J. Paul Hawthorne

#TicketStubTuesday: Servant – October 2, 1982 – Wheeler Sports Center at George Fox College, Newberg, Oregon. Note: Christian Rock band. I went because my friend Shane Bolz wanted to go.

#WednesdayWisdom: Tilting Windmills.

"Fighting windmills"—often phrased as "tilting at windmills"—is an idiom for attacking imaginary enemies, fighting battles that don't exist, or pursuing futile, unrealistic goals. Originating from Miguel de Cervantes' 1605 novel Don Quixote.

#TicketStubTuesday: Joe Satriani – Opening act, Eric Johnson – September 28, 1990 - SDSU Open Theatre, San Diego, California. Ticket stub missing! "Flying in a Blue Dream Tour"

Who knows what my mom was wearing when they drove to Las Vegas at night ( a month before I was born). 😂 I should ask her.

#FridayFunny: Bass clef rhyme.

It's better than the one I learned in 1977... "Good Boys Do Fine Always".

#WednesdayWisdom

#WednesdayWisdom

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: FSGS Poolside Chat with Deborah A. Abbott, PhD. - Researching Funeral Home Records: Looking for the Dead!. After registering, you will receive a confirmatio... WEBINAR ABSTRACT: Funeral home records can be valuable genealogical resources for family historians trying to identify the existence of an ancestor. Funeral homes are generally private businesses, the...

Today - 19 Feb 2026 - at 8:00 pm Eastern US Time

Researching Funeral Home Records: Looking for the Dead!

Free virtual presentation. Registration in the link.
#Genealogy #FamilyHistory

#TicketStubTuesday: 1. Maxx – March 5, 1982 – Lakeridge High School, Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Love this reminder from J. Mark Lowe:
“Research in the South rocks.”

Genealogy in the South isn’t always easy. Courthouse fires, missing records, boundary changes, and migration trails can test even the most seasoned researcher. But that’s exactly why it rocks.

#Genealogy #FamilyHistory

#SocietySaturday: Attending the live webinar from the San Diego Genealogical Society #SDGS #Genealogy

This month's presentation will be held by David Flint.

Session 1: Jurisdictions Affecting England Genealogy Research

Session 2: History and Development of English Surnames

I

I’m looking forward to the @ngsgenealogy conference in May 2026. Excited to catch up and exchange ideas and tips with other genealogy and family history enthusiasts. Join me in Fort Wayne: conference.ngsgenealogy.org #NGS2026GEN

#ThrowbackThursday: 1985 Salton Sea, CA (Red Hill, with Rock Hill in the background). 19 years old, on a fishing trip with my uncle Jack, cousin Steve, and a co-worker, Joe.

Danbury, the American Revolution, and missing Connecticut records… If you go to review the Danbury, Connecticut records on FamilySearch , you’ll note that many of the records seem to begin in the late 18th century even though the town was settled by European…

If you're having an issue documenting a Revolutionary War ancestor from #Connecticut, there might be a reason why. #genealogy #ancestry #familyhistory

charteroakgenealogy.com/2023/01/06/d...

#TicketStubTuesday: No Reservations: An Evening with Anthony Bourdain – September 18, 2010 – California Center for the Arts, Escondido, California.

🎉 I’m headed to NGS 2026 — and you can help me win FREE registration! 🎉

🔗 Register using my referral link:
whova.com/portal/regis...
🔑 Referral code: 6rq84

Thanks for supporting me — and I hope to see you there! 😊
#Genealogy #NGS2026GEN

It shouldn't be about how many people you add, but how many sources, stories, and photos you can add. Just say'n.

#Ancestry #Genealogy

Anniversary: The Day the Music Died.

Feb. 03, 1959

"Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and “The Big Bopper” died in a plane crash.
Source: www.history.com/this-day.../...

Below: In Lubbock, TX, 2009.

Mitotree Sprouts 12,773 NEW Branches and Includes Ancient DNA FamilyTreeDNA has released the brand-new Mitotree, version 2025.10.24! Mitotree has sprouted 12,773 new branches, a 30% increase in size in just seven months! The new Mitotree has a total of 53,856…

Mitotree Updates. In addition to adding almost 13,000 new branches, Mitotree now incorporates more than 10,000 ancient DNA samples from archaeological sites around the world. buff.ly/1DGfyPb #DNA #DNATesting #Genealogy

My Danish immigrant came to Galveston, Texas, and "Jumped ship" approximately 1857 (according to what he told the census taker in 1900). No shipping manifests exist for workers on ships, only for passengers. I'm still trying to find his Naturalization papers.

February is Black History Month, and YES, I celebrate it!

#BlackHistoryMonth
www.blackhistorymonth.gov

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG®, FASG, earned a BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and both a Law degree and a Master of Laws degree from New York University. After a 35-year career as a tax lawyer she retired from a partner-level position at EY (Ernst & Young) in 2013 and became a full-time genealogist. Her research centers on African American families that survived slavery. She obtained the Certified Genealogist® credential in 2015 and served the Board for Certification of Genealogists® as a trustee, treasurer, and as President from 2019–2022. In 2021 LaBrenda was elected as the 170th Fellow of the American Society of Genealogists (ASG), the field’s honorary scholarly society. In 2025 the Association of Professional Genealogists awarded LaBrenda the Kathleen W. Hinkley Professional Achievement Award that recognizes exemplary professional achievement in the genealogical field.

The plaque commemorating the award of the 2026 Fellow title to LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson in recognition of her contributions and ongoing commitment to the field of genealogy.

The Recipient of the UGA Fellow (FUGA) Award is LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson! Congratulations, LaBrenda, you absolutely deserve this! #SLIG #genealogy #FamilyHistory #PremierGenealogicalEducation

I finished my 6th book this month. Each morning at 5:00 a.m., I brew a cup of coffee, light two candles, cue up classical music, and read a chapter from whatever book I’m immersed in. The world is still dark then—quiet, untouched by traffic or noise—and it feels like time set aside just for reading.

Led Zeppelin, particularly lyricist Robert Plant, heavily referenced J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings in their early 1970s work.

#LedZeppelin Made with ChatGPT

A sad day in the Genealogy community...
Jane Van Tour has passed away.

She was the BEST volunteer I ever knew. She worked with the National Genealogical Society, SCGS Jamboree, and other organizations. She was often the one you first met at genealogy conferences.

Pic: NGS 2017, Raleigh, NC.

Glad to see my friends' names on the credits for their genealogical research on Finding Your Roots!

John Boeren
Jonathan Deiss
Katherine Schober

#Genealogy #FindingYourRoots #PBS @antecedentia.com

#TicketStubTuesday: Kofi Baker’s Extreme Cream – Opening act, Brett Ellis Band – December 16, 2011 – Brick by Brick, San Diego, California. NOTE: Ticket stub is missing!

#TicketStubTuesday: Kofi Baker’s Extreme Cream – Opening act, Brett Ellis Band – December 16, 2011 – Brick by Brick, San Diego, California. NOTE: Ticket stub is missing!

Me too!

🌿 New on the Blog: Offering practical strategies and heart-centered inspiration to keep you grounded and motivated through every step of your research. tinyurl.com/4cnjk4t2
#EchoesOfKin #GenealogyTips #FamilyHistory #AncestorResearch #GenealogyMotivation #ResearchJourney #FamilyHistoryCommunity