Tag: Gen Y

Faces of NextGen: Meet Cindy Medina

Cindy Medina, 40, Texas

What five words would you use to describe yourself? Perpetual learner, seeker, adventurer, researcher, and writer.

Why genealogy? Genealogy was instilled in me at a young age. My father would always talk about his grandparents and great-grandparents very fondly. Every chance he had he would talk about them. Fortunately, I also have a baby picture at the age of one, with five generations of women, including myself, aunt (in lieu of my dad), grandmother, great-grandmother, and great-great grandmother.

On my mother’s side, an aunt and uncle would talk about my great-grandfather, James Gallardo, working for the Alton, Illinois railroad. My grandfather and his siblings were born in Alton. With all this, I knew how important it was to remember who you are.

I was always the kid or teenager that asked my friends questions about their family. If they had vintage pictures, I would run to go see them. I always connected with my friends by pictures and stories they told me about their family, always was inquisitive, and at that age I didn’t realize I was already practicing GENEALOGY. Throughout the years, I have asked my living grandmothers (maternal and paternal) questions and inquired about their life stories. They have always been open and I am thankful for that! I always kept a mental note or jotted down any name they mentioned. Uncles, aunts, cousins, first, second, third, etc. They all matter! And due to that information I have been able to knock down many brick walls. There is no doubt I have Native American and Spanish heritage. I can’t claim a tribe, because Mexico has been mixing for five hundred years and all their birth certificates till 1750 so far state “Mestizo” which means of mixed heritage. I am definitely of Spanish Colonial heritage of the 1700s, not sooner. It is my aim and goal to find out my “Missing Spanish Link” and find out who was the first Spanish ancestor to arrive in “New Spain” a.k.a Mexico.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? I found two months ago my sixth great grandmother, Roberta Baylon, and my sixth great-grandfather, Jose Gutierrez, married in Chihuahua, Chihuahua, Mexico in 1793, then “New Spain.” The certificate shows their parents’ names, my seventh great-grandparents. I was so excited to see this!

What are you working on this week? I am working on organizing all newfound research of the past months, which has been vast, on all lineages, maternal and paternal. Once I am ready to continue to do more research I will continue with Roberta Baylon and Jose Gutierrez.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? PERSISTENCE! It never fails. I can take a break, but once I am ready, BOOM, I find something awesome! As a genealogist, you can take a break, but don’t let too much time pass by. It should be something continuous, something you do for a minute every day or weekly. When the minutes add up, it is a bank of knowledge and research! Last, if one website doesn’t give you anything, always try other routes and get more information, then try again and you will find something!

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? I knit! My Facebook Page is “A Knitting Journey.” That is another passion of mine. I come from a line of “crochet ladies” on my dad’s side (five generations) and I took the road for knitting with two needles. I can crochet, I can definitely hold my own, but knitting is my FORTE!

Anything else you’d like to share? I have researched my own family, helped friends with “brick walls,” and I have also met great people in the genealogy industry in the states and abroad. I look forward to growing my network more. I would like to support others and be supported. What we do is not easy. We do it because we have a passion for it and we know the value of it. It is nice when you have other passionate people in your circle that share the same genealogy dreams and struggles. I look forward to connecting with many!


The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

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Faces of NextGen: Meet Jessica Taylor

Jessica Taylor, 36, Utah

What five words would you use to describe yourself? Curious, careful, personable, busy, learning.

Why genealogy? When I was at BYU shopping for a major I knew I liked history and I liked ancestors so putting them together would be fun! Genealogy is great “hands-on” history.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? That the genealogy industry is a really exciting place to work right now.

What are you working on this week? I run a genealogy firm, so I get to work on the “inner gears” running the genealogy train, if that makes sense. So this week I’ve been coordinating improvements to our site’s SEO, helping onboard new affiliates, getting us set up to participate in radio over at Extreme Genes, and finalizing a change to our Worker’s Comp Insurance. Lots of variety!

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Working with incredible people.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? Direct communication with ancestors, of course! That would speed up a lot of our tapping at brick walls! Besides that, not needing to sleep would be really useful.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? Playing with my three little girls, walking our Shih Tzu, or running.

Anything else you’d like to share? I admire NextGen because I spent about ten years in this industry hiding my young age because I felt intimidated. So I’m glad you’re getting the young ‘uns out there and involved!


 

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

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Faces of NextGen: Meet Eric Wells

Eric Wells, 38, Missouri

What five words would you use to describe yourself? Three instead: Just plain awesome.

Why genealogy? Genealogy was the unintended result of trying to assemble a photo book for my grandmother. She wanted to pass on hundreds of old original photographs to her five children, but ran into a problem when one or more photos needed to be given to more than one of her children. I had no idea this was a big desire for her, nor did I know she had been stuck for decades with this roadblock. At the time I had no idea that taking on this project would inevitably lead me to make connections between the people in the photographs. Diving headlong into my own family’s genealogy was enough to make me love the work.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? On my wife’s side of the family, I discovered the parents of her great grandfather. It took hours upon hours browsing through early twentieth century records from Alabama and Georgia to build up enough circumstantial evidence to create a plausible theory. It took locating her distant relatives and running DNA tests to confirm the connections, the result of which deepened her family tree back to the early nineteenth century as well as widened it by discovering that her great grandfather actually had a half brother and a half sister.

What are you working on this week? I am researching a client’s family tree in an effort to produce heritage books and family tree posters for an upcoming family reunion.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Thinking outside the box. Following the trail of census and vital records is the backbone of the research, but the real fun starts when those sources don’t have the info one needs to solve the problem. Thinking outside the box has helped solve more problems than I can count. It often requires having to take the time to learn and understand the time period, culture and geographical area to discover new resources and records which are not normally used.

What superpower would you want to help you uncover your family history? Easy, time travel (with a camera and spare batteries). Burned counties could be saved, ancestors could be seen for the first time, and thanks could be given to those who prevailed through the tough times. I’d like to get to know the deadbeats and the black sheep to understand why they did what they did. Unfortunately I am not (yet) endowed with that superpower, so I’ll just have to live with my own impressions and use my imagination to re-animate our ancestors.

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? Fixing and remodeling houses (especially my own), some social activism, listening to podcasts, catching up on the latest discoveries in science and archeology, and working my way through a list of the top one hundred greatest books.

Anything else you’d like to share? This is may be a bit macabre, but genealogy is a way to bring people back from the dead. Not in the Frankenstein way, but instead it brings the people back to life within the memory and the minds of those exposed to the work I do. One of my favorite quotes is a recent one from the artist Bansky. He said. “…they say you die twice. One time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” As odd as it may sound, genealogy is currently the best shot at immortality.

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

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Faces of NextGen: Meet Melanie McComb

Pic 1Melanie McComb, 31, New York

Why genealogy? In college I was assigned a project in my genetics class to research my family tree to review medical history. I started to hear more of the family stories and I was hooked, particularly about my paternal grandparents. They died when I was young so I don’t remember much about them. When I had the funds to purchase a subscription to Ancestry.com, I dug in and started finding out as much as I could. That was three years ago and now I do genealogy every chance I get! I feel a connection to my ancestors every time I find out more about their lives.

What’s the coolest discovery you’ve made? I found my great grandmother’s declaration of intention documentation which included the name of the city in Romania she lived as well as a picture of her! I had never seen a picture of her before. It also included her birth name as well as my great grandfather’s name.

What are you working on this week? I am helping several adoptees locate their family by reviewing their DNA matches and completing mirror trees. For my personal tree, I’m re-reviewing my oldest ancestors to see if I can find further records to keep going further back.

What’s the number one secret to your success in genealogy? Change up your approach when you can’t find a particular record or ancestor. Try another website, ask for assistance in a genealogy group, post on message boards, contact DNA matches, etc. 

What are we most likely to find you doing when you’re not researching family history? I love to travel, spend time with friends, and binge-watch Netflix.

Anything else you’d like to share? I will be starting my blog showcasing the research I have completed on my family tree. I’ve learned so much since I started and I want to use that advice to help others. I’m also hoping it will serve as cousin bait to help my relatives learn more about our family history. Please follow me on Twitter to keep posted on when the first blog entry is ready!

The NextGen Genealogy Network is made up of young genealogists with diverse backgrounds, interests, and experiences. Faces of NextGen showcases a different member of our community each month. If you would like to be considered for an upcoming feature, simply complete our questionnaire and submit a selfie.

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