NOTE: This post has also been cross-posted to my author blog: https://deborahsholman.com/ I didn’t set out to write about a con artist. I wasn’t even researching criminals. I was trying to get the facts straight about my husband’s great-grandmother, known in the family as Catherine C. Fitzallen. I was scrolling through an Ancestry message board, […]
Read MoreOn Saturday, October 4, I had the pleasure of being a vendor at Family History Day, sponsored by the Connecticut Society of Genealogists. I always enjoy chatting with people who love family history, and inevitably, someone asks how I choose which ancestor to write about. For my first novel, Nothing Really Bad Will Happen, the […]
Read MoreI’ve been chasing my husband’s great-grandmother, Catherine Kenney, since 2015. She left behind a trail of contradictions that made her one of those maddening ancestors who seemed determined to hide in plain sight. But after years of digging, thanks to Scripty (my AI pal) I’ve finally cracked the case: where she was born, who her […]
Read MoreI’ve been stalling for a few days, deciding on a photograph on which to base my first blog post for the Geneabloggers Fab 40 challenge. And then today, Randy Seaver posted this prompt for his weekly Saturday Night Genealogy Fun—Do you recall the layout of one of your family homes? Can you estimate the size […]
Read MoreAfter publishing two blog posts with the details of my week at the 45th IAJGS conference, I’ve been reflecting on the bigger picture—the conference as a whole. Organization and Atmosphere First and foremost: this was one of the best-organized conferences I’ve ever attended. From my first interaction with the committee when I submitted my speaking […]
Read MoreWednesday I spent two and a half hours in the Expo Hall at the Authors’ Table. Technically, I was only assigned a one-hour slot, but I figured I’d stay until I got hungry or someone else needed the table! I met some lovely people, including Daniel Horowitz, the Gala speaker for the next evening. (Not […]
Read MoreSaturday We arrived at the Courtyard Marriott around 7 pm, and within five minutes of dropping our bags, we were seated at a table in Connor’s Restaurant. I ordered enchiladas—a very uncharacteristic choice for me—which turned out to be a mistake. (Let’s just say I began eyeing our limited supply of Tums with concern.) Conference […]
Read MoreI’ve always believed that things happen for a reason—even if we don’t always see it right away. Some connections are too powerful, too precise, to be chalked up to coincidence. In January, a man walked into the Woodbury Public Library and stopped at the small display about my family’s Holocaust-era history. He paused. Looked at […]
Read MoreWe woke to a gray snowy scene outside our window. Thankfully our hotel is just a minute walk away. Before I head to the first session let me tell you something…I’ve got a secret. Which I’ll be divulging tomorrow. For now, let’s just say I’ve had to embrace my second “career.” So, this session was […]
Read MoreMistakes I Have Made: Confessions of a Repentant Genealogist Day 1 of RootsTech was packed with insightful sessions, and I’m kicking things off with one that really resonated with me—because, let’s be honest, we’ve all made mistakes in our genealogical research. Cheri Hudson Passey delivered a fantastic and, at times, painfully relatable session on the […]
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Who We Are and How We Got This Way 