Wednesday, April 30, 2014

"The Challenge I Give You as a Genealogist is To Reach Beyond The Vital Statistics To a New World of Understanding..."


"The challenge I give you as a genealogist is to reach beyond the vital statistics to a new world of understanding, both of your ancestors and of yourself. Preserve those details of your family in written form that will bring understanding to many others and truly enable their hearts - along with your own - to turn to their fathers. Someone has said that there is little point in digging up an ancestor if you aren't going to make him live. If that is true - and I believe it is - your job is not finished until you feel a bit of what he felt, have shared vicariously in his joys and heartaches - perhaps shed a tear with him in his sorrow laughed at the humor in his life, and felt pride in his accomplishment." - Val D. Greenwood

About this photo: You may have seen this picture in a few places; like on our Teach Me Genealogy Facebook page as the main cover photo...


You may have also seen this photo on other Teach Me Genealogy designed quotes like this one...


This photograph is very dear to me and the only family photo I have of my great grandparents. In this photo are my great grandparents, George Fredrick Burnes & Nina Isabelle Bradshaw Burnes. My grandfather William Emry Burnes (back, center) my great grand uncles; Orval Burnes (back, right), Ross Burnes (front, left), and Glen Burnes (baby). Nellie Leotta Burnes Henry is my great grand aunt (front, right)

Photo Taken: 1906

Place: Woodward, Woodward, Oklahoma

Tip: Get your old photos out, scan them into your computer, then put those original photos back in a safe place. Once they are scanned, you can bring them back to life by sharing them on social media and with friends and family.

Keep connecting the dots! -Sarah :)

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

"A Mother's Last Name May Not Get Carried Down The Tree..."


"A mother's last name may not get carried down the tree, but her love goes so much deeper and means so much more to me."  -Michelina Santoriello Hall

Michelina Santoriello Hall has a fabulous Family History blog called Preserving Heritage. She's a great resource for family history and has many ideas and freebies on her blog as well.
So head on over to Preserving Heritage - www.preservingheritage.blogspot.com

Keep connecting the dots! -Sarah :)

Grandmother's Rocking Chair Poem


Grandmother’s Rocking Chair Poem
By Karen O. Tribett

Grandma, hold me a little longer,
Rock me a little more.
Tell me another story,
(You’ve only told me four!)
Let me sleep on your shoulder.
I love your happy smile.
I’ll always love you Grandma,
so stay with me awhile.

Monday, April 21, 2014

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 16 - All About Relationship Charts


52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 16 - All About Relationship Charts

This week, let's learn about our family relationships. Do you know the name of your 3rd cousin twice removed? How about your 1st cousin thrice (3x) removed? Use these two FREE relationship charts to help you understand your genealogy a little bit better. Print them and keep them close by.

This week do the following:


  • Print these two relationship charts
  • Study the relationships
  • Learn who your 3rd cousin twice (2x) removed is
Here's one of the most traditional charts out there: The Canon or Common Law Relationship Chart:





Click here to Download or print this Canon or Common Law Relationship Chart.


Here is another, more simple relationship chart created by Teach Me Genealogy. We recommend using both of these relationship charts in your genealogy to figure out your relationship between relatives.

Click image to enlarge

Click here to Download or print this simple Relationship Chart.

That's it. After you've looked over you relationship chart, leave a comment below if you know who your 3rd cousin twice removed is.

Keep connecting the dots! -Sarah :)

Monday, April 14, 2014

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 15 - Easter Traditions


52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 15 - Easter Traditions

  • Did you celebrate Easter growing up?
    • If so:
      1. Did you have an Easter dinner with family?
      2. Did dye or color eggs?
      3. Did you have an Easter egg hunt?
      4. Tell about any other Easter traditions you had. 
Keep connecting the dots! -Sarah :)

Sunday, April 13, 2014

The Touch Of The Master's Hand - Poem



'Twas battered and scarred, 
And the auctioneer thought it 
hardly worth his while 
To waste his time on the old violin, 
but he held it up with a smile.

"What am I bid, good people", he cried, 

"Who starts the bidding for me?" 
"One dollar, one dollar, Do I hear two?" 
"Two dollars, who makes it three?" 
"Three dollars once, three dollars twice, going for three,"

But, No, 

From the room far back a gray bearded man 
Came forward and picked up the bow, 
Then wiping the dust from the old violin 
And tightening up the strings, 
He played a melody, pure and sweet 
As sweet as the angel sings.

The music ceased and the auctioneer 

With a voice that was quiet and low, 
Said "What now am I bid for this old violin?" 
As he held it aloft with its' bow.

"One thousand, one thousand, Do I hear two?" 

"Two thousand, Who makes it three?" 
"Three thousand once, three thousand twice, 
Going and gone", said he.

The audience cheered, 

But some of them cried, 
"We just don't understand." 
"What changed its' worth?" 
Swift came the reply. 
"The Touch of the Masters Hand."

And many a man with life out of tune 

All battered with bourbon and gin 
Is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd 
Much like that old violin

A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, 

A game and he travels on. 
He is going once, he is going twice, 
He is going and almost gone.

But the Master comes, 

And the foolish crowd never can quite understand, 
The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought 
By the Touch of the Masters' Hand.

By: Myra Brooks Welch

Monday, April 07, 2014

52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 14 - Teenage Years: First Job


52 Weeks of Genealogy - Week 14 - Teenage Years: First Job

  1. What was your first job?

  2. What were your duties?

  3. How much did you get paid each week?

  4. Did you enjoy your job?

  5. What was your boss' name?

  6. Did you get along with your boss?

  7. Did you ever make any mistakes at work?

  8. Did you have any friends at work?

  9. How far did you have to travel to get to work?

  10. For how long did you work at your first job?
Keep connecting the dots! -Sarah :)

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

April Fools Day Quotes and Sayings


  1. "You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time. " -Abraham Lincoln

  2. "April 1.  This is the day upon which we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four."  -Mark Twain

  3. "I have great faith in fools - self-confidence, my friends call it." -Edgar Allan Poe

  4. "It is the ability to take a joke, not make one, that proves you have a sense of humor."  -Max Eastman

  5. "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."  -Chinese Proverb

  6. "Forgive, O Lord, my little jokes on Thee,
    And I'll forgive Thy great big one on me."
    -Robert Frost

  7. "Let us be thankful for the fools.  But for them the rest of us could not succeed."  -Mark Twain

  8. "I hope life isn't a big joke, because I don't get it." -Jack Handey

  9. "Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see the world hath more fools in it than ever."  -Charles Lamb

  10. "We're fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance." -Japanese Proverb

  11. "A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to
    underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools." -Douglas Adams

  12. "Even the gods love jokes." -Plato

  13. "April fool, n. The March fool with another month added to his folly." -Ambrose Bierce

  14. "If every fool wore a crown, we should all be kings." -Welsh Proverb

  15. "A sense of humor is the ability to understand a joke-and that the joke is oneself." -Clifton Paul Fadiman

  16. "It is better to weep with wise men than to laugh with fools." -Spanish Proverb

  17. "Suppose the world were only one of God's jokes, would you work any the less to make it a good joke instead of a bad one?" -George Bernard Shaw