I try to keep you posted on new things happening at FamilySearch Family Tree – at least the things I get excited about and think you will like, too. Recently they added the option of viewing your tree as a “portrait” tree. See how spiffy it looks?
FamilySearch Portrait Tree for Dayna Jacobs
I love it! The photos make my tree come alive and is easy to navigate. Click on the “up” arrows to see more generations. Click on the “down” arrows to see descendants.
Click on up and down arrows to see additional generations of ancestors or descendants
You can access information for any of the individuals by clicking on their box. A box will appear that allows you to see at a glance how many sources, memories (stories and photos), or discussions they have, as well as birth and death data, their I.D. numbers, and an option to “watch” the individual if you would like to be notified when changes are made to that individual’s record. LDS members will also see a “temple” area.
Click on any of these links, or click on “person” to see more details, or click on “tree” to center this person on a tree view.
Click to see a summary box pop up.
If you want to change the picture that shows up in the circle by the name, click on it and you will be given the option to use other photos you have previously uploaded.
If you have not created or discovered your tree on FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org) I encourage you to give it a try. It’s entirely free and will remain that way. It is functions hand-in-hand with the millions of digitized records on the site and is bound to help you find records you had not known about previously.
When viewing a person’s detail page, just click on the “Research Help” link and then “Show All” and it will pull up all kinds of digitized records that you can then attach to the individual.
I never know what new thing I’ll discover on FamilySearch Family Tree, but I will be sure to keep you posted so you can have fun, too.
[This is 11th in a series of letters written by Private A.L. Gooch to his family in Duncan Arizona, while he served in France during WWI. This letter was written 28 Nov 1918, two weeks after Armistice—the end of the war. Up until this time, Nig (as he was known) could not disclose details about his unit’s activities and whereabouts, and letters were all screened by an Army censor. In this letter he finally gets to share more fully what he has been going through as he describes his participation in the final decisive battle of World War I, and we get a sense of the magnitude of his experience. Holding this letter in my hands I was moved by this first-person account of one of the most significant events in modern history.
Original letters are in possession of Dayna Gooch Jacobs, King City, California. Envelope missing. Transcribed by Dayna Jacobs. Slashes in the transcription indicate line breaks. Links to other letters: 123456789 10]
Lampicourt, Belgium
Dear Sis and Bob,
Well kids I have/ gotton about a dozen Letters/ from you since I written/ you, but I havent/ written any one. As I/ was [in] the big Verdun drive/ that helped to finish/ the war. And believe/ me we didnt have/ time to do any writing/ with twelve inch/ shell bursting all/ around me day and/ night. And besides/
[p2] I was on my motorcycle/ twenty five hours each/ day. You cant amagine/ and never can begin/ to amagine what we/ boys went through during/ that drive up untill the/ armistace was signed./ All opprations seased/ the eleventh month the/ eleventh day and the eleventh/ hour and we was almost/ as proud to have the/ guns stop fireing as/ we were of pay day./ It seams so funny to/ sleep all night without/ the bosh aireoplains/ paying/
[p3] us a visit./ But the first of my short/ story which must be/ brief. I will say I/ with the 89th Division/ went to the St. Mahil/ front shortly after/ Landing in france/ and taken our position/ in the front sectar./ Where the air was filled/ with gas and shrapnelle/ was contently falling/ together with the bosh/ aireoplain bombs and/ machine gun fire. I’ll admitt it was/ a little scary at first/
[p4] and cant say I ever/ got to where I liked/ it. But did get a little/ more use to it. My job/ was to paint signs/ take my motor [cycle] and put/ them up from about four miles from the front lines. Clear up/ to where the dough (infantry) boys/ were. And to where the/ snipers would spot me, / and they would throw one/ pound shell’s at me. But/ they allways hit behind/ me. No traffic goes that/ far up but annbulances / and amunition wagons/
[p5] at night now and then/ a airoplain would duck/ down then I would/ desert my motor and/ take to a truck untill/ he left.
I would like to go into/ details and tell you lots/ but would take to long./ Will wait untill I get home./ That drive was near Toul/ (find these on map)/ On the drive towards, Mitze, / in which we capturd/ Mount Veet, we was/ relieved there after severl/ weeks of h__ . From / there went straight to/
[p6] the Verdun front. Went/ right into action and/ chased the huns from/ Gre Recicourt to Stena,/ on the Muse river. There/ we stoped when the armistace/ was signed. We was going/ so fast it taken us three/ days to stop. ha-ha./ Well we were picked as/ a part of the army/ of occupation to move/ to Germany, Which is a/ great honor, We are/ now on our way. And/ taking a rest in Belgem/ Guess we will go through/ Luxingburg. Will wash/
[p7] my feet in the rhyne/ and take a bath if I / need it may put it/ off untill I get home./ This is the prettiest/ country I have been / except Ireland, and/ these Belgam people/ are so kind and/ accomitating, But they/ have a right to be/ Dont you think?/ We are all feeling fine/ and got new/ socks, have to comb our hair/ and shave. I removed my mustache. You aught/ to have seen it.
[p8] Poor old Bob. I was/ afraid he was too late,/ But I sure am glad/ for his own [?]/ as well as yours . Also/ glad there is no more/ into it than there is./ Had better close will write/ the next chance and will/ see you before long/ Today is Thanksgiving. Sure/ [___? ___?] Will dream of turkey tonight as well/ as something else. We had/ pie for dinner.
With Lots of Love to All, Your Boy
Censored by Pvt A.L. Gooch
89th Military Police Co
1st Leut [?] American E.F.
Letter from Pvt. Allen Lee Gooch to his family, 28 Nov 1918, p1
Have you wondered whether you should bother to use a desktop genealogy program now that online family trees are popular and feature-filled? Folks ask me this all the time.
Donald Duck Family Tree
In today’s edition of the RootsMagic News (RootsMagic is a popular desktop program) an article by Renee Zamora appeared which discusses this and sums up the reasons why both are useful for genealogists. She gave her permission to reprint the article in the RootsMagic News, and provided a PDF version that is shareable. I liked it enough to share here. Check it out for yourself.
For the question of which desktop genealogy program is best, I always tell folks to download the trial version of programs they are interested in. Most of the major programs, such as RootsMagic, Legacy Family Tree, Ancestral Quest, and Family Tree Maker, have a free trial or basic version. The best program will be the one that feels most intuitive to you.
Simpsons Family Tree
They all are powerful and are likely to have everything you could hope for, but it comes down to which one you will actually feel comfortable using. It doesn’t matter how robust a program is if you are overwhelmed or confused by it. So give them all a test-drive like I did, and settle on the one that feels best. I happen to use Legacy Family Tree because it suits the way I research and organize myself, but you may prefer one of the other excellent choices.
Well, On Granny’s Trail just topped 16,000 views, so to celebrate this random achievement, I decided to share a fun podcast with you from Stuff You Missed in History Class that will help you learn a little more about the Western States. Stuff You Missed in History Class researched the true story and presented their findings in this podcast.
The Baron of Arizona, starring Vincent Price and Ellen Drew (This is the movie version, not the podcast)
It’s called “The Peralta Grant and the Baron of Arizona,” and is quite entertaining. It’s about a determined would-be swindler and how he nearly acquired an enormous portion of Arizona for himself. Genealogists will be interested in his creative forgery and the prodigious amount of “proof” he produced to claim his grant.
And to think my ancestors might have ended up with this guy (James Addison Reaves, not Vincent Price) as their landlord!
Vincent Price as the Baron of Arizona
You can also check out the link to the blog post about this podcast for a few more resources on the topic.
Enjoy the podcast, and thanks for following On Granny’s Trail!
Spoiler alert: If you brag about tracing your genealogy back to Adam and proudly display a family Coat-of-Arms over your mantel, you might want to skip this post. And I’m pretty sure you are not going to like episode 5 of Extreme Genes as much as I did. I have just begun to listen to some Extreme Genes podcasts, and Episode 5 is titled “Tracing Lineage Back to Adam and Eve.” I really enjoyed listening to host Scott Fisher and guest Gordon Remington discuss this as well as the Coat-of-Arms topic.
I wanted to let you all know about Extreme Genes, found on the Mormon Radio Channel. It’s rather new on the genealogy scene and has some interesting programs in talk-show format.
Extreme Genes
I enjoyed episode 5 because my husband calls me the Genealogy Mythbuster. On occasion, I come home after a day at the Family History Center having ruined some unfortunate person’s cherished oral family history with new-found facts. I don’t enjoy this, but sometimes those pesky facts just stare you in the face. Take it from me, the non-descendant of the first Governor of Virginia, William Gooch. All us Gooches are non-descendants of Governor Gooch, but lots of us don’t want to hear it. Sorry. But he had no heirs. Rats.
Adam, on the other hand, did have heirs, fortunately! And while I am one of them, I know the paper trail is dubious. And that Gooch coat-of-arms, forget about it. Sorry. Listen to episode 5 and you’ll understand. It is an entertaining episode, for sure!
On Granny's Trail 