Speaker for the Dead: A Genealogy Blog
Digitizing Records
Preserving Records from the California Genealogical Society
I enjoy genealogy research because it brings forgotten stories back to life. Piecing together a person’s life story using online databases with document images is energizing. One clue leads to another and with luck you’ll come to know who that ancestor was.
Genealogy has been […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 5
GEDCOM
As I discussed last month, it is possible to have genealogy software that is more LGBTQ friendly. Software that allows for Family History, not just DNA connections. Software that recognizes people have more than two opposite sex parents. A system that allows for recognition and weighting of the real parents, […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 4
Constellations
If I could design the ideal genealogical software, something that was completely inclusive of LGBTQ people, and everyone else’s differences, I would call it Constellations. The basis of the software is about making connections between people and not just filling in the DNA bloodlines. I will demonstrate that premise in […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 3
Current Software Do’s and Don’ts
Family constellations, of all kinds, continue to evolve and change. Our genealogical software options have not kept up with these changes. One of the simplest changes would be allowing for the documentation of same-sex relationships. Yet some programs still do not have functionality for this simplest […]
LGBTQ Genealogy at FindMyPast
FindMyPast At Home Interview
I am grateful to Jen Baldwin and Eleanor Overthrow-Jones of FindMyPast for the interest in LGBTQ Genealogy. I also thank all the listeners who logged into the live interview on 25 February 2021 or are now watching it on YouTube. On the day of the interview, […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 2
Our Changing World is Not New
Last month I wrote about my family constellation. It is unique and complex, but I am not the only one with a unique and complex mix of people I consider family by DNA, by adoption, by step, by fostering, or by choice. To tell a […]
LGBTQ Genealogy & Software – Part 1
Family History vs. DNA Genealogy
This blog series on LBGTQ Genealogy will now shift focus to genealogical software, both online and offline. Often, for our families, available software doesn’t fit. Software is written hetero-centrically, for a cis male / cis female coupling that have biological children. To demonstrate, I will tell […]
#LGBTQgenealogy: A History
At the 2017 FGS Conference, I was inspired by Judy Russell and her presentation entitled “Rainbows and Kaleidoscopes: Inclusion as a Society and Corporate Genealogical Standard.” Judy, The Legal Genealogist, a well-respected professional holding significant community status, was telling her own industry to become more inclusive of diversity. All our […]
Writing Your Own Obituary
Write your own obituary, because who can do it better than you? Who amongst your surviving relatives will know why you took the life paths you did? Who will have the insight and writing skills to convey to generations to come who you were in life?
As genealogists, we are happy […]
