Saturday, February 18, 2017

Our Family Connections to RootsTech Speakers

In two of the classes I attended at the RootsTech 2017 Conference, the speakers mentioned who their fathers were. You have to know that, armed with that information, I'm going to see if you might have a family connection to me or my husband!

Two of the guest speakers on Discovery Day were Elder Russell M. Nelson and his wife Wendy Watson Nelson. Wendy told us her father's name was Leonard David Watson and her family lived in Alberta, Canada. From previous research on my husband's ancestry, I knew he had family connections at McGrath and Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada in the early 1900s. They were sent by authorities in the LDS church to settle communities there. So I was curious if some of Wendy's ancestors might have been acquainted with Larry's ancestors.

When I attended the highly enjoyable class that Ron Tanner, Product Manager of the Family Tree for FamilySearch, taught on the future of the Family Tree, I heard him tell us that his father's name was Cleon Burnell Tanner. I have Tanners in my RootsMagic database, so I looked for Cleon Tanner. He wasn't already there, but a bit of research on the Family Tree showed me how he connected to those I already had in my database.  

With that information at hand, I was able to prepare the chart at the top of this post, using Microsoft Publisher to draw the pedigrees and connect them where appropriate. When I finished the tree, I added a few photos for visual interest. 

I won't go into the detail of every family connection, but you can see at the bottom left that I start with Larry Jamison, my husband, and end at the bottom right with ME!

Take a couple of minutes and study the pedigree charts, with the directional arrows showing the descendancies. It probably doesn't matter how we're all connected, but I always find it fascinating to make these discoveries. I don't go along with the adage, "We're all related anyway!" because there are families who can't find a connection to anyone else's ancestry. And we can't simply make them up or force individuals to tie together. I'm blessed to have a pretty good recall of names, which helps me as I discover these connections. And I find them significant.

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