Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

No, we haven't fallen off of the face of the earth... just got busy with other stuff. Promise to get back to blogging once we get into January.

My oldest daughter is in town visiting from college and it's good to have her home. I only have one more week with her, though.

Happy Veterans Day!

I thought for the next few days I'd start of list of ancestors (on both my side and Gene's side) who have served in the military (that I'm aware of).

Well... I got started on this list... and now it's taken all day and I've not got so many people's names as I do stories..

So the list will come! Happy Friday!

Histories added

Histories were added to the Peck blog today: Annie Alazana Peck Gold, Everett Van Orden Peck, Flora Ann Cable Mayer, Charlotte Amelia Peck Marsh, Martin Horton Peck and George Mayer.

Happy November!

Not sure where Edwin went.

Edwin Williams (younger brother of my great great grandfather, George Williams) is the topic of discussion today on the Williams blog. Hoping to get some other family group sheets up and linked today as well.

It's Friday! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Now... there's a blog for the Peck family!

Today I got the Peck family blog up and running... with a link to a book published in 1868  (as I remember). Really interesting stuff. Here comes another plug for http://www.archive.org/... Many of these older books are now part of the public domain and have been scanned and uploaded for everyone to use (sometimes there are multiple copies uploaded). You can read the books in all kinds of formats - including saving the book as a pdf for your own computer.

Visit http://www.archive.org/ and then search for a city or a person (perferably from a long time ago)... and who knows what you might find! For the one I linked to on the Peck blog all I did was search for Joseph Peck, my ancestor that came from England in 1638.

More folks coming to America...

Today I've updated the Watson page (see the side link) as I found the ship manifest for when Kate Watson and her four children (Annie, Eva, Charles and Alfred) arrived in New York on the Ship Vaderland in November 1880. Just imagine being 7 months pregnant with 4 kids in tow -- traveling steerage. Still haven't found Shadrach Charles on a ship manifest yet... but he didn't get there too much before she did.

General Conference... and family history

As an adult, I've been lucky that at almost every General Conference I am with family.

In college I generally spent conference weekend with Grandma and Grandpa Nelson (Fred and Leona). We would spend the hours in between conference labeling pictures, telling stories... and just enjoying the time together. Often it was just me (or me and Gene) with them... I remember one year when between sessions Gene and Grandpa were in the front rose bed trying to dig up the water line to find a leak... and Grandma and I sat on the porch and watched and talked. They're not here anymore. I sure do miss them.

When my older kids were little we went to Kanab most often to visit Grandpa and Grandma Gold for conference. We'd come and enjoy other cousins and their kids and have a great time.

Now in Texas we head up to my parents' place and almost all of my siblings and their families that are in Texas get together and we play and watch conference. It's a quick weekend, but it's relaxing and fun to be together.

During the Saturday afternoon session of conference Elder Bednar spoke about family history, and I thought I'd share... (I've added the bold for emphasis).


"Elder Russell M. Nelson has taught that the Spirit of Elijah is “a manifestation of the Holy Ghost bearing witness of the divine nature of the family”. This distinctive influence of the Holy Ghost draws people to identify, document, and cherish their ancestors and family members—both past and present.


The Spirit of Elijah affects people inside and outside of the Church. However, as members of Christ’s restored Church, we have the covenant responsibility to search out our ancestors and provide for them the saving ordinances of the gospel. “They without us should not be made perfect” (Hebrews 11:40; see also Teachings: Joseph Smith, 475). And “neither can we without our dead be made perfect” (D&C 128:15).


For these reasons we do family history research, build temples, and perform vicarious ordinances. For these reasons Elijah was sent to restore the sealing authority that binds on earth and in heaven. We are the Lord’s agents in the work of salvation and exaltation that will prevent “the whole earth [from being] smitten with a curse” (D&C 110:15) when He returns again. This is our duty and great blessing."

So little time, so much to do.

President Wilford Woodruff

This quote from Wilford Woodruff pretty much sums up how I've been feeling the last month or so - not about any line in particular - but about all of my ancestors.

Oh I wish many times that the veil were lifted off the face of the Latter-day Saints. I wish we could see and know the things of God as they are laboring for the salvation of the human family who are in the spirit world; for if this were so, this whole people, with very few, if any exceptions, would lose all interest in the riches of the world, and instead thereof their whole desires and labors would be directed to redeem their dead. -President Wilford Woodruff

What a Strange family!

I put some updates on the Williams blog... particularly about the Strange family - Robert and Mary Strange of Brinkworth, Wiltshire, England!

Also ordered some death certificates from the GRO (General Register Office in England) today -- and ONLINE! The internet... gotta love it!

Another Update - Slack family

The Slack family on the Parker line has had some major update this morning. Lots of stories - including one that's pretty sad.

Have a wonderful weekend... I've got a Flaming Arrow District training day to finish preparing for -- it's tomorrow... and even a talk for Church to finish as well.

Watson Family now has a blog

I created the Watson Family blog... and it's now linked at the right.

Hope everyone's having a great Wednesday!

Just Write It Down! (now)

As I've been researching my mother's Williams line I'm continually grateful for the little bit that my great grandfather did write down about his life. George Rolland Williams at least has given me some clues to find the rest of a paper trail  (where one exists). The three sentences that he wrote about his coming to America has been  at least helpful. He told us he was four years old, that he came on the Ship Hudson, and that he came with the Erastus Snow Company across the plains (actually, that's turned out to not be true, but close).

So... George Rolland at least wrote something down... what about you? (and me!)

What greater legacy could you leave behind

For your family than a part of YOU?

-- A treasured bit from YOUR heart and mind, 

And a bit of your spirit, too?

In the years to come it could mean a lot--

That story about you --

Your experiences -- your special thoughts --

And your testimony too.

Then write it down in black and white --

Write it down without delay,

While the memory is burning bright,

Tuck a bit of you away.

And somewhere down the paths ahead, 

The words you wrote will all be read --

You'll speak to them -- your love they'll feel, 

They'll remember YOU with a love that's real.

And the testimony your story imparts

Could stir new faith within their hearts!

-Linnie Parker Gold


... and the Williams line got an update today!

Williams line

I updated the Williams blog twice today... amazing things were discovered.

Now if only it would rain!

Time at the Family History Center

Since my last post, I've spent time at least once a week at my local Family History Center. Kudos to the great people who work at the Kingwood Texas Stake Family History Center.

I've spent time on the computers - mainly using ancestry.com which is free when I use it at the FHC. I've tried using findmypast.co.uk, but it is not as user friendly as ancestry.com. Maybe I'll try it again. I do love using the online databases, because the indicies created can find records so much faster than I ever could!

Otherwise, I've also spent time on the microfilm reader. We had the transparent belt (not sure what it's called) come off of the high magnification reader that I use... so yesterday we learned how to put that back together. :)

Another great website I've found recently (especially if you have relatives buried in Utah) is namesinstone.com - they match the map of the cemetery up with the sexton's record of where someone is buried. Wow! I have a 3rd great grandmother (Mary Jones Slack) that we knew the location of her grave, but there is no headstone. I found her on the namesinstone.com (ironically, her name isn't in stone) website and now I think I should be able to walk right to where she is buried the next time I get to the Salt Lake City Cemetery.

Happy searching! I'll be updating the Williams today... so much I've learned!

Visit to the Family History Center

A few days ago, I went to our Stake's family history center for the first time in eons... 'cause I wanted to order some films for Wiltshire, England (Calne, Brinkworth, Fyfield, etc). On the door was a sign about how starting the next day (August 24th) folks would be able to order them online. Wow! Course, I didn't wait and ordered the 6 films I wanted through the family history center. However, yesterday I checked the online ordering website - I love it! Think I'll be ordering films for Ramsbury shortly, ONLINE!

All of this is for research into a branch of my Williams line... I realized the Sumbler, Dixon and Strange lines I didn't have enough documentation for... and I have some MAJOR questions. Some I've answered already thanks to some parish registers online - still lots of work to do there.

Have a great Thursday!

A new look...

After more than two years of nothing new here, I finally have redesigned some things and even updated the links... so you can now get to those histories, pedigree charts and family group sheets!

Happy Reading!