Since October 2013, I have been submerged in doing Family History work. Adding photos and documents is really fun and helps tell the about the individual.  Finding Family Names to take to the Temple is just plain satisfying!     The most difficult part was finding ancestors, because the DIRECT LINE has been covered by so many people.  But the instructions from Salt Lake are now to "Find Your Cousins".  This means checking the children, grandchildren, spouses, and anyone else attached to your pedigree.

Doing this by hand can be a cumbersome task!  It takes long hours and you can easily lose your place.  I was taught a pattern for doing this in February; and it made a lot of difference.  Now I could find cousins in an orderly manner and not loose my place.  However, it still took many hours of time to just find! Then I had to do the research aspect, in order to make sure that each person was listed with the correct parents, siblings, spouse and children.

Last week I was talking with my son, who is Bishop in Idaho.  I was talking about how many family names we had and if he wanted some to do.  He told me that he had called a new Family History Consultant, who was teaching the ward members how to do what I was doing.  Then he told me about Pandora's Hope Chest and how this was one of the tools the new FH Consultant was using.  He blew me away when he said that the new FH Consultant was my 9 year old grandson!

Of course, I went and added the program to my browser (only for Chrome) and started it running!  It took hours to run and I ended up with over 1800 names in the Hope Chest!  I have been working to verify and prove the individuals, so we can reserve ordinances till needed.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO PROVE THE INDIVIDUALS!!

I can't stress this enough!  So many times, people wee a green arrow and take it straight to the temple.  NO!!  You need to make sure you have the person as accurate as possible; linked to the right parents; married to the right spouse; that the children listed for them are really their children.... and the list goes on.

I can't tell you how many times I have found a female listed as a male, or a son married to his mother or grandmother because the names were the same.  Doing work for someone who is listed wrong, or has already had ordinances done, is wasting time.  Take a few minutes to find those who REALLY need work done.  It takes less time to verify than to do the work for them.  Maybe that means that one day when you would be going to the temple, you work at your computer instead.  It all is part of the process. 

There is no temple work to do without doing the research and verification first!

It's been a while since I posted!!  Since a great part of my life is spent doing family history,  thought I'd share this story with you.  I found it on Facebook and don't know if it is completely true or not.  But it nicely illustrates the fact that you can look at things any way you choose to; just be sure you have ALL the facts before you make any judgements! 

"Judy Walkman, a professional genealogy researcher in southern California , was doing some personal work on her own family tree. She discovered that Senator Harry Reid's great-great uncle, Remus Reid, was hanged for horse stealing and train robbery in Montana in 1889. Both Judy and Harry Reid share this common ancestor.

The only known photograph of Remus shows him standing on the gallows in Montana territory.

On the back of the picture Judy obtained during her research is this inscription: 'Remus Reid, horse thief, sent to Montana Territorial Prison 1885, escaped 1887, robbed the Montana Flyer six times. Caught by Pinkerton detectives, convicted and hanged in 1889.'
So Judy recently e-mailed Senator Harry Reid for information about their great-great uncle.

Believe it or not, Harry Reid's staff sent back the following biographical sketch for her genealogy research:

"Remus Reid was a famous cowboy in the Montana Territory . His business empire grew to include acquisition of valuable equestrian assets and intimate dealings with the Montana railroad. Beginning in 1883, he devoted several years of his life to government service, finally taking leave to resume his dealings with the railroad. In 1887, he was a key player in a vital investigation run by the renowned Pinkerton Detective Agency. In 1889, Remus passed away during an important civic function held in his honor when the platform upon which he was standing collapsed."

Now THAT’s how it’s done, Folks!
That’s real Political Spin!!"