November Genealogy Blog Party : Thankful


I love the month of November for many reasons. But one of my favorite things about this month is getting to reflect and give thanks for the things we have in our lives. Today, I want to give thanks for what has helped me with my family history. 

#1 – I am thankful for the Ancestry company at ancestry.com. They made family history go from just a hobby to something I wanted to spend my life and career doing. They helped me find family that I thought were lost forever. My grandfather was in foster care so I never had much information on his family until ancestry DNA changed my whole life. I was able to find my grandfathers family with so many pictures of my ancestors. I would have never had those priceless pictures if it wasn’t for ancestry.com! 


3x great grandparents with their children 
Top right picture – my great grandfather, 2x great grandfather and my 3x great grandparents. 

#2 – I am thankful that my Great-Uncle Harold is still here and was able to interview him for some oral family history on him and my grandfather. I was able to go into detail on much of their young life, that I wouldn’t have been able to capture and have otherwise! I am also thankful for voice recorders because it’s wonderful to have the interview fully recorded so I can have everything exactly as he said it in his own words. 

My Great-Uncle Harold Sommer as a young boy 
Harold and I during my visit talking family history 

#3 – I am grateful for the Bureau County Genealogical Society who helped me greatly in my research on my Jensen Family line of my tree. The ladies working there actually had connections with my family and one who is actually the wife of my 2nd great aunts brother-in-law! How funny was that! I learned much from them and used microfilm for the first time. It was a wonderful experience. 

Lastly, I want to thank the family history YouTube, blog, and Instagram community. As well as the RootsTech conference. The communities have been wonderful and everyone is so helpful. They keep me motivated to learn more! I’ve never been to RootsTech in person but I have attended online and the classes and general conferences have been amazing, inspirational and helpful in my journey to become a genealogist. I am hopeful I’ll be able to attend a conference in person soon.

 Thanks for reading and make sure to check out Elizabeth O’Neal’s Genealogy Blog Party for November 2018 and Share your “Saying Thanks” story! 

2 thoughts on “November Genealogy Blog Party : Thankful”

  1. Welcome to the genealogy blogging community, Kharyn! I’m so happy to see that you got your blog up and running. I also started blogging when I was a stay-at-home mom; having those quiet moments to think about genealogy and family history can be so refreshing. I loved your post and all of your photos. Thank you for sharing it in the November Genealogy Blog Party!

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