This is Family History

This week we took a Family History training for all missionaries working in the Salt Lake City Headquarters Mission.  It was 8:00 to 3:00 each day.  We learned so much about family history and how to preserve and research records.  Here are some of the fun tips we learned.

Sign in to FamilySearch.org🠚Activities🠚Where are you from?

I learned that my ancestors orginate mostly from Iceland and the United Kingdom.

Fred's ancestors come from Germany and United Kingdom

Activities🠚 Compare a Face

I learned that I look most like my Grandmother, Bernice Dame.  I found this interesting because my family has always told me that I looked like her and had many of her same personality traits.  Grandma Dame died when I was a toddler so I don't remember her.

Fred learned that he looks most like his Grandfather, Fred Rutschow.  This is the person he was named after.

There are many memories submitted under our ancestors including pictures and written memories.  Family Search is a free website where people can share photos and memories of their loved ones. You do not have to be a member of the church to use it.  I found the following story about my 4th Great Grandfather who lived in Nauvoo back in the days of Joseph Smith.

 

 

The Saints in Nauvoo were being forced from their homes during the cold months of winter.  My Grandfather Zachary Hardy was an experienced boatman.

"If bridges hadn’t been erected over the streams, they had to rely on ferry boats where the streams couldn’t be forded. A handy boatman, Zachariah Hardy, was assigned to ferry the saints and their belongings across the Missouri River. The chilly winds of winter swept down upon them in such a force that it rivalled the terror of the mobs, but Zachariah never wavered from his task. Halting only long enough to comb the ice out of his hair and beard, he worked until all were safely across the river. On the night of February 11, 1848, a terrible storm came up and the next morning he was very ill with pneumonia. Lying on the deck of the ferry, his hair had to be cut away as it was frozen to the floor. He died two days later, February 13, 1846, leaving his wife and six children, the youngest just five days old. The only shelter they had to stay in was a wagon box on the ground covered with canvas."

Learning about those who have gone before us helps us to understand who we are and where we came from.  Our ancestors lives gives us courage to go forward in our own journey through life.  There are many people who can help you get connected if you would like to learn more.

If you want to know more, go to FamilySearch.org  or ChurchofJesusChrist.org