Speaker for the Dead: A Genealogy Blog2021-01-14T20:16:42-08:00

Speaker for the Dead: A Genealogy Blog

Digitizing Records

By |July 15th, 2021|

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

By |June 16th, 2021|

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

By |May 15th, 2021|

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

By |April 15th, 2021|

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 & Software – Part 2

By |February 15th, 2021|

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

By |January 15th, 2021|

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

By |December 15th, 2020|

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 […]

Go to Top