For the first time, I accessed the US Passport Applications that were recently put up on Ancestry.com. I very quickly came across the application for Konrad / Conrad Heinlein, a member of my brother-in-laws family. There was just so much information on this document! What a great find.

Received the death certificate for Leila Frances (neé: unknown) Evans Brown. Turns out, her maiden name is Craft! So far I'm not having too much luck tracing her parents, Ruebin Craft and Leila McCurly. Fingers crossed.

Add surname: Bond

Received some baby photos from my Granny that feature my father. As babies my sister and I looked exactly like my father did as a baby.

Both Dad and I took the SMG DNA test and sent them in the mail. (see Nov 2nd for more info). Who knows how long it will be before the results show up on their site. They send off their tests in batches to keep cost down. Eventually though, the results will be viewable on their website and we'll be able to compare our DNA with other folks.

Update: as of April 29, I still have no results

When I first got started researching in 2002 I was creating a family tree chart in excell, with no room for sources. I advanced to an Ancestry.com family tree, then purchased Reunion software. It wasn't until over a year after I started researching that I began recording sources. Even then, it was mostly just listing census records. Now I'm at a point where I find that I don't know where I found a lot of my research. I'm working on going back and finding the information again and creating a more documented family tree.

Want to try DNA family genealogy but find it too expensive? Try SMG. Here's some info on a *free* service:

"Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation is a non-profit foundation that is creating the world's leading collection of DNA results and corresponding genealogies. We are making the collection available on-line to the public to help in finding new family connections and extending one's genealogy. SMGF is not affiliated with any other commercial organizations, religious institutions, or other DNA testing projects.

Due to the nature of our project, you will not receive your DNA results directly back from SMGF. However, your results and genealogy will be added to the Sorenson database, and you can find them by searching for your surname and looking at related family trees.

Simply go to our Search page and enter your surname of interest. You may also choose to enter known DNA test results or to use default DNA values. See the Help section of the Search page for more information.

The Results of your search will show the values for all participants that match your search criteria. In general, a higher match (e.g. 35/36 instead of 34/36) means a closer genealogical connection. We also provide links to pedigree charts and the Time to Most Common Ancestor (TMRCA) for closely matching results. The TMRCA and Results pages show further information to help with interpretation."

Update: as of April 29, I still have no results

I've added a lot to the Carson family line

I pretty much re-did the site again. I think it's easier to follow and cleaner. The only downside is the loss of the "notes" section on each page.

I received a Bible from a very helpful woman in Texas, who had recieved a Bible belonging to Heln Windom. Inside the bible she had tucked some papers in that contained family trees for John Franklin Powell's family, which listed some children that I wasn't aware of. It also branched off from there to family trees including Moon, Dixon and Arnold. There were no dates included, but these families were pretty easy to find on the censuses. I've already added the individuals to my family tree. Check out the surname page to find them and check out Helen's Bible to see the pages from the Bible.

Added 56 new people to the Powell line.

New research added on the Powell Family (Wiley -> John F. -> Effie) and Taylor Family (Jesse -> Frances "Emma" -> Effie)

Updated the Louise Smith Bible Records page. I didn't realize that I hadn't posted the Cover Page and the Chapter Index Page. I also added an (*) next to the people who appear in my family tree.

I recently recieved a packet of information from my sister, that was given to her by her husband's maternal grandmother. I'm working on getting this research added to the family tree. Although it doesn't do much to further my research, I'm sure it will help other out there doing their research. Major surnames include: White, Holmes and Cupps.

This photo (below) was identified today as brothers, Eugene T. Albea and Johnny G. Albea, the sons of Melvin Anderson Albea & Elsie Lindsay. See if you can identify any of these photos.

I've also begun to add thumbnail photos to the family group sheets. These are small photos, but all are available in larger sizes on my photo storage website.

Added more research to the Freeman and Belk lines, which I'm related to through my half-brother.

I upgraded my Reunion software to version 9. It's prettier and has new features (some of which I'll probably never use). I'll need to play with it some, but I hope I get my money's work ($60!).

Otherwise running around all over the family tree looking here and there and not finding much. Added a little info to the Farr family, which is my sister's husband's family. Most of this family has already been researched by others.

I've compleatly re-done this site. Using Reunion software for Mac I've been able to create a complete website. It should also be easy to update. Certain pages, such as cemeteries and photos have been deleated, although all of my genealogy photos are now hosted off site at flickr.com