It's Back!

A great show that I love is coming back to televison -- Who Do You Think You Are? This show traces the genealogy of a wide variety of celebrities. This season's celebrities will include Kelly Clarkson, Christina Applegate, Zooey Deschanel and others. However, the show has been moved to TLC. It will premiere Tuesday, July 23 at 9/8c. Will you be watching?

Just a Quick Note

Now that I have a phone that's capable of everything but saving the world (or maybe it can, I'm not sure) I'm now on Vine and Instagram for anyone who is interested. You can also follow my Twitter account to see what I post from these neat little apps.

What Are Your Family Treasures?

The yard sale season is upon us and I have already been out in full force since I bought a record player. I've been sorting through stacks of old LPs to find those gems I would love to take home and listen to. However, yard sales also bring up questions about family treasures. What family treasures do you have? Would you ever get rid of anything that has sentimental value, even if the monetary value is high?

Summer Genealogy Plans

Summer seems to be a great time to look back into your family history. I know that summer is usually the time when it is best to visit genealogy centers, historical societies and grave sites. Some people even work these side trips into their summer vacations.

What are you planning to do this summer to work on your family history project?

Interesting Find

You never know what you'll find when you simply clean out a closet. I found some extra copies of books that I had poetry published in as a kid, and one of the bookmarks was surprising. It ended up being a prayer card from my grandfather's funeral. It was interesting to see and I think I'm going to put it in a safer place with my other genealogy items.

Have you ever found something interesting tucked a way in a place you never thought it would be?

Copyrights, Permissions and Other Fun Stuff

Because I'm a writer, I've been wondering about the legalities of my genealogy work. Can I publish some type of work based on research? Are family photographs fair use? These questions have actually kept me from being much more public about my research into my family history. However, I have found some great resources that can help sort all these issues out, and here are a couple:

Family History Etiquette, Ethics, Legalities (from Ancestry.com Wiki)

Copyright Fundamentals for Genealogy by Mike Goad

The Legal Genealogist

Venturing into the Wild West

Our ancestors came from anywhere and everywhere. Whether they came from Asia, Europe or the east coast, chances are someone took that leap and headed westward in search of something greater. If you have ancestors who traveled west, the SFGate has an interesting article on resources you can use to find those wild western adventures.

5 places: explore ancestry, genealogy

Are there any other resources that are great for finding these westward ancestors?