviously a great use of our time...NOT! And undecided only shows as an option if something exists in the category. If not, it doesn't show as an option.

But the thing frustrating me the most is the checkboxes and comments on why a hint was accepted, rejected or left undecided. Maybe not everyone uses them, but I've meticulously documented my reasons for every hint I've ever worked with. Those notes are invaluable as I'm trying to see why I did or didn't accept something. They're critical to evaluating name twins. And now? The checkboxes are blank, as is the comment field (see the image above). Tens of thousands of hints worth of documentation appear to be gone in one fell swoop. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours of work...

I hold out very little hope any of my hard work will be recovered (though I have posted in a Facebook forum where employees of Ancestry are known to pop on from time to time). I've posed the question, and now I wait and hope I'll receive an answer. Hopefully, it's simply a glitch they can resolve. In the meantime, I guess I'll have to decide if I'm going to boycott researching until I get an answer, continue as I have been and write off all my previous work and carry on with a move forward plan, or proceed with researching and never again give Ancestry one iota of information they might be able to use to improve their algorithms. 

If the fields had been eliminated, I'd still be upset, but I'd understand. But it's not the case. All the fields still exist—they're simply all blank. For me, the loss of this information borders on catastrophic. Next time I encounter a name twin I've previously documented, none of my research notes will be available to me. While I don't care for the new hints page, I'm not actually suggesting they roll it back entirely. I'm only suggesting they restore the user-entered information they deleted.

If you're like me, and you document everything, please take time to submit feedback or post in one of the many Facebook forums for Ancestry users. I've done both. If enough users voice their concerns, Ancestry has occasionally rolled back changes.

The new hints page does not appear to be a beta feature. I received a pop up telling me to take a look at the new hints page the first time I landed there. Ancestry needs to know if users are happy or unhappy with new changes. If you're so inclined, you can submit feedback using this link once you've received and had a chance to work with the new layouts. I guess I had more words than I thought...

If I hear any updates or the notes are restored, I'll update this post with the outcome.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. Post content is my own.

A Hidden Resource for Historic Genealogy Software

Correction: GenScriber can still be downloaded from various software sites (although the official developer's site was not coming up as available to me as of 17 Aug 2026.

A few months ago, while researching ways to improve my process of transcribing US Censuses, I stumbled on a site with a bit of a different twist. I was looking for information on a discontinued program (called GenScriber) and this site had a detailed write-up as well as download links. While I didn't end up pursuing the software, I did take time to poke around the website and I was impressed. GenealogySoftware.net is dedicated to—you guessed it!—genealogy software, with a focus on historical software (although it does reference some newer updates as well). From the website:

GenealogySoftware.net will be at its core, a database of genealogy and genealogy-related software (programs, applications, whatever term you want to use) – a collection of information and news about genealogy software stretching from the very humble beginnings of genealogy programs in the 1970s up through the 2020s.

The premise behind the site appears simple. There are family historians who've been using the same software for many years. Some still utilize programs no longer updated, or even available. Or perhaps they have old files they can no longer access (floppy disks anyone?). Just because software is no longer "current" doesn't make the files created in it any less valuable. Family history is still family history. So if your Great Aunt Edna, who still used her old DOS computer for her research, left you all her research in her will...maybe this site will help you access it! Or perhaps like me, you were looking for a program to assist with a specific task. Just because software is no longer updated or distributed doesn't mean it wasn't very good at doing the task it was designed for. It's up to individual users to choose the software and utilities for their personal needs. New and shiny doesn't always mean better. 

The site creator attempts to acquire copies of all the software he comes across. While the site does not host software downloads or user manuals, unless given approval from the developer to do so, they do provide links or other potential ways of sourcing older software. They do not include links to third-party sites offering unauthorized downloads. From the website, "We want to actively promote the development and distribution of genealogy software, but only through the appropriate (and approved) methods." They also attempt to remain neutral. They aren't going to tell you "this is the best software for....." Their goal is simply to provide information for upwards of 1000 different applications.

It appears this site was created in 2024, so it's not terribly old. But there have been no recent updates I could find since spring of 2025 (though the footer of the site does say 2026). I did try to find the creator on other blogs and social media, but those too have had little or no activity. I'm not sure if there will be future updates (I hope so!) but nonetheless, the historical value is still the same. 

Whether you're looking for information on an old piece of software you used to use, or are looking for software for a specific purpose, when it comes to genealogy software and applications, you can probably find information of use. Despite not being 100% up to date, I've included the link in my Genealogy Toolbox. So if Great Aunt Edna leaves you her genealogy research, maybe this site can be of use to you.

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. All content is my own.

Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Celebrating Independence Day Through Family History

I wish everyone a very Happy 4th of July and a Happy 250th Birthday to America!

On this, the 250th birthday of our country, I took a moment to review my previous July 4th posts. I realized I've already written from my heart about this holiday. Most of this post was originally published July 4th, 2024 here on A Tree With No Name, but I've added a few extra thoughts on this, the anniversary of our shared independence.

On this day when many are gathering with family and friends to celebrate the holiday, take time to share about your genealogy journey. Yes, yes, I know - some eyes may glaze over as you speak, but don't give up! Talk to the children and regale them with interesting stories you've discovered. Show them pictures from times gone by. Listen, so the older generations might share their stories with you. Record them if possible or take notes so you can write their recollections down for future generations. One day, you'll be very glad you did. Share new discoveries with your elders. They may be thrilled to hear the stories you've uncovered. And, it may spark memories you've never heard from them before.

This is a day to celebrate our country, our independence, and, most of all, our family journeys. Many of us have traced far enough back in our lines to discover ancestors who fought for independence. We owe these ancestors a great debt of gratitude. Other families immigrated to this country later, leaving all they knew behind. It doesn't matter from where your ancestors came, or when they came, today we celebrate together!

Remember all those who've bravely served their country. If possible, thank them for their service. For those no longer with us, say a silent thank you to honor their memory and the sacrifices made to ensure the independence we enjoy today. For 250 years, the men, women, and even children (we can't forget the littlest drummers of the Revolutionary War) who have served have fought for and defended the freedom we enjoy today.

Today is a day to be grateful for all who came before. It's a day to be thankful for all the resources available so we can uncover and discover our ancestors. Today, I'm deeply thankful I embarked on my genealogy journey, and for all the wonderful discoveries I've made (and have yet to make). Happy Independence Day!

Disclosure: I used ChatGPT to assist with a title and search description. All content is my own.
Image by free stock photos from www.picjumbo.com from Pixabay