The Chart Chick

A Tricky Chart

2013-05-24T14:38:00.003-06:00

J. Hersh requested a tricky chart from us recently. He wanted to show everything he had collected on 300+ people including 200+ photos and all of the in-laws' ancestors and step families, etc. It was a tricky chart--and we always enjoy a good challenge. We appreciated his willingness to let us share it with you here:

And this is what he sent us via email when he received the chart:

The chart arrived late yesterday afternoon. I must say that you did an outstanding job.

It is so large that it will take me a while to orient myself to look at all of the entries. However, no matter what, it is terrific. The paper quality is better than I expected. I thought it might be textured making it a bit tricky to get good photo reproduction. Fortunately, it is smooth and a good weight.

Your team's level of competence is matched only by the incredible patience and unfailingly high standards of customer service. Everything you represented was delivered as promised with respect to the quality, time line, design and price.

It has been a delight to have the experience combining old world customer service and new world technology.

It surpassed all expectations and fulfilled my dream.

Thank you so much.

Precious Photo

2013-05-21T13:37:00.001-06:00

John Sneed sent us this photo this week. We loved it and asked that we could share it with you. He said, "You can really see the joy in her face in the picture - thanks for making that joy a reality! The chart was a big hit at the birthday [her 90th] and generated lots of great "genealogy" discussions from my family. A real accomplishment since they don't like to discuss the family history."

We are so delighted to be able to help you John. She is so adorable. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Come to our demos at NGS

2013-05-09T09:33:00.003-06:00

If you are at the National Genealogical Society conference tis week you'll want to stop by our booth at lunch time. We have a treat in store for you. Besides my 9:30 class Saturday morning where I'll teach you all about how to "Visualize and Share Your Family Tree" in Pavilion 6, we've teamed up with Loss Louise Cooke of Genealogy Gems to bring you there days of great ideas in the vendor's hall that will quickly and easily help you with your genealogy research.

I'll be teaching these classes:
THURSDAY 12:30 pm
5 Best Ideas to Involve Your Family with Family History
FRIDAY 1:30 pm
Beyond Scotch Tape: Easy Charts to WOW Your Family Reunion
SATURDAY 12:30 pm
Making Family History Fun for the Next Generation

and Lisa will be teaching these classes:
THURSDAY 1:30 pm
3 Free Cool Tools for Newspaper Research You Need to Use
FRIDAY 12:30 pm
Turn Your iPad or Tablet into a Genealogy Powerhouse
SATURDAY 1:30 pm
How You Can “Time Travel” using Google Earth!
So at 12:30 and 1:30 you'll know where to be to get the best ideas at NGS!
Booths #411 and #415 See you there.

Two Mother's Day Sales to Honor Your Heritage

2013-05-01T14:20:00.001-06:00

We sent out an email today about the Mother's Day sales we have going. I'll post them here too so that everyone gets to hear about it. If you didn't get the newsletter, you can sign up here.

Two Mother's Day Specials That Will Strengthen Your Family Relationships And Help You Honor Your Heritage.

Mother's day is a great time to celebrate the heritage you've been given and we want to help you honor and give back to the mothers and grandmothers in your life. We've paired up offers from FamilyChartMasters.com and ZapTheGrandmaGap.com for some great ideas to show your love to the mothers and grandmothers in your life.

Our Deepest Discount Ever On Canvas Custom Charts 2 Days Only

If you've been waiting to create one of our beautiful canvas giclee masterpieces, now is the time. Honor your Mom and teach your family about their heritage with a beautiful expression of your family. Submit your files by midnight Thursday and get 1/2 off any custom canvas giclee genealogy chart.
Sale Price: $54.95 - $142.45 Regular Price: $109.95-$285.95 S & H: $11.95Send us your files now. We'll work back and forth with you until it is just what you are looking for, and have it shipped in time for Mother's Day. Sale ends midnight May 2nd

Zap The Grandma Gap BooksNew Lower Pricing and Mother's Day Special

Because of the amazing reception we've already had for our new books, we have a new distributor who has allowed us to be able to dramatically drop the prices. And we've dropped them even further for the Mothers and Grandmothers in your life. Check out the excerpts and the great reviews. A quick and easy present to strengthen your family and honor your heritage.
Our Price: $30.00 S & H: $5.00Order now, sale ends May 7th
When you honor the mothers in your life you strengthen those family relationships and create a culture of respect and gratitude in your own life and in the next generations of your family. Let us know what we can do to help you in that endeavor. We send you our best wishes for a healing, inspirational, wonderful and blessed Mother's day.

(And don't fret if you want to take advantage of this opportunity to treat yourself to a chart or the books you've been wanting for yourself. Your Mom would be proud of you for sharing your family's heritage and for taking good care of yourself too. :))

The end of my UGA presidency

2013-04-11T20:57:00.000-06:00

Another president of the Utah Genealogical Association will be voted in at our board meeting tomorrow night. As I come to the end of my term as president of UGA I’ve had some time for reflection. I’ve been so privileged to be able to serve as president of this great organization. I’m lucky to be the president who has been able to actually serve longer than the maximum 2 years—because of the change in our fiscal year last year, I’ve been able to serve 27 months. It has been a joy. I believe strongly in what UGA is trying to accomplish and every minute I’ve spent serving here has been a great blessing to me. As I wrote about in my last president’s message for UGA's Crossroads Magazine, I’d like to tell you how UGA has blessed my life and why I’m so thankful to have been able to serve as the president.

1)    I’ve broadened my circle in genealogy. When I first became active in UGA, I was constantly amazed at how many people I didn’t know who worked in the field of genealogy. I had been going to genealogy conferences, speaking, and running a company for eight years and I thought I really knew a lot of people in our community. But I found that there are several circles in this community that don’t see much of each other. There are the professional genealogists and librarians, the FamilySearch employees, the Ancestry employees, the conference goers, the FamilySearch Center volunteers, the vendors, the hobbyists and the zealots, people inside and outside of Utah who all get to brush shoulders in the activities that UGA sponsors. I’ve gotten to know a myriad of people who I probably wouldn’t have run into otherwise and they have enriched my life and my research immensely.

2)    I’ve made dear, dear friends. Many of the people I’ve worked closely with have become lifelong friends who I turn to when I need support and who know that they will always find support from me. It is such a blessing to have good friends who are as passionate about family history as I am. My neighbors don’t always understand my passion, but through UGA I’ve found a network of people who get it. They know the soul satisfying journey of finding out where you are from and I’ve been so privileged to be able to share that journey with them.

3)    I’ve become a better genealogist. The resources that UGA sponsors are tremendous. We had an amazing week at SLIG this year, as we always do, and it always blows my socks off what I didn’t know. The Virtual Chapter has been a great resource to our community, and the various other conferences and events UGA holds always teach me something new. Our conference next weekend is slated to be another world class education opportunity. Committee meetings and emails back and forth with volunteers have even taught me amazing things that have helped my research. The more active you become in UGA, the more brick walls will just seem like research you didn’t know how to do. I promise.

4)    I’ve had an opportunity for service. It is very easy in today’s fast world to become concerned only about your own world and how things affect you. Volunteer service is important to help you become less selfish, to be able to clearly see the needs of other people, and to keep a broad perspective on things. I love this quote by George Bernard Shaw :
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of being a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no 'brief candle' to me. It is a splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

I really think my service in UGA has softened my heart, helped me see areas of myself that need improvement and helped me care more about my fellow man. My time in UGA has been a refining experience and I am better for it. Some might ask if spending untold hours working for UGA might have been better spent on something else—perhaps something that would bring in income.   I’ve spent much of my time at UGA actually paying employees for doing things I should be doing. But I honestly feel that the sacrifice of my time here has brought great blessings into my family, my company, and my life. And I am very thankful for that.

So while I'll have more time for blogging again, I know I will continue to take full advantage of all the great education resources UGA offers. And I hope to see you there as well.

Zap The Grandma Gap Workbook Press Release

2013-03-18T06:43:00.000-06:00

I won't do this very often, but I'm really excited about this new workbook. So this article is cross posted from my new Zap The Grandma Gap blog. I hope you are reading about all the fun activities we have going on over there. So much to write about on both blogs. :)

Most parents and grandparents would do anything and everything to raise the youth in their family to be successful adults. There are play groups and preschool lessons, music and dance, sports, tutoring and youth groups, the right schools, the right nutrition, etc.etc. However, many people miss one of the most basic and foundational things that can set a child up for success in life—teaching their child about their family’s history.

So we’ve created another unique resource that looks at family history in an engaging and youthful way so that anyone can easily engage the youth in their family with their history. In conjunction with my corresponding lectures at the RootsTech conference this week, we have released the new Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History, a hands-on book with step by step instructions, procedures, templates and resources that will help teach the next generation to love their heritage. In the fill-in-the-blank book you will find:
•    Brainstorming activities to spark ideas
•    Suggestions for travel
•    Checklists and invitations for parties
•    Outlines for children’s books and activity books
•    Templates for games
•    Designs for recipe cards and ornaments
•    Surveys of the best websites
•    Ideas for incentives
•    Lists of interview questions
•    And instructions and templates for many other activities
This book discusses many ways to combine a family’s specific heritage with the specific interests of their youth.

The workbook is a companion to the book Zap the Grandma Gap: Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History. This new book has already inspired families throughout the world about the importance of family history in connecting today’s families. In it parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles can learn:
•    How to prepare for further curiosity by infusing their surroundings with their history.
•    Why plugging into the net is the easiest way to plug their family into their past
•    How to utilize your talents to teach their family about their history
•    Why discovering the surrounding history together makes their progenitors come alive.
•    How to pull their posterity close by carefully creating and recording today’s history.
•    Why it is important to simplify their family’s story their family can appreciate the past.

I come from a family that practices the principles found in this book. As a librarian, I helped people at the BYU library with their family history research but was completely uninterested in my own. I inherited a large amount of genealogy from my mother and grandmother, both wonderful genealogists who lived family history in a way that was attractive and inviting. Eventually I woke up to the soul satisfaction of learning about my family’s past. Most recently I have found great joy in encouraging my teenage children's genealogical interests. The pre-release of the workbook was well received this last month while I was speaking at the Who Do You Think You Are Conference in London, and the North Florida Genealogy Conference. I gave several lectures about engaging the next generation with their family history. Among other topics, I will be speaking this weekend at the RootsTech conference on “The Cool Parts of Genealogy: Engaging My Teenagers Case Study.” Please come say Hi at the Family ChartMasters booth if you are planning on attending.

Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka is available now at www.zapthegrandmagap.com, at bookstores and by calling 801-872-4278. A 24 page excerpt of the workbook and a 28 page excerpt of the book are available for free on the website along with downloads of other supporting materials. Sign up on the homepage for a free 52 week e-newsletter with even more ideas on how to engage the next generation with their family history.

About the Author: Janet Hovorka received a B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern History and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from BYU. She and her husband Kim Hovorka own Family ChartMasters (www.familychartmasters.com) —official, award winning printers for most of the genealogy software and database companies. She is currently serving as President of the Utah Genealogical Association and teaches courses in library skills and genealogy at Salt Lake Community College. Janet writes the The Chart Chick blog (www.thechartchick.com), has written for numerous genealogy publications, and has presented 100s of lectures all over the world to help people learn more about their past.

Media kit available upon request.
Zap the Grandma Gap : Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka. Published by Family ChartMasters: Cedar Hills, Utah, 2013. Paperback, $23.95 194pp. ISBN 978-0-9888548-0-2.
Zap the Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka. Published by Family ChartMasters: Cedar Hills, Utah, 2013. Paperback, $23.95 103pp. ISBN 978-0-9888548-1-9.

Heirloom Registry Scavenger Hunt

2013-03-08T02:58:00.000-07:00

I recently registered an item using The Heirloom Registry™, which is a new product from Houstory®. The online registry allows users to preserve and share the stories behind family heirlooms and precious belongings. You can see the Heirloom Registry sticker on the bottom of my teacup in this picture.

This piece of Royal Doulton china is indeed precious to me. This teacup was part of a set owned by my great-great-grandmother Ethel Amelia Williams Schwendiman She was born on the 15 February 1880 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She had a set of Royal Doulton that was separated upon her passing and each of her grand-daughters got a piece. When I married, my mother passed this teacup down to me and I keep it in my china cabinet along with the rose painting by my great-aunt Bernice Houser.

I don't remember Grandma Schwendiman but as you can see I did meet her when I was a little girl. In this photo my mother is holding me and my grandmother Eila Dana is with us as well. Missing is my great-grandmother Viola Thomas. These are the women of my matriarchal line, my mother, her mother, her mother (missing from the picture), and her mother. I don't remember Grandma Schwendiman but millions of little pieces of my family come from her--from her faith and work ethic to her recipes and traditions. Just like I talk about in my new book Zap The Grandma Gap, whether or not I recognize all the little pieces of me that come from Grandma Schwendiman, they are there. She is part of the nature and the nurture that has created who I am. And the little piece of her that I have in this teacup is precious to me.

This blog post is also to participate in the Heirloom Registry scavenger hunt. As part of the hunt, hunters will need to find the “clue” hidden in the Heirloom Registry record listed below.

* If you’d like to start the scavenger hunt now, I suggest you first go to The Houstory Hearth blog’s special Scavenger Hunt Page. There you’ll find information about the hunt, the prizes – and most importantly the list of the other three blogs you’ll need to visit today.

* If you already know what you’re doing, here’s the Heirloom Registry ID Code you need to obtain my secret word: FPGW-820-726-1535-2011

* If this is your final stop for Hunt No. 3, be sure to submit your entry form with your secret words before Sunday, March 10, 2013 at midnight PST. Good luck – and happy hunting!

A fantastic time at Who Do You Think You Are Live

2013-02-23T08:32:00.001-07:00

We've crossed the pond to the world's biggest family history conference. I gave my "Grandma's Bullet Proof Vest" lecture this morning and talked to them about some of the new ideas in my book. I think it went really well. It is really a universal principle that family history is an important part of raising a well adjusted secure adult. And the adults who are teaching children all care deeply about doing everything we can to raise happy and healthy children. It is just so vitally important.

We're having a great time.

There is a great focus here on making sure the next generation is grounded in family history so that the history is preserved. When the next generation doesn't get involved early enough the older generation dies off and history is lost. It all just works so much better when the whole family can preserve their history together.
Cheers.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Taking my Dad on a Who Do You Think You Are Tour

2013-02-20T16:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend I got to take my Father back to where his patriarchal line originated in Bradford on Tone and Taunton in Somerset England. It was such a privilege to get to show him around and help him experience some of the lives of his ancestors. We stayed in a Yalland's bed and breakfast farmhouse near Taunton. The room we had actually existed at the time our ancestors were there. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my mind around the 1600s and the 1700s.

I took Dad out to my favorite place, the Somerset Heritage Centre and he agreed to be my assistant for some research there for a couple of days. The people there were so kind and generous to us. Phil Hawking was very attentive when we had questions and did lots of work to help us uncover more information about our ancestors. We came home with scores of images that I now get to go through. When Dad's grandfather first wrote the Vicar in Bradford on Tone around the turn of the century and the Vicar started sending him information about his family from the parish records there, he wrote that a "most enjoyable pastime" ensued as he tried to piece together the records of his family. I know just how that must have felt.

Dad came face to face with the wills and deeds I found last year of his 5th and 6th great grandparents. It is so mind boggling to see the signatures and wax seals on these documents that you know where signed before the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States were signed. It makes everything so real. Even that old.

Dad helped me go through the parish registers that hold the records of his patriarchal line. We digitized several years of records off the microfilm with Dad running the microfilm reader and me running the computer. It was nice to sit together with him and fun to hear him say, "There's a Carpenter, there's a Carpenter." We found the marriage records and christening records for many of his ancestors and we're going to have fun going back through and documenting and piecing together the siblings and the families. Though my university administrator Dad knows how to research, you couldn't call him a genealogist, but I think he had fun.

We went to the church in Bradford on Tone where all of these parish records were created. Here he is with the christening font in the church. I don't know how old the font is but this is the place where generations of his family were christened. It is amazing to think this is where they went to church.

We had a wonderful dinner at the White Horse Inn again. The people there have been so gracious to us when we have visited and the food is wonderful. It has been really nice to visit there as many times as I have. I feel so blessed to have been able to take my children and my father there now and it is so fulfilling to have been able to have been able to share this trip with my family reaching up and down.

We went to High Street in Taunton where Dad's Great Grandfather was born and where his Great-Great Grandfather had a grocery store. I haven't been able to figure out where exactly they lived but they lived somewhere on this block that is now a nice pedestrian mall. We had a nice walk in the morning around Taunton.

We visited the churches in Taunton where some of Dad's ancestors were married. I lucked out this time and every church we went to was open. It was so exciting to go in and see where these people were married and where they went to church. We found a Congregationalist church that was built when Dad's Great Grandfather was a young child just down the street from where his family lived. He grew up to leave the Anglican church and become a Congregationalist minister. So I'm wondering if that new church had something to do with his going into the ministry. More research to do. :) Here's Dad in front of St. James church where his fifth great grandparents were married just over 250 years ago.

And as a final treat, after we came back into London, the next day we went out to find the plot in the Gravesend Cemetery where many members of this family came to be buried. I hadn't scoped this site out before so when we walked in and found this fantastic tombstone it was a great surprise for me. It listed the seven family members buried there including Dad's Great-Grandparents and Great-Great Grandparents. The tombstone was in wonderful shape and had a wealth of genealogical information on it. Such a fantastic find.

So on my way to speaking at the Who Do You Think You Are Conference this year, we had our own who do you think you are tour. It was fantastic. Simply lovely.

Spring Utah Genealogical Association Conference

2013-02-09T06:00:00.005-07:00

The UGA South Davis Family History Fair April 19-20 at Woods Cross High School.

Friday evening's session will be DENISE MAY LEVENICK, "The Family Curator", speaker and author of "How to Archive Family Keepsakes: Learn How to Preserve Family Photos, Memorabilia and Genealogy Records" The title for her presentation is "Treasures in the Attic: Every Keepsake Has a Story." This will begin at 7:00 pm Friday evening and is free to the public.

Saturday's program will start at 8 am with a keynote address by DAVID RENCHER, AG, CG, FIGRS, FUGA, the Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch - entitled "Preserve the Pensions – The Community Makes a Difference!"

On Saturday, the fair will have classes on many different subjects relating to family history and great vendors will be showing all the newest in Family History products.

Cost for the fair is only $10.00 for UGA members and $15.00 for non-UGA attendees. The cost includes the syllabus on CD containing the handouts for all classes. The printed syllabus will be $15.00 for UGA members and $20.00 for non-UGA attendees. Register at the UGA website UGAgenealogy.org.

Come and join us for the 16th year of this great community event!!

If you would like to attend for free, SIGN UP AS A VOLUNTEER by contacting Kim Mason at kimberrmason@gmail.com.

We'll see you there!

The Grandma Gap introductory sale over tomorrow

2013-02-07T14:30:00.000-07:00

From our newsletter:

I just wanted to post a quick note to remind you that our new book is on sale only until tomorrow. And if you pre-purchase the workbook with it, you'll save even more.

New Zap The Grandma Gap Book Sale Until Friday Feb 8th
We've had such a wonderful response to the release of our first book. Comments like "overflowing with valuable ideas and suggestions" and "must-read for everyone who treasures family history" have been really gratifying. This is the book that will finally help you involve your family in their family history.

The introductory sale has the book at $19.95 (regular $23.95) until tomorrow. During the sale you can also pre-purchase the workbook that goes with the book for a reduced price. Order the Power-Up Workbook at the same $19.95 price (regular $23.95) and we'll pay the shipping when the book comes out in March. Click here and you can save $13.00 on both books until tomorrow. Enjoy the book now, get started with the ideas, and then when the workbook comes you'll find even more to help you connect to your family.

We know these books will help you leave a strong and stable heritage for the next generations in your family. We're excited to show you a 24 page excerpt of the new workbook. With over 100 pages of amazing ideas and resources, the workbook will really get the ideas flowing about what will work with your family. A 28 page excerpt of the book are on the website as well. Take a look. They are guaranteed to get ideas flowing about what will work with your family.

Have you checked out the new website we created to go with the book? It is full of resources to help families connect with their family history. And there will be more to come. The zapthegrandmagap.com website establishes a gathering place where people can submit their best ideas and learn from each other how to strengthen the coming generation. Included in the site are a multitude of free resources including:

A FREE 28 page excerpt of the book including table of contents.
A FREE 35 page workbook for children to begin to record their own lives and explore their family history
A FREE weekly newsletter with 52 additional ways to engage your family with their family history
FREE 8.5x11 pedigree charts and resources for other genealogy charts
A list of the best resources collected from all over the web
Links to the FREE Zap the Grandma Gap blog, facebook and twitter feeds with additional ideas for connecting your family with their past.
And more resources to come.

Zap the Grandma Gap : Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka and Zap The Grandma Gap: Power Up Workbook: The Particulars About How To Connect Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka are on sale until tomorrow at $19.95 (regular $23.95). You can purchase them now at zapthegrandmagap.com.

FREE Resources on how to teach your family members about genealogy

2013-02-05T06:46:00.000-07:00

Have you checked out the new website yet? Here are the FREE Resources at ZapTheGrandmaGap.com

FREE Email Newsletter—52 weeks of great ways to engage your family with their family history.
FREE Downloads—35 page workbook for children, pedigree charts, activities for the whole family.
FREE Resource Collection—The greatest ideas from all over the web collected in one convenient place.
FREE Connections—Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Submit Ideas. Get involved and share your ideas about connecting with your family. Bring your best ideas and help us build a gathering place where people can learn from each other about how to strengthen the coming generations and preserve our history.

10 Innovative Ideas To Engage Your Family With Their Family History

2013-02-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

10 Innovative Ideas To Engage Your Family With Their Family History From The Book: Zap The Grandma Gap: Connect To Your Family By Connecting Them To Their Family History.

When you find yourself sounding just like your father, or just like your mother, stop and tell your family members about where and from whom those sayings come. When little superstitions or quirky or profound sayings come up, point out their origin and make a teaching moment happen with a story or a picture. (pg 117)
If family history is boring then you are doing it wrong. Family history encompasses all sorts of topics, music, language, culture, food, fashion, etc, etc. Move to the part that interests your family and find out what your ancestors were doing with that favorite aspect of your history. (page 34)
Keeping good track of the sources for your family history information is critical because source citations give future generations something to build on. Well documented sources will help others in analyzing and building on your research and will be crucial to future family member's successes. (pg 156)
Most likely the everyday food you cook already contains a mixture of the recipes that were handed down from your family members. Record your family recipes and make sure your family knows a little bit about the people who cooked those recipes before you. When there are tricky instructions, make an event out of making the food together so that the next generations can continue the tradition. (pg 113)
Encouraging journal keeping helps a person think through what is going on in their lives and preserves the present for future generations. Likewise, when a mother or father, grandmother or grandfather, aunt or uncle consistently records the love they have for the children in their family and keeps a record of the cute things they do, they create a great keepsake for the coming generation. (pg 95)
Look for the time period and culture of your ancestors in the entertainment you choose. Try their genre of music. Point out similarities in movies or TV series that relate to your ancestor's lives. Even family movie night could produce more understanding about the cultural forces that helped to form your family. (pg 120)
Creating a time capsule can help your family members think about their future family and what life will be like at a later time. When creating the capsule, share an artifact or heirloom from your family's past and talk about how important the decisions they make now are to the future generations in your family. (pg 91)
Use the Library of Alexandria Rule to make sure your family history information survives into future generations. The more copies there are of your family records, the more likely they are to survive. Share, share, share your family history information so that it is disseminated and thus preserved for someone to be able to find a copy later. (pg 184)
Don't worry if you need to resort to incentives or even bribery to engage your family member's help with a family history project. Many hard core genealogists will tell you that they first became involved because their grandparent paid them to help with their family history efforts. (pg 64)
Curiosity is best encouraged when you don't over program the youth in your family. Give them a problem you've been working on and encourage them to help you find more. Even if you think you know everything about a particular part of your family, you'll be amazed if you stand back and watch where they go with it. (pg 35)

Finally I get to tell you--engaging my kids over Christmas Vacation (NEW BLOG announcement)

2013-01-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

So with the launch of the book.. (Have you seen it yet? It's really good ;) Here's an excerpt.)
I can finally tell you about the AWESOME thing we did over Christmas vacation. We took the kids to see Trefusis Farm.

So this is the backdrop on my computer now. Makes me soooooo happy.

Totally, no way, the absolute coolest. Obviously words fail.. I wrote all about it on my new blog--Zapthegrandmagap.blogspot.com. You know how you have to be careful about telling people you are out of town and all that.. Well I could write about it over there because none of you knew about that blog yet. Don't worry. Now that the book is done, I'll be blogging lots more here too. But over on the new blog we're going to be posting all sorts of new ideas about engaging your family with their family history. Lots and lots to talk about in both places. You'll want to keep your eye out..

Let me know what you think.

Announcing.....Zap the Grandma Gap!

2013-01-29T08:16:00.002-07:00

Finally.. I can tell you why I've been a little quiet this past couple of months. I've done it. My book is here and the new website is ready and I'm so so so excited to tell you about it!

Here's the press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
29 January 2013

Are the youth in your family more attached to their iPod or laptop screen than they are to you? How do you connect to your family members and form the kind of close relationships that will support and strengthen them as they grow into successful and grounded adults? Teaching your children and grandchildren, nieces and nephews, and even your brothers and sisters about their family history can create strong bonds in your family and become a framework that protects and empowers your relationships. Family history connects family members in a way that is personal and unique to your family. It especially gives children the power to identify with personal heroes, learn life lessons and gain a broad, wise perspective on life.

You may be thinking, sure but my family’s eyes roll back in their heads and they suddenly have pressing engagements they have to attend to when we start to talk about family history. Super Grandma comes to the rescue. In the new book Zap the Grandma Gap : Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History, you’ll find specific ideas, examples and step by step instructions to take your family history from snoring and boring to exciting and inviting. Super Grandma will teach you all the tips and tricks to connect you and your family back to your own super grandmas and grandpas in simple and easy ways that will bind your family together and strengthen your relationships.

You’ll find specific tips on ideas such as:

Applying your family history to your current family member’s interests
Utilizing social networking to teach your family about their past
Honoring past family members through the plants inside and landscaping around your home
Exploring your ancestor’s skills and talents by creating a project or taking a class together
Establishing traditional food heritage such as historic family recipes or even a gingerbread house of the family home
Collecting and archiving the jewels in your family history to ensure future curiosity
Navigating the rough spots in your family history

Along with the launch of the book, a new website has been created full of resources to help families connect with their family history. The website zapthegrandmagap.com establishes a gathering place where people can submit their best ideas and learn from each other how to strengthen the coming generation. Included in the site are a multitude of free resources including:

A FREE 28 page excerpt of the book including table of contents.
A FREE 35 page workbook for children to begin to record their own lives and explore their family history
A FREE weekly newsletter with 52 additional ways to engage your family with their family history
FREE 8.5x11 pedigree charts and resources for other genealogy charts
A comprehensive list of resources collected from all over the web
Links to the FREE Zap the Grandma Gap blog, facebook and twitter feeds with additional ideas for connecting your family with their past.

Early reviews include:

"If you are looking for concrete ideas for sharing your family history and inspiring the next generation, look no further than this book. The personal stories and worthwhile activities make this an enjoyable read, and an ongoing resource to every genealogist. Janet's passion for the power of family history in the lives of today's busy families shines throughout the pages!" Lisa Louise Cooke, Author and host of The Genealogy Gems Podcast.
“Janet Hovorka has provided a book overflowing with valuable ideas and suggestions for involving the "younger" generation in genealogy, perhaps without them even knowing about what you are trying to do. This book succeeds in being both entertaining and informative in a way that makes sense rather than preaches.” James Tanner, author of The Guide to FamilySearch Online and genealogysstar.blogspot.com.
“Zap the Grandma Gap is a handy toolbox brimming with inspiration and ideas for getting the “family” into family history. You’ll be grateful for the guidance as well as the casual and supportive way in which it is delivered.” Amy Coffin, author of wetree.blogspot.com and The Big Genealogy Blog Book.
“This book is a must-read for everyone who treasures family history and wants to make it come alive for future generations." Suzanne Curley Director, Riverton FamilySearch Library
“Zap The Grandma Gap is not only a good read but a great reference book for creating fun family centered activities that treasures and builds firm family values.” Holly T. Hansen, President Family History Expos Inc.

Zap the Grandma Gap : Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka is available now at www.zapthegrandmagap.com, at bookstores and by calling 801-872-4278. For it’s initial release, the book will be on sale for $19.95 until Feb 8th at which time the book will return to its regular price of $23.95.

About the Author: Janet Hovorka received a B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern History and a Master's degree in Library and Information Science from BYU. She helped people at the BYU library with their family history research but was completely uninterested in her own. Now, she and her husband Kim Hovorka own Family ChartMasters (www.familychartmasters.com) —official, award winning printers for most of the genealogy software and database companies. She is currently serving as President of the Utah Genealogical Association and teaches courses in library skills and genealogy at Salt Lake Community College. Janet inherited a large amount of genealogy from her mother and grandmother, both wonderful genealogists who lived family history in a way that was attractive and inviting. Eventually Janet woke up to the soul satisfaction of learning about her past. Most recently she has found great joy in encouraging her teenage children's genealogical interests. Understanding the good and the bad in her own family history has helped her deal with her children and husband, and even her extended family in a more healthy way. Janet writes the The Chart Chick blog (www.thechartchick.com), has written for numerous genealogy publications, and has presented 100s of lectures all over the world to help people learn more about their past.

Media kit available upon request.

Zap the Grandma Gap : Connect With Your Family by Connecting Them To Their Family History by Janet Hovorka. Published by Family ChartMasters: Cedar Hills, Utah, 2013. Paperback, $23.95 194pp. ISBN 978-0-9888548-0-2.

TADA! Go take a look. I'm out to change the world!

I LOVE SLIG!

2013-01-17T19:02:00.000-07:00

One of the best things about my affiliation with the Utah Genealogical Association comes this time every year. It has been another wonderful week at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. This is such a fantastic program for really digging in deep to learn all that you can about your family history.The country’s best genealogical educators--the rock stars of genealogy--gather to help you gain expertise in an amazing condensed format and in a fantastic venue. It is the most wonderful way to get intense genealogy education and experience. Different than a regular genealogy conference where you take one hour classes on a multitude of subjects, SLIG is an institute where you take 20 hours of in depth instruction on one topic, such as Advanced Methodologies, Researching in Washington DC, How to Write a Compelling Personal History, Advanced German, etc.

This year I've been taking the British Records course "Researching your British Ancestors: Beyond the Parish Registry." We've learned about everything from court and land records to the East India Company and Non Conformist church records. Apryl Cox, Barbara Baker, John Kitzmiller and Alan Mann have done such a fantastic job I've even loved the classes that haven't directly related to my British ancestors. I've learned alot that I'm going to put into practice when I go back to Who Do You Think You Are Live next month and head back out to the Somerset Record Office. I have all sorts of ideas about what I want to get done before I go and what I'm looking for once I get there. I've learned so much it is hard to sit still in class. You want to be trying out all these great new ideas.

That's why it is brilliant that institute is so close to the library. There are so many things that I would have loved to have run over and tried out, but it was not to be this year. I have been needed at home for various things and my family needed to come first this year since I am traveling so much this spring. But I'm sure I'll be a SLIG attendee for life. I'll be there for many years to come and I'll have lots of opportunities to utilize the library to solidify my SLIG knowledge in the future. And best of all I'll get to see all my great friends that are all Institute junkies too. Everybody always makes good new friends at SLIG.

The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy was established in 1996 by the Utah Genealogical Association, and has become one of the premier genealogy education experiences in the country. Classes are taught in the mornings and finish in the afternoons leaving time for research at the Family History Library. A dozen or so optional evening classes round out the offerings providing a deep educational experience in only five days. Evening Classes are included for conference participants but also available to the public for $10 per class. So, if you aren’t able to come during the day, evening classes provide a great option for learning the latest techniques in a quick and easy format.

The new classes for next year will be announced at the final banquet tomorrow night. You can watch for them on the UGA blog. The hard part is just going to be which one to choose. Registration opens the first week of June. I'm glad I've got until then to decide. Congratulations to Christy Fillerup and her fantastic team, Kimberly Powell, Luana Wentz Darby, Bret Petersen, Peg A Ivanyo, Sherry Stevens, Jill Woodbury, and Valerie Hansen for having everything running so smoothly.

Conference schedule for 2013--so far

2013-01-17T13:31:00.000-07:00

Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. Jan 14-18 in Salt Lake City.

Janet is in seventh heaven with the fantastic instruction at SLIG. Post coming soon.

Family History Expo. January 18-19 in Mesa Arizona.

Erin is unveiling a sneak peak of our new project that we'll be announcing soon.

Who Do You Think You Are Live. February 22-24 London, England

Janet is speaking on "Grandmother’s Bullet Proof Vest: Why Your Children Need To Know Their Family’s History and What To Do About It." Feb 23rd at noon and "Grandpa's on my Ipod: Extending your Family History Using Social Networking and Mobile Devices." on Feb 24th at 11am.

Family History Expo February 22-23rd St. George Utah.

Lara will be exhibiting and showing off our new project.

North Florida Genealogy Conference March 8-9, St. Augustine Florida

Janet will be speaking on "The New Family Tree," "Grandmother’s Bullet Proof Vest: Why Your Children Need To Know Their Family’s History and What To Do About It," and "My Mother's Manipulations: How Mom Turned Me Into A Genealogist Without Really Meaning To."

RootsTech March 21-23rd Salt Lake City, Utah

Janet will be speaking on "The Cool Parts of Genealogy: Engaging My Teenagers Case Study" at 3pm on Thursday. and Library of Alexandria Rule: Research Survival for the Digital Age at 11am on Saturday.

UGA Spring Conference April 19-20 in Woods Cross Utah.
National Genealogical Society Conference May 8-11 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Janet will be speaking on“Magnifying Glass, Wide-Angle Lens or Telescope? Charts To Visualize and Share Your Family Tree” at 9:30 am on 11 May

Southern California Genealogical Society Jamboree June 7-9 Burbank, California

Janet will be speaking on "Double Your Membership, Double Your Fun: The UGA Case Study" at 11am June 7, "Beyond Scotch Tape: Charts to Fascinate Your Family" at 3:30 on June 8th. and "Let's Get This Party Started, Family History Conferences For The Whole Family." at 2:30 on June 9th.

Congratulations to our great friends.

2012-12-11T10:26:00.003-07:00

I've been a little slow lately with some much needed congratulations. We have had several good friends with big announcements and we want to wish them our warmest best wishes. Lots and lots of Kudos to:

RootsMagic

Latest Version of Genealogy and Family Tree Software Now Available to the Public

SPRINGVILLE, Utah. — November 19, 2012 — RootsMagic, Inc. today announced the official release of RootsMagic 6, the latest version of the award-winning genealogy software which makes researching, organizing, and sharing your family history easy and enjoyable. With this release comes an update to the popular “RootsMagic Essentials” free genealogy software.

Family History Made Easy

Family Tree Magazine said RootsMagic is “probably the best all-around genealogy program" and "offers a winning combination of features for both casual and serious genealogists.”
Throughout it’s 11-year history, RootsMagic has helped people research and share their family trees with innovative features such as moving people from one file to another with your mouse, a SourceWizard to help you document your work, creating a Shareable CD to give to family and friends, and running RootsMagic off of a USB flash drive when you are away from home. RootsMagic has also received numerous awards, including the award for “Easiest to Sync” from FamilySearch for their work in interfacing with that system.

New Features

RootsMagic 6 adds many new features while making existing features even easier to use. “This release includes something for everybody,” said Bruce Buzbee, president. “Whether you want an easier way to share your family history with family or are looking for better tools to help you organize your work, RootsMagic 6 has something new for you.” New features include:

Online Publishing - Easily share your information online, including notes, sources, and pictures. Choose which information to include, then publish it to your own page at my.RootsMagic.com.
Live Timeline View - A live-edit panel on RootsMagic's timeline view makes this one of the most powerful editing features ever! Make corrections to your data while viewing it in context with other family members life events.
Find Everywhere - With a single search you can now find every record in your file containing the text you want. Quickly find people, families, notes, sources, places, to-do items, research logs, and more. Then edit those found records directly from the search results.
WebTags - Link people, sources, places, and more to websites using RootsMagic 6's new WebTags.
CountyCheck Explorer - Look up a county, state, or country from a multi-national database. It can even show you online maps of county boundaries for that date.
Plus dozens of other enhancements and features

Free “RootsMagic Essentials”

RootsMagic 6 is also available in an updated, free edition named, “RootsMagic 6 Essentials”. RootsMagic Essentials contains many core features from the RootsMagic software and the two products are fully-compatible with one another. “Many people are curious about their family history and don’t know where to begin,” said Michael Booth, vice president. “RootsMagic Essentials is the perfect way for someone to get started, risk-free.” RootsMagic Essentials is available for download at http://www.rootsmagic.com.

Available Now

RootsMagic 6 is now available online at http://www.rootsmagic.com or by calling 1-800-766-8762. New users may purchase RootsMagic 6 for only $29.95. Users of previous versions of RootsMagic and it’s predecessor, Family Origins may purchase RootsMagic 6 for the upgrade price of only $19.95.

Genealogy Gems

(SAN FRANCISCO, California) – December 11, 2012 – Sometime over the first busy holiday in December 2012, The Genealogy Gems Podcast reached an incredible milestone: 1 Million Episode Downloads!

In early 2007 when the first episode was published by Lisa Louise Cooke, podcasting was in its infancy, having just come into being in mid-2005. “It was like being part of a new Wild West of technology,” says Cooke, a genealogist since the age of about 10. “For the first time anyone with an interesting idea, a computer, and a willingness to work long hours could produce a worldwide ‘radio’ show. The day I listened to a podcast for the first time, I knew this medium was what I had been waiting for to reach genealogists.”

Apparently a lot of other folks were also anxiously waiting for Cooke’s discovery. From long time genealogists to dabbling family history newbies, they flocked to the free podcast available through Apple’s iTunes Store and the Genealogy Gems website (www.genealogygems.com). Over the next five years they listened in to soak up genealogy research strategies, expert interviews, tips on harnessing the power of technology in their research, and creative ideas for sharing their findings.

“There’s a lot of noise out there online that can be overwhelming,” says Cooke. “My goal has always been to spend my time sifting through all of that information, and chiseling out the gems – the items that are really worthwhile – so that my listeners can have faster and greater success . Ultimately the genealogy gems I provide on the show lead to my listener’s genealogy gems: their precious ancestors!”

What started as a single podcast episode has turned in to a multi-media genealogy publishing company. Genealogy Gems now encompasses offerings, many that are free, that accommodate every learning style: audio, video, articles, books, dvds, toolbar, live classes, and online webinars. The Genealogy Gems mobile app (available in the iTunes App Store, and an Android version through
Amazon) gives genealogists the flexibility to hit the road and take it all with them.

“I speak at events across the U.S. and internationally,” says Cooke, who will be a featured speaker at Who Do You Think You Are? Live in London for the third consecutive year in February 2013, “but not everyone can get out to a genealogy conference. It’s critical to me that we meet people where they are, and that’s what the Genealogy Gems website, YouTube channel, app, and toolbar are all about. The fact that the podcast has now been downloaded 1 million times confirms that that we are accomplishing that goal.”

And My Heritage

MyHeritage acquires Geni.com and raises $25m in new funding round

Family history network buys rival and advances international expansion with new funds

LOS ANGELES, California, PROVO, Utah & TEL AVIV, Israel – November 28, 2012 – MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, announced today it has acquired long-time rival Geni.com and closed a new USD$25M funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP), with existing investors Index Ventures and Accel Partners also participating. Geni.com Founder David Sacks and BVP Partner Adam Fisher are joining the MyHeritage Board of Directors.

The acquisition reinforces MyHeritage’s position as a global power player in the family history industry and accelerates its vision of helping families everywhere build and share their legacy online. The purchase of Geni.com is the eighth and largest acquisition made by MyHeritage since the launch of its online family history network in 2005. It extends MyHeritage’s network to 72 million registered users, 1.5 billion profiles and 27 million family trees, containing the most internationally diverse family history content in the world.

The new investment round will be used by MyHeritage to boost growth of its historical content services and expand commercial operations worldwide. In addition to acquiring significant record collections from Europe and rolling out global crowd-sourcing projects, the funds will enable MyHeritage to explore additional M&A opportunities and ramp up its international marketing operations. The latest funding round brings the total funds raised so far by MyHeritage to USD$49 million.

“Exploring and curating one's family past is both a timeless and universal hobby pursued by hundreds of millions of people around the world; I personally grew my own family tree to include more than 2,500 people,” said BVP Partner Adam Fisher. “The freemium model of MyHeritage/Geni not only makes online family history accessible to the casual user, but underscores the importance of user generated data to the product offering itself, which grows every day. As the international market leader with an aggressive expansion plan, we see tremendous value in their subscription business and are excited to work closely with Gilad and his team as they build on their success.”

“Today’s news is a major turning-point for the family history industry, giving us significant new resources to extend our market leadership and deliver new value to families worldwide,” said Founder and CEO of MyHeritage, Gilad Japhet. “Well established as an innovative and social brand, Geni.com is a natural addition to MyHeritage and together we look forward to taking collaborative family history to new heights. Over the past few years our dedicated workforce has transformed MyHeritage from a garage start-up into a successful, dynamic and global company. With new funds, impressive new talent from Geni.com and new world-class leaders on our Board, we look forward to fulfilling our potential and accomplishing our mission to bring family history to the masses.”

Founded in 2007, Geni.com is well known as a pioneer in collaborative family tree building with its focus on creating the World Family Tree, and enjoys a large following in the US. Geni.com will continue to operate as a separate brand based out of its California office, which will also serve as the main engineering hub for MyHeritage in the US, alongside its main content offices in Utah. The entire staff at Geni.com will join the MyHeritage team.

The services of MyHeritage and Geni.com will initially run independently. MyHeritage plans to give respective users the option to collaborate on family history research by enabling two-way information flows between the sites that will facilitate new family discoveries and provide greater value to the users of both services.

Users from both sites will be able to discover long-lost relatives and new ancestral connections through MyHeritage’s Smart Matching technology, which finds common matches between family trees. To add new color to the ancestries of Geni.com users, MyHeritage will apply its recently launched Record Matching™ technology that matches historical records, such as birth, death, census and immigration records, to individuals in Geni.com family trees. Geni.com users will be able to enjoy extended offerings provided by MyHeritage including DNA kits for genetic genealogy.

Geni.com Founder, David Sacks, a renowned entrepreneur, and most recently the Founder and CEO of Yammer (sold to Microsoft in June 2012 for $1.2 billion), will take a seat on the Board of Directors. David’s contributions as a visionary in the family history field, combined with his sharp eye for product, make him a strategic addition to MyHeritage management.

“What we've learned over the years building Geni is that there are three key assets that customers want in the genealogy space: records, private trees, and the world family tree. This deal brings together all of these pieces to form the most complete offering in the genealogy space. Together with MyHeritage, we look forward to continuing Geni's mission of connecting humanity through a single family tree”, said Founder of Geni.com David Sacks.

We are so thankful for such wonderful friends and partners in these companies. We appreciate the value they bring to the genealogy community. If you haven't tried out their products lately--we highly suggest you do.

Cat's Cradle--the perfect generational bridge.

2012-12-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

Did your ancestors
play this game?

How long has it been since you've played Cat's Cradle? Your ancestors probably played it. Do your children and grandchildren know how? Cat's Cradle is a fun game that only needs a length of string and two people to create an intriguing challenge that will help your children explore the past.

Playing Cat's Cradle is a perfect example of how you can connect with your kids by connecting them with their past. Play it with them for a while and see what fun ensues. If you need instructions, take a look here and here. It can be a great inter-generational game. The older people in your family can probably teach the next generations a thing or two.

I've been in two situations lately where we've been playing historical games with kids and it's been so fun to watch modern day kids get so enthralled with the games their grandmothers played. Be sure to tell some stories about your ancestor's childhoods while you are playing.

This blog post is reprinted from our newsletter. You can sign up too.

The Perfect Gift

2012-11-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite time of the year for a number of reasons. But one of the biggest reasons is because of all the fantastic family history gifts we get to help people create. We are in the thick of our Christmas rush already and loving every minute of it. I love to help people honor their family history and make their holiday celebrations more meaningful. We'd love to help you too.

Reprinted from our newsletter.
What do you get them for the holidays? The annual problem is rearing it's head again this time of year. Especially for parents and grandparents? What can you do to express your love and appreciation, something important and yet at a realistic cost?

And the kids... Not another gadget or toy they don't really need. What can you do to strengthen their self esteem and pull them in tighter to their family?

Let us help you create the perfect gift. Just send us your family's information--in any format--and let us help you create a beautiful family heirloom custom chart that will be appreciated for years to come.

We've appreciated some of the recent comments we've heard...

"President Porter and I visited and he again thanked us for his chart. He said it is a magnet for his grandchildren when they come for a visit. They love to find themselves on the chart and see how they fit into this wonderful family. Please pass this along to your staff and let them know that what they do makes a difference in the lives of 1000's of people around the world." Dave D.

And with all the family gathering for holiday celebrations, what a great way to get everyone involved. "I just wanted you to know that our Family Chart was a big hit. We had 100 cousins participate in our Family Reunion and they loved finding their names on the chart. We had a Meet and Greet game that involved the chart and we were off and running for a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for your help. The chart is beautiful." Kathy N.

It's all in the way you present it. Let us help you present your history to your family in a visual way, with context in time and place, and your family will start to become curious.

Early Bird Sale

2012-11-17T07:47:00.000-07:00

We have a great sale going on.

The holidays are the perfect time to engage your family with their family history. Draw them in with visuals that grab them and a portrait of the times, places, and relationships of your family's past. Our beautiful custom genealogy charts are just the thing to encourage curiosity. Send your genealogy information in for a free appraisal and we'll work back and forth with you to create a beautiful representation of of your family.

Our holiday gift rush is heating up. If you can get your chart started right away, you'll be able to avoid the rush and get all the time and attention your family's history deserves. And with a free appraisal and free shipping on orders placed by November 26th, you'll save money too.

Happy Halloween

2012-10-31T16:34:00.000-06:00

Teenager update--Trading for Family History

2012-10-30T16:15:00.000-06:00

Plug in to your family

From our Newsletter

One of the things I've tried recently with my kids is to "trade" them for family history. I'll play their video game or do something else they want me to do with them for an hour, in trade for them letting me give them a tour of their family history. It as worked remarkably well and I highly suggest you give it a try with your family. I have learned a lot about their interests, which has strengthened our relationship--a great thing in and of itself. But then they've been quite patient with me as I've plugged them in to some of the things they can learn about their history. There have been a few "hmmm" and "wow" moments that I know will only strengthen their sense of self and grounding in their roots. Every little piece of the puzzle helps put together that big picture that I want them to have as adults. Give it a try. And let me know how it goes.

Genealogy could be boring because....

2012-10-28T16:10:00.000-06:00

From our newsletter.

When you start talking about your family's history do your family members suddenly have a "pressing engagement?" Do you see eyes rolling when you show your latest find to your children? Why are genealogists so misunderstood? Why don't your family members get how cool this all is?

Maybe your genealogy is boring because you haven't been using your pictures enough. I just found a new picture for my family tree today on Wikipedia of all places--a super exciting find. And like your family members, I was so excited to see the similarities, to see what my ancestor was really like. One of your best friends in going from snoring and boring, to exciting and inviting is the pictures in your family's history.

We love creating genealogy picture charts to help you show off your family tree. I think my mom eventually turned me into a genealogist by having those pictures on the wall. But a chart goes even further--it gives you context with the time and places of each persons life. The graphical representation of your family is a great communication tool. You might try pulling them in visually. We would love to help you create a beautiful, distinct chart. We start with a personal appraisal of your genealogy information, and then create an unique presentation just for your loved ones.

As I've said many times, family history is all in the way you tell it. No one

Modern and antique photos combined together can be the best genealogy bait.

will turn down a chance to look at a picture of their Great Grandfather who looked like them, see their father's report card, or find out about the trouble their Grandmother got into as a child. It's all in the way you present it. Let us help you present your history to your family in a visual way, with context in time and place, and your family will start to become curious.

Kudos to Erin

2012-10-22T17:50:00.001-06:00

Erin's been racking up the kudos lately. Here are a few of them:

Just wanted to let you know that the charts have been received by Paul and Ake Sellin and they are very surprised and thrilled. Thanks so very much for all your work.

Helen

Dear Erin

Saw Dad on Saturday and he loved his family chart.

Thanks for all the work you put into it.

Regards

Judith

The chart was a big hit and was a great generator of family stories. I think we talked more at that reunion than at any other.

I did get a picture of Archibald Douglas Leafgreen as an adult and I do need to make add a sibling for Milton Leafgreen. Milton had an older sister
named Emma born August 28, 1853 in New Sweden, Jefferson County, Iowa. She died April 9, 1924 in Fairfield, Jefferson County, Iowa.

This time when you print it for me I would like it to be something I can frame.

Thanks so much for making this a great reunion.
S. Leafgreen

Hello Erin,

We received our Family Tree Chart...The work was beautifully done, we are so pleased with it, and know it will be a hit at our family reunion. Even though this will be a interactive chart, we know that it will serve a purpose in gathering the information we need to complete our family history. We look forward to working with you again.

Thank you and your company for your hard work and service. We will pass it forward your good work of Art!!!!!

Roxanne M

More Happy Grandparents

PRESIDENT PORTER AND I VISITED AND HE AGAIN THANKED US FOR HIS CHART. HE SAID IT IS A MAGNET FOR HIS GRANDCHILDREN WHEN THEY COME FOR A VISIT. THEY LOVE TO FIND THEMSELVES ON THE CHART AND SEE HOW THEY FIT INTO THIS WONDERFUL FAMILY. PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO YOUR STAFF AND LET THEM KNOW THAT WHAT THEY DO MAKES A DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF 1000'S OF PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD. NOT A LOT OF JOBS HAVE THAT KIND OF A PAYBACK. SO THE NEXT TIME A COMPUTER CRASHES, THE PRINTER JAMS, THE POST OFFICE DESTROYS A CHART OR A CUSTOMER MAKES A CRAZY REQUEST, TAKE A DEEP BREATH AND KNOW THAT IT IS ALL WORTH IT. HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A GREAT WEDNESDAY AND THE REST OF THE WEEK.

Dave D.

I just wanted you to know that our Family Chart was a big hit. We had 100 cousins participate in our Family Reunion and they loved finding their names on the chart.
We had a Meet and Greet game that involved the chart and we were off and running for a wonderful weekend. Thanks so much for your help. The chart is beautiful.
Kathy N.

I just wanted you to know that the wall chart was a highlight of our reunion of 300 cousins (of the approx 800 in the tree). It was about 2 feet shorter than the wall!

Each person present put a 1/4" removable coloured dot beside his/her name to show attendance.

Sorry I don't have a better photo.

Thanks again for your help.

Marilyn T.

Hi Erin,

Received my charts Monday, look great!!!!! I know that they will be a big hit at the family reunion next month. Thanks for the prompt service. I couldn't be happier.

Paul

We are so lucky to have Erin. If you want to create a fantastic chart, Erin has an amazing sense of design, an incredible sense of service and an attention to detail that continually amazes me. You can send her a file to look at through our new Personal Appraisal Page. We'll get started right away on a masterpiece for you.