Liv's Tree House

I had a huge stack (as you can see) of binders to digitize, but the pages were those sticky kind where it’s like photograph suicide to remove…the only solution, a book scanner.  So to the BYU Family History Library I headed this weekend.  I couldn’t carry them all in so in enters the double stroller, I knew motherhood was preparing me for more than just mothering. Sadly, that amazing book scanner I used last time was apparently on trial at the time and has since been removed.  To those of you interested in using it, they said they’ll be purchasing one in the 2017 budget year, so it will return in the future.  BUT--I had a task to do so I decided to check out the other options for book scanners.  They have some amazing flatbed scanners that really do a great job and are quite quick…12 huge binders of photos and 4 hours later I was done. The great news is that during my time in the library I made some friends.  I love chatting it up with people and helping w...

So I know this isn't exactly part of the topic for my blog, but seeing as technology is a huge part of my life and a huge part of why I love doing genealogy I feel that it is in fact appropriate. I spent several hours today trying to figure out how to install the Chrome App Launcher on my new computer.  I am an avid user of Google and many of its applications, and I often try to encourage people to use their product because they offer so many amazing and wonderful features. They have tons of great resources even for genealogy, but that's a post for another day.  So when I discovered the Chrome App Launcher a few years ago, I was thrilled because frankly I use Google stuff way more often than I use any Windows apps but I have a PC.  That said, after hours of getting stuck without an option to download the launcher, I finally found this article, Retiring Chrome App Launcher .  Basically Google has decided to discontinue support of the Chro...

Aside from my brackets being shot after 2 days of basketball madness, my parents' basement flooded. It was a mess.  THANKFULLY about 5 years ago I went on a digitizing craze.  During that time I digitized almost all my mom had as far as family photos and documents were concerned.  Unfortunately, due to my mad organization skills tons of the photos I had digitized got ruined because they were all together in folders and the dampness of the house made the photographs all stick together.  Ironically the ones heaved in drawers were totally fine because they weren't tightly packed. LESSON LEARNED. But after a full weekend of cleaning, sifting, and sorting here's a peak at my mess that I have to sift through now... Apparently after my uncle passed away my mom had inherited a lot of his documents and photos which also had a lot of family history stuff in there. Look at this gem... It's a family log from 1901.  It has tons of names and dates of births, deaths, marriages...

Scanning or digitizing your family treasure trove can seem to be an incredibly daunting task, but it doesn't have to be.  If you take a few minutes to educate yourself on the basics then you can make an informed decision about the best route for you and your archive. I got going on it myself in 2010.  I admit photos was an obsession before family history entered my radar--I'd say photos, digital scrap-booking, and family movies was what led me to discover my love for genealogy.  So I'm pretty sure I am genetically hard-wired this way.  So with 6 years of experience under my belt and research on the subject I'll give you the basics. First of all, assess what you've got, and what you can and want to digitize.  You'll likely be surprised at the things that you'll find as you start to dig.  Things like photos and documents are easy to scan, but many of us have things like film, tape, & heirlooms that can be a little more tricky to digitize. Next, learn a bi...

I'm bound to write more on this subject in the future, but I've gotta give a sneak preview.   Cloud by Daplie is a new product I discovered on Innovators Alley at RootsTech --by far the best addition to RootsTech this year btw, but that's beside the point. The product isn't quite ready for market yet, but I got a sneak peak today giving some feedback on the product to the developers.  For those of you who are sick of paying monthly fees for online storage, you're going to LOVE this product! The slogan they used when explaining it to me was "We're taking back the internet." I love it! Who doesn't want more control and to understand better where their stuff is stored? Basically just imagine being able to purchase as much storage space as you need--NO limits and NO monthly fees--awesome right?!!  You just purchase the hard drive space you need and the attachable server and voila, you can access your files anytime, anywhere, from any device. Plus, the...

After a 2 year hiatus, I'm ready to get back in the swing. I attended RootsTech 2015 and remember I was super motivated to get going on this blog again, because every year, RootsTech just re-motivates me and makes me want to share all that I'm discovering about this constantly changing market. BUT unfortunately, baby #3, demands of mommy life, church life, and community life, overtook MY LIFE, and I wasn't able to rekindle. BUT now it's 2016... I loved this years theme "Celebrating Families across Generations", because as a Mom-o-three, I'm always trying to find new ways to connect my kids to this fascinating work that I love, genealogy.  So RootsTech 2016 was a success. I've already started testing out new products and renewing old ones that I love, shout out to StoryWorth (LOVE it!). So here's to a new beginning with this blog. Being once again updated from sunny Pacific Grove, California.

This is going to be a synopsis of AWESOMENESS that can come from using DNA in your Family History research. Clifford and his sister Jennie Without going into too much detail, my husband's family has been orphaned for well...forever.  His Great Grandfather Clifford was orphaned at a young age after his father James had skipped town, and his mother and sister were taken suddenly by an illness in the early 1900s.  He ended up living with relatives and being very successful in life. But none of his posterity ever knew where Grandpa James had come from or gone too.  Joyce my husband's grandmother, loved family history and had devoted a lot of time in the search for James and his family. She had dug up some details here and there but was never able to prove any theories or feel settled that she'd solved the mystery, even after hiring a professional genealogist to help. So sat our wall... Image from Family Tree DNA After my first year of RootsTech, I felt a new vigor and hope wi...