Hello to all you Family History Enthusiasts!

One of the challenges of Parenting is getting children to value what is most important. My hopes for AncestorEbooks were to make it easier for Grandparents to share their history and life experiences with the youth of today.

My first efforts died, but there are still many ideas and dreams in this old grey head of mine. Thankfully FamilySearch has the same goals, and many more people to pull ideas from, and you can find some of these ideas in the FamilySearch Blog, https://familysearch.org/blog/en/, such as Go Fish!

“Go Fish, is a simple game you create with your printer by creating cards where one side has a photo of a family ancestor, and the other side of the card tells a story about the person’s life. Attributes worth emulating can be identified. Players take turns asking, “Do you have a person who has _______ attribute? If not, ‘Go Fish!’”

List of Good Character Attributes:


Honesty
Reliable
Loyal
Courageous
Respectful
Tolerant
Good Manners
Cooperative
Obeyed Laws
Good Neighbor Clean Language
Peaceful
Persevere: Keep on Trying
Self Control
Informed
Voted
Volunteer
Good Example
Listens
Fair
Kind
Compassionate
Grateful

In order to create your game, you will need to get to know your ancestors! Find out the stories neighbors and journals tell about them. Did the Men fight for freedom? Did the women raise their children alone? Who left their homes to come to America? Who were the best cooks in the town?

Where can you find great stories that will catch the fire of your child’s imagination? Historical Newspapers! You can start at The Ancestor Hunt.com or Google for the newspapers in your ancestor’s nearby town.
Our Klein/Cline family line comes through Moritz Klein, from Postorf, Steinsal, Alsace, Germany.  Hirschland church records contain the baptism dates and sponsors for each of their 11 children.

He immigrated to Bieber Creek, Rockland Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania along with many of his children.

The Kleins (Clines) immigrated to America to escape the unstable and dangerous conditions in their region of Europe in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Early Pennsylvania records show only one Sebastian Klein through at least 1760, he immigrates in 1739 and signs the oath of allegiance list as Bastian Klein.  His European origin is Postorf, Alsace and lists his father as Moritz Klein and siblings, Michael and Jacob.  These three brothers migrate to North Carolina about 1747-1749. By 1830 almost 90% of the Cline families in North Carolina are descended from Moritz Klein.

The ancestors of Moritz Klein lived in Steinsal, which is about three miles west of Hirschland. His great-grandfather was Pieter (Peter) Klein born about 1575-1580, who lived in Steinsal and had six children.

Now that you know a brief history of our Cline family, what are some of the attributes you would give them?

Loyal – They stuck together as a family
Courageous – Left their homeland and came to America
Persevere: Keep on – Started as the first Cline family in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, then the whole family moved to Catawba River Valley in South Carolina and by 1850 their family dominates the area.
Good Example – They were a Church going family is Alsace and continued to be so in America.

Now, what are you going to create for your children? Hmmm?

Living Family History!

Hello Dear Friends! Great news, unless you are calling in from FamilySearch for help with your Tree, I've graduated from 6 weeks of fast paced learning. Monday I begin Full Production, which just means I help folks who call in with problems of all kinds.

I expected to rub shoulders with good people, but FamilySearch trainers are beyond patient and kind. Just as our sixth week began we were shown the picture of an Eagle with her nest of fluffy chicks and the inscription that said, "Just as the Eagle pushes her Eaglets out of the nest, it's time for you to fly!" My first words were, "I don't have enough feathers to fly yet!"

So, the next two weeks might be the wrong time to call in, unless you have some extra time while the Eaglets find the answers to fix the problems... I apologize ahead of time!

As you've probably figured out, Family History is a passion of mine, and I can spend hours searching through badly indexed documents to discover proof of citizenship, parentage and to put together a life history of someone. After all, as I've been saying for years, it's not just a dead, dry bunch of facts you are linking together. Family History is about who our ancestors really were, and what we can learn from them.

One family in our Ward shared their family lines at our Open House recently; it was printed onto a 3x5 foot sheet of paper showing family lines going back through the dark ages! Fascinating accomplishment!

My husband's line, the Besendorfers, goes back to Johann Leonhardt Besendorfer born in 1741, thanks to many dedicated  family researchers like Mellissa B. While my Schnee line stops at  Johannes Christian Schnee born in 1722. Just 400 years to go, right? :)


I've learned that the Schnee's are a strong Military family, and still are. It's amazing to see that even without knowing about their ancestors, the men in our family continue to exhibit a strong love of country and battle-ready intelligence.

Before I close I want to remind you of the quick learning videos available in the Learning Center at FamilySearch.org, and many classes available at AncestryAcadamy FREE to all. The old excuse of not knowing how to get started no longer holds water Folks! Start digging into your history today!

YOUR SUMMER ASSIGNMENT

A funny thing happened on the way to Sacrement the other day...I was asked to accept a call to be a Service Missionary who helps people with their Family Tree on FamilySearch.org! I accepted, not having any idea all the training and how quick we would have to learn everything!

For that reason I am going to go on hold for a month until I get my Mission Feet under me a bit, but just like Arnold S. "I'll Be Baaaccckkk!"

Until then, here is your assignment for the Summer...

Go to each of your elderly relatives and ask them these questions, just turn your phone to record and quietly leave it near you so you can transcribe it later. I can guarantee you won't remember half of what is shared, and the stories you will hear will be memorable!

1.  
   What is your full name?
2. 2. 
   When and where were you born?
3. 3. 
   Who is your mother?
4. 4. 
   When and where was your mother born?
5. 5. 
   What can you tell me about your mother’s relatives?
6. 6. 
   Who is your father?
7. 7. 
   When and where was your father born?
8. 8. 
   What can you tell me about your father’s relatives?
9. 9. 
   What are the full names of each of your brothers and sisters?
10. 10. 
    When and where were each of your brothers and sisters born?
11. 11. 
    What memories do you have of each of your brothers and sisters?
12. 12. 
    What schools did you and your brothers and sisters go to?
13. 13. 
    Whom did your brothers and sisters marry?
14. 14. 
    Whom did you marry?
15. 15. 
    What are the full names of each of your children?
16. 16. 
    When and where were your children born?
17. 17. 
    Whom did your children marry?
18. 18. 
    Who are your grandchildren?
19. 19. 
    What memories do you have of extended family members, such as aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents?
20. 20. 
    Where did some of these extended family members live?
21. 21. 
    What can you remember about births, marriages, and deaths of other family members?
22. 22. 
    Where are family members buried?
23. 23. 
    Did you or any of your relatives serve in the military?
24. 24. 
    Which wars did you or other relatives fight in?
25. 25. 
    Will you share some of their war stories with me?
26. 26. 
    What jobs do you remember your parents and other family members doing?
27. 27. 
    What religion or religions were practiced in your home?
28. 28. 
    What are some important spiritual experiences you have had?
29. 29. 
    Was anyone in the family interested in family history?
30. 30. 
    Are there any family members who kept a journal or who wrote a historical account of your family? Who are they? Are any of these accounts available for me to read?
31. 31. 
    Are you aware of any ancestors who emigrated from their home country to this country?
32. 32. 
    Does anyone in the family own a family Bible, a family history, or genealogical records of any kind? Who are these family members, and where do they live?
33. 33. 
    Will you show me some of your old family documents or artifacts?
34. 34. 
    Will you show me some of your old family photographs?
35. PLEASE DON'T WASTE ANOTHER DAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR. DO IT NOW!

Family Life Sermons

Good Morning Friends and Family,

Today I am going to talk about what our Families stand for. Think about it for  a minute. What is the center of your family? Before you answer that question, put your Faith, Cooking, Ethnic, or Bank account aside.

What I'm asking is Who you Family really Are, and that is harder than just stamping the Christian label on the top of your page, because sadly many people think of themselves as Christian but don't live it.

Think about what your family members do in their lives. What teaching moments have you recorded in a special book, or bring out at family gatherings, that state in big bold letters, WE LIVE AS....

Most of my life I have believed I am Christian, but after learning how the Coptic Christians have been torchered because of their faith, then beheaded, I'm wondering how strong is my faith and knowledge of God the Father and Jesus Christ. Would I deny my faith if it meant I'd no longer be beaten several times a day or lose my life? Where I am now, well cared for and well over 50, I can absolutely say, "NO."

Because I understand that our life here is just a quick 'heartbeat' in Eternity, that no matter what happens on earth, Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ cleanse us of pain when we come home, and I have an Eternal companion who reminds me daily that I'm what makes his life worth living... I truly believe we will be OK. Our Life Sermons come from deep within and shine throughout our lives. They take us through the 'hard things' in life, or leave us open to disaster.

Whatever the tragedy, ISIS warriors from the training ground 8 miles south of our border deciding to burn their way through America, economic failure, or terrible illness... Whatever it is that comes from left field, would our Family's Life Sermon pull us together or apart?

[BTW, according to Wikipedia,the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, is the largest Christian Church in Egypt and the Middle East, it was established by St. Mark abt. 42AD. Why do Christian Leaders worry about who is Christian? I'll let my Heavenly Father do the sorting.]

 Let's get back to our Question. What do you and your family stand for? What has motivated them to do what they do? What is the definition of Success in your family?

In a recent email from my big brother he shared with me recently, were quotes and moments that spoke of not the what but the Who Someone Is. The list begins with a grandmother's definition of Success, she said, "Success is when you look back at your life and the memories make you smile."
I'd have to agree with her, that would be true success because I would know that my life is in harmony with The Savior.

Another told of a moment where a father stood with his six children around their dying mother's bed in the hospital. Their mother's last coherent words before she died were, "I feel so loved right now. We should have gotten together like this more often." If this is the Life Sermon of your family, would you/could you do anything to change it?

The last in this email-list was of someone who had been traveling in Kenya and met a refugee from Zimbabwe. He said he hadn't eaten anything in over 3 days. When he was offered a partially eaten sandwich, the man said, "We can share it"

That brings to mind the 'Berlin Candy Man' of WWII, who dropped tons of candy by handkerchief parachutes to children in war torn Europe. Why? Because he saw how how 30 kids reacted when he gave a few of the children a few sticks of gum. Those children who received the gum kept it, but then they passed the foil-paper back amongst the group so all could have a sniff of the peppermint! Could you put their Life Sermon into words?

Of these few examples from life, which ones would be examples of your Family Life Sermon? What would be Your Life Sermon? Our Father's Life Sermon seemed to be Creating a Legacy through Schnee's Grocery, of caring for the town of Mitchell & Providing for their families through Hard Work and Thrift. Mom's Life Sermon seemed to be Seeking Forgiveness (for youthful choices) & showing she'd changed by, Raising My Girls. However, I doubt either of our parents would think of themselves that way, and I wish I had understood how to ask them when they were here.

While you have parents and grandparents to ask and learn from, maybe you should find out what their Life's Sermons are (or write them down for generations to come if you know) and if there is a Family Life Sermon you haven't recognized yet, talk to their neighbors, friends... Don't wait...