I just finished watching Who Do You Think You Are on TLC with Christina Applegate. As a Genealogist it was fun watching her go through the processes of researching her Grandparents. During the 40’s just at the peak of the Depression, and beginning of WWII, life was so difficult for families. Right now through September 12, you can Watch Who Do You Think You Are? On TLC Tuesdays at 9/8 Central and get 14 days FREE on Ancestry.com!
What family secrets or photos will you find? I found this photo of Mary Agnes Cunningham with her family. She is the wife of Enos Akin, Mother of Gip Akin, my Great Great Grandfather.
Have you heard that Ancestry.ca is making headlines across the world with the release of it’s exciting announcement.
It seems that the recently returned astronaut Chris Hadfield isn’t the only one in his family with an desire to explore the final frontier. Ancestry.ca recently discovered that Commander Hadfield is the 6th cousin to Star Trek Into Darkness villain Benedict Cumberbatch through shared British roots.
The discovery is making headlines in news outlets across the country including in the Wall Street Journal and the Newswire. How are you distant cousins with? I am constantly finding new family information through Ancestry.
I really learned a lot last year while I volunteered transcribed the 1940’s US Census. It was very fun and educational at the same time.
Right now this month’s value pack at Shop Family Tree is the Census Research Value pack. This pack will help you find websites with census records and dates. What to expect when using the 1940 census and how to access online census records for free. How to use the major online census collections at Ancestry.com, HeritageQuest Online and other sites. How the different sites’ records and indexes compare to each other. Teach you search strategies for finding elusive ancestors and why you may not be able to find a certain census record. These tips for becoming a smarter and more efficient census searcher will help in your research.
Here is a great video from Youtube on the 1940’s US Census from National Archives.
🍀 Vintage Shamrock Traditions: Preserving Irish Family Memories
Every March, I find myself drawn to the same simple symbol—the shamrock.
Not just for luck, but for the memories it carries.
There’s something about the soft green tones, the delicate shape, and the quiet history behind it that feels… familiar. Like something passed down, even if we don’t always know the full story.
For me, the shamrock isn’t just a decoration. It’s a reminder of how small traditions connect us to the people who came before us.
🌿 The Meaning Behind the Shamrock
The shamrock has long been associated with Irish heritage and storytelling. Over time, it became more than just a symbol—it represents connection, resilience, and family roots.
Even if your family isn’t Irish, we all have symbols like this—small traditions that carry meaning through generations.
📜 A Personal Connection to Irish Roots
Some of my family’s roots can be traced back to Ireland and Scotland, when my Akin ancestors migrated to America in the 1700s.
I’ve been blessed to have a lot of this history preserved through my Great-Great Aunt Lovella. She was only a few years older than my grandmother, and the two of them were like sisters.
I remember spending time at her home in Corona, New Mexico, where she lived her entire life. We would sit together going through old stories and photographs she had carefully collected over the years from her father, Gip Akin.
Those moments—quiet, meaningful, and full of history—are something I carry with me. They are a reminder of how important it is to preserve not just names and dates, but the stories behind them.
🍀 Creating with a Vintage Shamrock Kit
Here is another wonderful vintage kit from Touched by a Butterfly—Vintage Shamrock.
When I saw this kit created by Celeste, I immediately knew which photos I wanted to use. It felt like the perfect way to bring together both my love for vintage design and my family’s Irish roots.
There’s something special about taking old photographs and giving them a new life through creative layouts. It becomes more than just a project—it becomes a way of honoring the past.
I hope you enjoy these creations as much as I enjoyed making them.
Mary Agnes Akin
Laura May Akin, sister to Gip Akin
Mary Tryon and her sons
Grandma Ola & Grandpa Elmer, at their Holy Communion celebration. Both were Roman Catholic.
💻 How I Preserve These Memories
Over time, I realized I didn’t want these traditions and stories to fade away.
So I started capturing them—photos, seasonal inspirations, and family moments—and turning them into something lasting.
One of my favorite ways to do this is using MyMemories Suite.
It allows me to:
Organize family photos
Create beautiful digital scrapbook pages
Preserve the stories behind each image
Instead of everything sitting in boxes or folders, it becomes something meaningful—something that can be passed down.
✨ A Simple Way to Start
If you’ve been wanting to preserve your family memories but aren’t sure where to begin, start small:
Choose one tradition
Gather a few photos
Write down what you remember
Create one simple layout
That’s it. Just begin.
💛 Holding Onto What Matters
The older I get, the more I realize—it’s not about perfection.
It’s about remembering.
The shamrock may be simple, but the meaning behind it isn’t. It’s a quiet reminder that our stories matter, and that even the smallest traditions are worth holding onto.
I really enjoy attending Conferences, and today’s Genealogy Conference with ICAPGen.org was just as much fun as other Conferences. I met so many wonderful people and learned so much. Tonight I wanted to share a new book that one of the Instructors had written on Social Media: The Social Media Guide for Ancestral Research/Applying Web 2.0 Strategies. This book has a lot of information on using the newest Social Media to help you with your researches. Everyone from Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Sharing files through SkyDrive, and dropbox. I discovered Dropbox a couple months ago and love it. It is an easy way to share documents between family. There were several other sites in her class that she discussed that I will have to check out and share with everyone.
You can also take many of these classes from ICAPGen.org online free. Hope this helps some who want to learn more about the process of becoming a professional Genealogist.
Researching your family history can be challenging at times. When I first was learning to do research with my Grandma, it meant contacting record departments, and visiting libraries. Now you can connect almost instantly with relatives via the internet. Ancestry.com and other sites has made sharing information much easier. You can Try Ancestry.ca FREE for 14 days! Ancestry.ca is the Canadian resource for family history research. They have recently released their Canada Voters Lists collection this last week containing over 80 million records and by far the largest Canadian collection.
This month Family Tree Store mega kit is Mastering Ancestry.com. Each month Family Tree has wonderful kits that are perfect additions to your Genealogy Collection. This months collection includes:
Once you’ve learned a bit about Ancestry.com, now you need to now how it really works. With 5 billion historical records, Ancestry.com can unlock valuable information about your family—if you know how to make the most of its search and other tools. In this hour-long webinar, Family Tree Magazine contributing editor and seasoned Ancestry.com user David A. Fryxell shows you insider tricks and techniques for teasing out ancestor information from the site’s tens of thousands of databases.
Do you need specific help finding passenger lists of your ancestors’ voyage to America? This quick guide shows you how to locate your kin in Ancestry.com’s vast collection of immigration records.
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. This book has a lot of information on using the newest Social Media to help you with your researches. Everyone from Social Media, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, Sharing files through SkyDrive, and 
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. These books were hard to find at the library. However, most of the books you’ll need while studying are available at most libraries.
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