Journals, diaries and personal histories

I am not aware of a technical difference between a journal and a diary, so I will just call them "journals". They are an on-going account of personal experiences.

Why bother to keep a journal?
Perhaps the best answer I have heard was by a teenage boy.
"I keep a journal to remind myself that every day I should try to do something worth recording."

My wife Judy kept "Gratitude Journals", where each day she tried to record something she was grateful for, and why she was grateful for it. I am sure her days were brighter and happier because she looked for things that were positive. In her words, these were "Tender mercies from the Lord."

Some people keep a "Journal of Spiritual Experiences". When life becomes difficult it is good to have a life-line to remind us of how God has touched our lives in personal and positive ways. 

What about personal histories? And haw are they different from journals?
They can certainly overlap, but I think of a personal history as an outline of the course of a person's life. The journal is there for the details.

A personal history by topics?
This actually breaks both molds but in some ways is the easiest to do  and the most interesting to read.
My daily life is highly repetitive, so my journal is very boring if someone wanted to read it.
But a personal history by topics, instead of being a time-line it lists topics that I find interesting and why I enjoy them. So each page or two has a different story. When I have a few minutes, I choose a topic (or create one) and write my thoughts about it than save the document, and go about my other activities.
See http://www.familyhistoryquickstart.com/writing-your-personal-history/

Some Possible Topics

Places you’ve lived 

Influential individuals from your childhood 

Favorite vacations 

Jobs you’ve had 

Thoughts on politics 

Religious views 

Favorite movies 

Civic and community service rendered 

Things you like to collect 

Write about your spouse 

Children

Your hopes and dreams and how they have changed over the years 

The automobiles you’ve had or transportation you’ve used. 

Places that you’ve visited and when visited. 

Your favorite hobbies 

What do you like to shop for 

Your impressions of the times, wars, developments, etc. 

Collections of writings or poems that you’ve created 

Listing of certificates and accomplishments 

Favorite restaurants 

Favorite music 

Operations you’ve had (not the most fun, but interesting) 

The top 3 most difficult things you’ve ever done or had to go through 

Memberships in clubs or churches 

Write about your siblings and other relatives, (their children may not be as lucky as yours. They may not have written memories of their parents’ youth) 

Gardens you’ve grown 

Favorite foods 

Games you like to play and why they’re fun 

Favorite recipes (some families like to hand down recipes). Wouldn’t it be fun if your descendants knew which ones were your favorite and you left the recipes for them? 

Your favorite time of year 

How Clothing Has Changed

Sports that you’ve played throughout your life 

Pets you’ve had 

Weather phenomenon you’ve seen or experienced. 

Technological advances you’ve seen in your day 

Spiritual experiences you’ve had 

Favorite toys you’ve had 

Thoughts on raising children 

Education achieved 

Activities you’ve participated in 

Favorite books

Happy Valentine's Day 2012

I am continuing to sort through our old photos and papers.

Today I found this hand-written Valentine card from Judy, that touched my heart deeply.

I wanted to share it with you.

Be my Valentine for time and eternity.
I love you Bill.

14 Feb 2012

Dear Bill,
I love you!
You lived a clean, pure, virtuous life.
You served an honorable mission.
You have served others.
You have used your priesthood to bless me and the children.
You have been a good provider and built us a nice home.
You have managed our money well.
You took the family on some memorable camping trips.
You took the children to all of the youth activities and church dances - which were many.
You supported me in all my callings.
You have been a help to our adult children.
You take me to all my doctor appointments.
You fixed the house.  The things that needed doing got done.
You give me a rose every Mother's Day.
You help me with my garden.
You help me with the big meals and special occasions.
I love you most of all for sticking with me through it all.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Judy

[I am glad that she thought that I was that good. I will love her forever! - Bill]

My wife Judy passed away on December 5th

My wife, Judy passed away on Friday December 5th. It is hard to lose someone who has been your sweetheart and best friend for 57 years. But I feel that my loving Father in Heaven has been preparing me for this time.

On April 21, Judy suffered a stroke and could no longer live at home. I have been able to ask for her suggestions to prepare meals, do cleaning, laundry, dishes, and so forth.

Every day I have tried to visit her for an hour or two. The amazing thing is that we have drawn closer during these visits than spending the whole day living in the same apartment doing our separate activities. Our marriage for time and eternity has become increasingly precious to us.

In recent weeks her health has declined, and on Monday December 1, she was transferred from continuing care to the Misericordia Hospital.

When I visited her on Wednesday December 3, she said "Let's go over my funeral program." So I took notes as she told me what hymns she wanted, and who should offer the talks and prayers. 

As I was driving home from visiting her on Friday December 5, I had a phone call from the hospital saying that Judy might not survive, and to notify the family.

I did this, and Laurel and Chris invited me to ride to the hospital with them.

Blaine was the first to visit Judy; followed by Andrew's family; then our granddaughter and her children; then James; Laurel, Chris and me; then Evelyn and her children; and Rob and his daughter.

James asked Judy if she was in pain and she said "No. I am at peace." I asked if she would like a priesthood blessing and she said "Yes" I asked who she would like to anoint and she said "James", I asked who should seal the anointing, and she said "You." In the blessing I asked Heavenly Father to help her in her transition to the spirit world, whether now or at a later time.

Her eyes flickered open occasionally but, usually she seemed to be asleep.

We visited among ourselves for a while and then left.

Before we reached home, I had a phone call from the hospital saying that Judy had passed away peacefully about 8 pm.

Each of us will die sooner or later, I am glad that in Judy's case it happened peacefully in her sleep. And in her final minutes here, she was surrounded by her family expressing their love for her. And I am grateful for the tender mercies of God that I have personally experienced over my lifetime.

Through the grace of Jesus Christ, I look forward to spending eternity with this amazing woman who has been my friend and companion through most of my life.

Her funeral will be in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Spruce Grove, at 9:30 am on Friday December 19. For those unable to join in person, a Zoom link is provided below:

https://zoom.us/j/95984688475

Greetings and memories

 As I have tried to do daily visits to my wife in her nursing home in Edmonton, I have not given much attention to my blogs. I apologize.

But I recently received an email from a long-time friend, who is planning to serve in FamilySearch Support. This brought back a flood of memories. 

This is what I wrote to him. I will share it with you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Bob,

I loved my service in FamilySearch Support.

But after 10 years total, I knew it was time to accept my release.

That was 5 years ago. 

It was a perfect mission for me.

I am grateful that an old friend, Peter Darby suggested it. Judy and I had planned to serve a full time mission together when James finished his mission. But Judy developed serious health problems.

So when Peter phoned me and asked me if I had considered serving a mission from home in FamilySearch Support, I asked him "Is that possible?"

"It sure is! I am doing it. Would you like me to give you some information?"

"Yes, I certainly would!"

Soon I was helping to introduce "The New FamilySearch" to the world. That would be about 19 years ago now,

Best wishes for a joyous Christmas for you and your family.

Bill 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And may each of you also feel a special measure of love and peace in this season.
Christ lives and so shall we and our loved ones.
God bless you. 

Bill

Finding Records in England for people living elsewhere

Supposing that you find an ancestor in the 1916 Canada Census who was born in England.
How do you find them in records of England or Wales? For example:

 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6QLS-ZN4?

You want to know the maiden name of Annie, who is married to George W Potter and  is the mother of the family in this census record. We are looking for one specific person and we do not know where she was from, only "England".

We notice that she had two children born in England, Charles A, born about 1895 and George W, born about 1897.

I would start by looking for the births of both sons in the same specific place in England. (Yes, there is no certainly that two children born to the same mother, two years apart were born in the same place, but the chances of this happening are excellent.)

A good starting point is the FreeBMD site, which lists Births, Marriages and Deaths recorded in England and Wales since 1 July 1837, https://www.freebmd.org.uk/

First let's look for all children named Charles A Potter born in 1895. We will list his given name as Charles A*, so that it will find all middle names starting with an A. We will search 1894-1896.

Then we do the same thing for George W* Potter born in 1897, searching  1896-1898.

Then we compare the two lists for matching places. Dover looks like a good prospect.

We can search the matching people for a mother's maiden surname that also matches. We can do this with a free account at the UK government site: 
https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/Login.asp

If you have an account at Findmypast.com this is easier than the General Registry Office site.
https://www.findmypast.com/

Now to confirm that Annie Craig was married to George W Potter, let's try to find their marriage using FreeBMD.  We will guess that they married during 1890-1895. Voila.

When we click the link to the page number we see:

"Surname First name(s) District Vol Page 
Marriages Sep 1895
Craig Annie Dover 2a 1707   
Martin Alice Ann Dover 2a 1707   
Munday William Henry Dover 2a 1707   
Potter George William Dover 2a 1707"   

The names are listed alphabetically rather than as couples. Two marriages are listed on that page of the register book, and we see the names of Annie Craig and George William Potter, whose marriage in Dover was recorded during the September quarter (July-August-September) of 1895. Their marriage may be prior to the September quarter, but that is when it was registered with the government. 

This information should help you find them and their ancestral families in additional British records.

What is "The Seven Mile Rule"?

 What is "The Seven Mile Rule"?

The basic idea is that prior to rapid transportation, a young man usually had to find a wife somewhere close to his own home. In rural areas, the common means of transportation was walking. A young man might be allowed to take off a little time for courting, so long as he was back in time for evening chores. If he walked at a speed of 3 miles per hour, he usually had to find a wife within about 7 miles from his home. Is this a hard and fast rule? No, of course not, but it is a powerful guideline. (7 miles are about 11 km.) 

If your Samuel Smith and his wife Mary had a large family in Cirencester, Gloucestershire in the 1770s and 1780s, Samuel and Mary were probably both born in that area and married there. And if you find that a "Samuel Smith" married a "Mary" 20 miles or more from Cirencester, they are probably a totally different couple. Check the map.

To borrow a real estate slogan "It's about location, location, and location." 

(Caution: These men were walking from where they lived and not necessarily where they were born, they sometimes travelled longer distances to find employment.

My own grandfather Richard belonged to a later generation. He courted a girl who lived in London, England by mail, and she travelled over 4000 miles to Saskatchewan in 1913 to marry him, a man she had never met. They had 5 children and a wonderful marriage, despite the Great Depression and two world wars. )

Alberta Local History Books https://www.abgenealogy.ca/uploads/files/Resources/AlbertaHistories.pdf

Use CTRL+F to search. My family lived at Breton, Millet, and Kirriemuir. Lets see what books these places are in. 

Now try to find books about places that your family lived. Try to arrange to view them and photocopy your families' stories at the Provincial Archives of Alberta.

Succession Planning: What will happen to your family history research after you die?

When I served in FamilySearch Support we sometimes received a question like this "My mother passed away leaving me with filing cabinets of family history. What do I do with it? I hate to toss my mother's endless hours of research into a dumpster, but I don't know what else to do with it. Can I simply drop it off at the nearest FamilySearch Center?"

Generally, the FamilySearch Center will not have any use for it. Books and original documents might be accepted by government archives if they are relevant to local history. Computer printouts will usually not be of interest.

You can personally scan original documents to PDF format that you can upload to FamilySearch Memories and tag them to the appropriate people in Family Tree. Also upload your family tree to multiple websites as added protection.

If you inherit someone's research, please check the FamilySearch Family Tree and add any missing people.

In my own case the answer is simple. I put it all on the FamilySearch website. I have told my family they can throw out all my papers because our family history is preserved for future generations at FamilySearch.

Don't leave your loved ones a family history mess to worry about. Maybe give them copies of any books and important documents. Put everything on www.familysearch.org 

Masculine and feminine versions of surnames

Particularly in some Slavic languages this is common. Why would the daughter's surname be Kowalska when her father's surname is Kowalski? Because they are the feminine and masculine forms of the same surname. Similarly Ivanova and Ivanov / Ivanoff, etc. It is good to be aware of this as you help people with their research. 

Name variations in translation

Even in languages that share the Roman alphabet, the letters do not necessarily represent the same sound. In German, for example, J is pronounced like an English Y, and W is pronounced like an English V. And some sounds may not have an exact equivalent. When the languages are written in a different alphabet, such as Cyrillic, the ways of spelling the name in English are greatly increased. So when doing research on immigrant families in particular, allow for spelling variations. 

And sometimes names get literally translated into another language. A friend told me of his frustration when his Acadian "Le Blanc" family totally disappeared from New Brunswick and the surrounding area. Eventually he found a "White" family that had suddenly appeared in an English speaking area at that same time. The names, ages and other information were a perfect match for the "Le Blanc" family. They had simply translated their surname into English to fit their new location. Later, one of their children moved into a French speaking area and changed their name back to "Le Blanc". (You can search without a surname if the surname is uncertain.)

"Search, ponder and pray" is good counsel when doing research.

Pass-Along Cards for the Edmonton Family History Fair

I live a rather solitary life, so I wasn't sure why I wanted pass-along cards, but I made some anyway by putting 4 copies of the final poster on a page in my word processor. As I was leaving for a medical appointment in Edmonton, I put 4 pass-along cards in my shirt pocket. I gave one to the friendly Uber driver who told me about his family's struggles back home in Iran. I gave another to the kindly nurse at the Royal Alex, who guided me through the series of tests and interviews there. I missed the opportunity to give one to my helpful Uber driver on the way home, but the next day I gave one to the nurse that helped me in Stony Plain, and I left the 4th card in my wife's room in the nursing home, in a place where visitors and staff can see it. Now I need to print some more pass-along cards and see what opportunities come along. 

Details of Edmonton Family History Fair

 https://www.edmontongenealogy.ca/edmonton-family-history-fair

Edmonton Family History Fair 2025
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Alberta Genealogical Society Edmonton Branch have collaborated to present a one-day FREE Family History Fair on Saturday, October 25th from 9:00 am to 4:10 pm, at the Church located at 14325 – 53 Ave NW, Edmonton.

An exciting lineup of classes over a variety of topics presented by experienced researchers will provide valuable and helpful direction for your genealogy journey.

Workshops
There will be some workshops during the day. They are half-hour focused sessions with hands-on learning. Registration for workshops is not expected. You may drop in as you wish. The schedule will indicate what, where, and when.

FamilySearch Centre
One-to-one assistance will be available all day at the FamilySearch Centre. Please drop in with your questions.

Lunch
Please note that there are no food establishments within walking distance. Bring your lunch. Water bottles will be available.

Parking
Limited parking is available onsite with overflow parking on the neighbourhood streets. Please be aware that the parking lot is shared with the Edmonton Temple building, and some areas are reserved for their use only. Consider having a family member or friend drop you off.

Guest Speaker: Eileen Bell, News Manager and Anchor 880 CHED

NOTE: Classes and presenters are subject to change.

Class Descriptions
Block One 10:10-11:10

Genealogical Gold – An Introduction to Genealogical Resources at the Provincial Archives of Alberta (PAA) (Provincial Archives of Alberta staff)

FamilySearch Catalog. The Sears Christmas Catalog for Genealogists (Lianne Kruger)

Ukrainian Genealogy 101: Getting Started (Elaine Kalynchuk)

Your Ancestor’s Journey to the Temple (Fran van Bruggen)

Block Two 11:20-12:20

Getting Started with DNA: Finding Family in Your Genes. (Ellen Thompson-Jennings)

New to Family History – Where to Start (Shannon O’Flynn)

Mental Health and Family History Go Hand in Hand (Kevin Hatch)

Enhance your Family History research with the FamilySearch Research Wiki (Nestor Martinez)

Block Three 12:50-1:50

Working Your DNA Matches Like a Pro (Ellen Thompson-Jennings)

Backup Tips for Genealogy Data (Kelcey Carlisle)

Your life story - A gift to generations. (Bob Layton)

Find a Grave and Alberta Cemeteries (Alison Glass)

Block Four 2:00-3:00

Harnessing Artificial Intelligence for more Effective Genealogical Research & Storytelling (Jean-Yves Vanier-Verbeek)

Cousins: Your Secret Clues (Bradley Pierson)

It's Gonna Be a Reel Good Time! Your Epic Tour of Library and Archives Canada (Lianne Kruger)

Bringing Our Ancestors to Life (Leomi Jeffrey)

Block Five 3:10-4:10

Helping Hands and Resources at the Alberta Genealogical Society Edmonton Library (Virginia Crawford)

Protecting Sensitive Family Information in Genealogy (Kelcey Carlisle)

What’s in Store for Your Digital Genealogy Legacy? (Art Taylor)

Researching Your Family Tree in England & Wales (Lynn Fogwill)

Only register if you plan to attend. Click here to register.