Roots & U

08/01/2026

The American Revolution, a landmark documentary by Ken Burns, Sarah Botstein, and David Schmidt, premieres Nov. 16, 2025.

03/01/2026

January 1, 1812 – At the urging of mutual friend Dr. Benjamin Rush, John Adams ends 11 years of silence with Thomas Jefferson by composing a letter on New Year's Day of 1812. Not only would their friendship be rekindled, but the letter would spark the beginning of a flood of correspondence between the two former Presidents for the remainder of their lives. The Adams/Jefferson letters are an incredible trove of information and an intimate look into the lives of 2 men who were instrumental in the founding of the United States of a America. The letters can be read chronologically in several modernly published books available at your favorite book purveyor, and is a recommended read for any fan of American Revolution era history.

14/10/2025

02/10/2025

R.I.P.

Dame Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall

Born: 3 April 1934
Hampstead, London, England, UK
to parents:
Father
Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall 1907–2001
FSID #: GS4V-4GH
And
Mother
Margaret Myfanwe Joseph
1906–2000
FSID #: GXW5-6S4

Death:
1 October 2025
Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA

Brief Life History
When asked if she believed in God, Goodall said in September 2010: "I don’t have any idea of who or what God is. But I do believe in some great spiritual power. I don’t know what to call it. I feel it particularly when I’m out in nature. It’s just something that’s bigger and stronger than what I am or what anybody is. I feel it. And it’s enough for me."

Occupation
British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues.

01/10/2025

Super Excited!!

01/10/2025

Register now for RootsTech 2026, March 5–7 ⤵️
https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/?cid=SO-00052043
Join the world’s largest family history conference in person in Salt Lake City, Utah, or online from anywhere.

→ Enjoy online classes at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.
→ Discover more about your family story.
→ Feel inspired by powerful experiences and much more.

01/10/2025

Old news but worth the read

"The stories this watch could tell over the last 126 years include colorful and profound moments in American history."

Just before Theodore Roosevelt sailed to Cuba to fight in the Spanish-American War, his sister and brother-in-law gave him a silver pocket watch. Though inexpensive, the watch was apparently of great sentimental importance to the future president, who wrote to his sister in 1898, "Darling Corinne, You could not have given me a more useful present than the watch; it was exactly what I wished." Not only did Roosevelt carry the watch with him in Cuba, but historians also believe that he had it with him during his voyages to Africa and the Amazon.

Decades after Roosevelt's death, this storied artifact was put on display at the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site in Buffalo, New York — until someone stole it from its unlocked case in 1987. For 37 years, the watch's whereabouts were a complete mystery. Now, the watch has finally been recovered. And to Roosevelt's descendants, it's "almost as if a piece of TR's spirit being returned"

(story in cmt)

25/09/2025

Getting to Know Birth Records:

Before birth certificates were established in the U.S., how was birth information recorded?

This question and others are answered in a brief Ancestry Academy video (https://www.ancestryacademy.com/videos/vital-records-births). The video also gives examples of records through time and shows how to track ancestors using birth records on Ancestry.

To see additional tips and resources for birth records, check out Goal B2 in the United States page (https://www.thefhguide.com/project-9-united-statesb2.html ).

25/09/2025

RootsTech 2026 registration is now open! Don’t miss this chance to come together with others and learn more about your family story. Attend this global event for free online or register to be there in person in Salt Lake City, Utah. Register today for RootsTech 2026! https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/?cid=SO-00051582

18/09/2025

After more than eight decades, U.S. Navy Ensign Joseph L. Richey, just 21 years old when he perished aboard USS California (BB-44) on December 7, 1941, has finally been accounted for.🕊️🇺🇸⚓

Ensign Joseph L. Richey was born June 8, 1920, in Barnard, Missouri, a small-town boy with dreams of flying. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1940, earned his wings at Pensacola in 1941, and proudly took his place as a young aviator with Observation Squadron 2 aboard USS California. On December 7, 1941, at just 21 years old, his journey was cut short when California burned and sank under relentless Japanese torpedoes and bombs, taking 103 sailors with her — Richey among them. For decades, he remained among the missing, his name etched in stone but his fate uncertain. On May 9, 2025, after more than 80 years, Joseph is finally accounted for, no longer just a name, but remembered as the young man who gave everything at the dawn of war. 🕊️⚓🇺🇸