FHF

My longtime fan, before FHF was a thing - Yvonne!!! Hands down, the coolest part of Roots Tech was meeting our fans. Having a booth at the Expo Hall gave our fans the opportunity to know where to find us. Unfortunately, on occasion, I was off socializing with other vendors or influencers when a fan stopped by. It's difficult to wear the many hats requisite of a first timer at such a massive conference. I felt terrible about not being available, but thankfully the booth was always staffed with at least one Fanatic. Many fans told us they watched all of our videos. Some said they just discovered us and have been binge watching (we have at least 140 right now, thank goodness the videos are 5-7 minutes long). Several fans were glad we brought Caleb along and said he was adorable. DNA-focused viewers commented on how Andy makes DNA understandable (a la the Gordon Ramsey nickname mentioned earlier but with Captain America saying, "Language"). Jenna Mills, despite not recognizin...

With a booth selected , foot traffic generation plans in place, and the decision to take the young fanatic made, Andy and I needed to focus on make decisions about the books we planned to sell. The Decision to Write Books After attending regional conferences, workshops, and genealogy societies, Andy and I learned that our books sell better when they directly aligned with the classes we teach. At RootsTech 2018, two classes we would teach: (Downsizing With Family History in Mind and Animating Your Ancestor's Journey With Animaps), did not support any of the six books we sell. For my beginner track workshop, it's solidly supported by the book Reimagine Family History: Order from Amazon.com I had taught the downsizing class as a workshop at a local library. I had the script and the slides from that class, so writing a book to support this RootsTech class should be easy. It wasn't. The presentation format did not lend itself to a well-planned book. The manuscript soon became di...

As stated in the previous post, we had a booth at RootsTech in what we nicknamed "Newbie Land," and needed to attract attention so we could have a successful show. What were those plans? Did you notice any of them prior to RootsTech? GBA.BUZZ In the summer of 2017, I learned that I could join the Genealogy Business Alliance (GBA).  It is primarily a Facebook group focused on ways to improve the vendor experiences for businesses at conventions. Apparently, vendors had a terrible experience at recent national conferences, and a few of them banded together to initiate changes. I instantly connected with a few women who have become mentors, at least in my mind, for our business. At RootsTech 2017, GBA pooled their resources and created a  giveaway that was designed to increase foot traffic to smaller vendors throughout the expo hall. Larger companies supported the initiative because when the industry does well as a whole, their business grows in tandem. GBA wanted to have a simi...

It's been a month since we flew out to Salt Lake City in the capacity of speakers and exhibitors. Devon was an Ambassador and had completed a month-long series of posts so that you could plan your class schedule long before you put boots on the ground.  The mega-conference had many highs and lows for us, so we wanted to have distance before we shared our experiences. Since I can be pretty verbose in my memory keeping, I have broken the tome into multiple posts. Enjoy. Deciding to Exhibit In 2017,  I crossed "Teaching at Rootstech" off my bucket list. While at RootsTech, I spoke with a genealogy rock start that changed the course of our company. And, we left the conference and noticed a bounce in the traffic of our  Family History Fanatics YouTube channel .  By May of last year, FHF on Youtube was exploding and continues with exponential growth today. By summer, Andy and I began to discuss ways to take the YouTube-style videos and bring them to online genealogy educat...

What is the difference between a memoir and a textbook retelling of history? The most significant difference is that memoirs dive deeper into the thought process of the storyteller. When you write your autobiography, include your past thoughts to help your readers understand the decisions you made. It makes for a more powerful story and shares details that no genealogical record will ever have. When I wrote From Metal to Rhinestones: A Quest for the Crown , I started relating the factual account of my participation in various competitions such as what I wore, what I said, how I looked, and how I placed in the end. The details fit the scrapbook storytelling format because by nature the journaling in these albums should be brief. However, a memoir needs to relate more profound emotions and connect with the senses that can not be revealed in photos and news reports. I needed to transport myself through time and place myself in my mind at the time I competed or prepared for each compet...

I feel like screaming! I'm definitely doing a happy dance. We just reached huge milestones on our YouTube Channel and it's thanks to you giving us likes, comments, views, and social media shares! So, grab a milkshake or a smoothie and raise your glass to yourself. You make the Family History Fanatics  YouTube Channel what it is are today. Let's continue the relationship because, man, this is so fun!!!! MILESTONE AS OF 3/21/2018 Subscribers -  4,104 Views - 466,616 Watch Time in the last 28 days -   467,868 minutes! If you haven't checked us out yet, here are two videos that you might like: There are over 150 videos to watch, comment on, like, and share. Now, let's press on to reach 200 video mile marker! Are y'all in? BTW... We film in batches, so, what specific question would you like us to answer in our next filming session? Leave a comment below.

For many localities, civil registrations of birth, marriage, and death are a modern convention with records beginning around in the early 1800s, if you are lucky. However, many church record collections of baptism, marriage, and funeral rites trace ancestors back many centuries. The Catholic Church began keeping these records at different time periods, but in some areas, priests recorded the earliest baptism in the 1500s. Beyond providing details about the essential events in an individual's life, Catholic Church records can provide clues to cracking the cases on family mysteries. Author of the Catholic Genealogy Legacy QuickGuide ™ and contributor to The Catholic Gene blog, Lisa Toth Salinas will provide tips and strategies for accessing the sacramental records in addition to other Catholic documents and sources. Her webinar is part of the  Lake Havasu Genealogical Society spring eConference " Moments of their Lives ." The   Moments of Their Lives   eConference is a fund...

Researching your family tree using DNA can be complicated when you haven't created a surname table as a cheat sheet for referencing your data. Andy talks about these regularly in beginner DNA classes but I hadn't created one until today! And you're about to see my jealousy rear its beastly head. Before we begin, take a look at Andy's Surname Table: Look at the five spots that are holes in the 4th GGP section. That's not bad. The holes beside the Garnett in 3rd GGP only indicates that the Lees aren't really Lees and from that point on the surname line changes. Are you ready to see my chart? I'm really sad. Before you think I'm a terrible Genealogist, each missing surname comes with a challenge. The Anderson/Sparks is pretty 'righteous' (bad holey/holy pun) because Anderson and Sparks disappear from records after they have a child. There's only one record for William Anderson, of Sweden, in Missouri and nothing else. Oh, yea!  After that, the w...

Are you looking for records that can add meat to the bones of your genealogical research? Are you only searching online for sources that can expand your ancestor's story and timeline? Well, if you are, you're missing out on a hidden gem in an archive near you.  Melissa Barker is an archivist with a genealogist's heart. She says that loose records hold many records that you're desperate to find but are looking in bound books and online collections. If you would instead look at: Loose Records Photo Courtesy of Melissa Barker When you peruse loose records, you may find any of the following: Marriage Records Court Case Files Probate files Photographs Newspaper Clippings Ephemera, and more! Photo Courtesy of Melissa Barker Loose files and archives are generally not the records that first come to mind when we dive into genealogy. In fact, those words sound scary and possibly daunting. Melissa simplifies the archive research process in your as part of the Lake Havasu Genealogi...

Birth, marriage, and death records, oh my! After you scour the vital records, you moved on to the census records. Then what? Well, Diane L Richards has three quiz-type questions to ask yourself about the Post Office. Did you know that the 1800s post offices managed newspaper and magazine subscriptions? Did you know that individuals weren't the only ones who subscribed to these publications? Did you know that businesses and establishments (e.g., hotels) often subscribed to publications to be read by many in a community? Did you know that many 'extinct' small communities were once the backbone of the extensive post office network? Did you know the locations of these old posts offices provide important clues to where our ancestors lived If you didn't know these facts, then you need to sign up for Diane L Richard's presentation that is part of the Lake Havasu Genealogical Society spring eConference " Moments of their Lives ."  Her session: The Moments of Thei...

What are you doing on Thursday, May 31st? Andrew and Devon Noel Lee head to a preliminary conference before the Southern California Jamboree held at the Los Angeles Marriott - Burbank Aiport Hotel in California. We are elated to be invited to participate in the Family History Writer's Conference! The Jamboree website says the  Writer's Conference will focus on "making your family history come alive for future generations." Andy and Devon are among the speakers who have written and published stories about their ancestors. The Fanatics Lead By Example Devon is the most prolific writer of the duo. She has created four scrapbooks featuring her parents and two grandparents. She has written the first draft of stories for 120 ancestors and is slowly turning each draft into a final project. She's published Papa: The Story of Lewis Brown  and Gone to Soon: The Story of Joseph Geißler  for her family archive. She's also published her own personal history and shared it ...