Family History

Growing up Revell

The first meeting of UMRA’s Family History Interest Group for 2023–24 will feature a presentation by Marilyn DeLong about sharing family stories and learning surprising family connections. 

Craig Swan

How I learned, this summer, that my great aunt, one of my paternal grandfather’s sister, was included in a fresco at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.  As far as I know she is the only relative of mine who is part of a fresco anywhere in the world.

Family Stories—Open Discussion

Event Date: May 17, 2023, at 10:00 AM

The May 2023 UMRA Family History Interest Group ZOOM presentation was an open discussion and question/answer session that covered a wide range of topics.

Telling the stories of the living

Event Date: April 12, 2023, at 10:00 AM

Larry Rudnick and Vicki Gaylord shared how they have worked with living family members to gain more information and insight into their family trees. Gaylord and Rudnick explained the processes they used and gave great examples.

Ways to engage family members in family history

Event Date: February 15, 2023, at 10:00 AM

UMRA's Family History Interest Group (FHIG) met via Zoom for two presentations on ways to engage family members in family history.

Tracing family history with DNA testing

Event Date: December 7, 2022, at 10:00 AM

The Family History Interest Group learned about tracing family history using DNA testing and tools including Ancestry DNA, 23andMe, and GEDmatch which uses the GEDCOM files generated by those companies to connect across platforms.

Kevina and Lee Munnich

Event Date: October 19, 2022, at 10:00 AM

Kevina and Lee Munnich gave a presentation on "Family History Tourism".  They shared information about 4 different sites and insights into their family's history. 

Family History Group covers a range of topics

Event Date: May 11, 2022, at 11:00 AM

On May 11, 2022 the Family History Interest Group met for an open forum that gave participants the opportunity to discuss any aspect of Family History.

Writing family stories

Event Date: April 13, 2022, at 10:00 AM

Writer and teacher Brenda Hudson shared her story-project method when the Family History Interest Group met on April 13.

Using DNA for family history research

Event Date: February 9, 2022, at 10:00 AM

Doing family history research with DNA was the focus when the UMRA Family History Interest Group (FHIG) met in February.

Learn to scan your family photos

Event Date: December 8, 2021, at 10:00 AM

In this session, we learned how to take pictures (of your pictures) with a digital camera, the pros and cons of fee-based digitizing services, and flat-bed scanners.

Family History: Engaging Family Members with Their Ancestors' Stories

Event Date: October 19, 2021, at 11:00 AM

Vicki Gaylord's engaging presentation on strategies she has used to engage family members with their family history.

Family History Interest Group 2021–22 schedule

UMRA member Vicki Gaylord will share ways she has found to engage family members in the family history work she has done when the Family History Interest Group meets in October.

Civil War Ancestors

Event Date: June 16, 2021, at 10:00 AM

In June 2021 I talked to the UMRA Family History Interest Group about how I documented the story of my great grandfather, George Swift, who joined the 3rd Minnesota Regiment at the start of the Civil War in 1861and returned to Minnesota four years later after serving as the drummer boy of the Ohio 69th Regiment.

Will Craig

Starting with a short family story from my Grandmother, I traced and documented the Civil War experiences of my great grandfather, George Swift.