Lacie's Genealogy Blog

Photo by   Kenny Eliason on Unsplash I am asking myself this question, reflecting on what made me start this blog nearly five years ago. What was my intention and purpose, and how can I contribute to the genealogy community?  I think I just wanted to share, to get my voice heard for a hobby I am passionate about. There wasn’t a specific objective, and it certainly wasn’t to get on a trend to become popular.  Sometimes there is a deeper reasoning as to why we do certain things that we may not fully be aware of in the moment, that may reveal itself in the future. I’m also asking what do I want to write about specifically as it relates to genealogy. Because I  think many topics interconnect with genealogy. In the past, I was very achievement-based, posting with very little significance to me. I was trying to maintain a demand with what little supply I had. Which in turn, led me to burnout. What I write going forward, my objective is that it is purposeful and fulf...

Last week, I watched a video on Lisa Louise Cooke’s YouTube channel about the closure of the National Archives, and it inspired me to write a blog post about the subject. It’s been over two full years since the National Archives fully opened. (It opened briefly this past November in two locations then closed again).  Now, in St. Louis, you have  to request an appointment for a research room or you can’t go inside. Researchers and genealogists, can’t obtain records, photos, and films, needed to complete projects for clients and themselves. Veterans can’t but need to gain access to their military records to apply for benefits. Geoff states in the video he is not saying fully open up, but slowly open up to pre-pandemic level. One of the guest speakers, Jessica Taylor said that a man was told "shame on me for building my business model around relying on the National Archives".  I was looking at a military researcher's services to see if they were available again to potential...

I will be sharing my point of view on this subject. I originally wasn’t going to write about the recent uproar that has occurred in the genealogy community, but here we are. It’s been a problem for many years  (I have written about it back in 2020),  but it's gotten really loud this past week in light of the recent elementary school shooting in Texas - especially on Twitter - almost   unbearable not to say anything. *Please read Judy Russell’s and Roberta Estes ’s blog posts to understand this issue.* I can understand both sides of the issue.  1. Do I think family members should only create   memorials for their loved ones? Yes and No. Yes- They are the ones that lost that person. If they have to arrange things after their loved one's death, they should be able to create a memorial when they are ready . No- Some people don’t know about the site and may never find it. Is there really a need to restrict FindAGrave contributors when the family may neve...

 If you haven’t heard already, Ancestry has made some changes to its Terms and Conditions. Essentially, the changes say that Ancestry has a license to use the media that we upload to our family trees  for marketing, advertisements, and other uses . Please read Judy Russell's blog posts entitled Ancestry Retreats and One big Change at Ancestry .  Here is my view on the situation: 1. I have multiple trees on Ancestry. Some are for cousins' matches, one with photos, and another without photos.  The photos that I have uploaded to Ancestry are on my private tree. 2 .   I am still on the fence about whether or not I should delete my photos.  I stopped uploading media because I found out that once you "delete" it from your tree, those who attached it to their tree, it is still there. 3. I think the main issue for me is that they can use photos of living people. Though I don't think Ancestry would use the photo if they knew the person(s) in the photo we...

Recently, I read an article on The Legacy Tree Blog called How Do You Feel About Sharing Photos of Your Ancestors?  and watched a video about privatizing photos on Ancestry. Reading and watching these made me reflect on my views. 1. I am very protective of personal family photos. The author of this article is Marian Pierre-Louis. She mentions in the article that she was very protective of her ancestors' portraits. There is something about a photo that can evoke so much emotion in you. Putting a name with a face is an indescribable feeling - for me at least. As I research my ancestors' lives and uncover their stories, I feel a connection between them. This adds to the protection. 2. I am willing to share photos with cousins. As  genealogists and family historians , we want to connect with cousins. Photos are one way to receive cousin bait. 3. Copyright Issues+ Watermarking While I am no expert in ethical and legal issues, copyright is st...

I will be sharing my point of view on this subject. Have you read Judy Russell's post yet? I advise you to read her post, so this will sense. I agree with Ms. Russell 100%.  I haven't lost anyone close to me, so I don't how it feels, but I am sure I would just as upset as others in the community.  From what I have seen, some Find A Grave contributors want to be the fastest to create a memorial. It's sad to say, but this happens all the time to recently deceased celebrities.  For instance, after the tragic news of Kobe Bryant, less than an hour after his death being reported, someone already created a memorial for him and his daughter.  What's so important to strive to be the first one to a memorial? It's like the recently deceased are not important besides the competition.  In a way, I kind of feel as though the purpose of Find A Grave is lost.  Many wonderful volunteers use the site the way it is intended, but others would...

Ancestry is replacing DNA Circles with ThruLines. DNA Circles will be removed in less than 2 weeks. I found out after watching Larry Jones's video yesterday. Update: His video is no longer available to the public. For some Ancestry users, DNA circles helped them break down brick walls that they have had for years. Personally, I have not ever had a DNA Circle since I have gotten my DNA results (Apr 2017), so I am not sure if the tool is useful.  In Larry Jones's video, he explains that his DNA circles show 32 matches related through his common ancestor and he matches 2 of them. ThruLines shows descendants from his common ancestor all the way to him. He matches 13 for ThurLines and 2 for DNA Circles.   In the past, I heard that people have lost some of their DNA circles, and have never gotten them back. Maybe that's why Ancestry is removing them? Maybe some Ancestry customers have complained about the product, for example not updating their cir...