Looking for distant cousins

Today I am going to talk about my husband's family side, more precisely his grandma's father's  side.
We are looking to find distant cousins, descendants of Martin Lorenzo Dow Knight and Julia Judenia White.
We have already found many, but we know there are many more yet to be found and probably pictures that we haven't seen yet.
With the pictures we were able to find and share with each other, I created this Descendancy poster, and I am hoping that looking at the pictures, names and dates somebody will recognize their ancestors and will contact us.
So, here it is:

(click on the image to magnify it)
The Knights were originally from Alabama, and then moved to Tennessee.
Martin Lorenzo Dow was son of Davis (1815-1875) and Sarah(1820-1880) Knight, and among his siblings were
Francis M. Knight,
Elizabeth L. Knight,
Eliza J. Knight,
Jesse Jackson Knight ( who married Julia Judenia's sister, Eustacia Bell (Ada) White),
William M. Knight ( who married Zelphia Almedia Amerson)  and
Mary C. Knight.
If you recognize any of these names as one of your ancestors, please, contact me.
We are also going to have a Knight family reunion, June 25th-26th for all the descendants of Davis and Sarah Knight, and we would sure love to have new distant cousins join us!
Once I have more pictures, I will create a poster for the descendants of each of Martin Lorenzo Dow's siblings, in hope to find even more cousins.

Tribute to dad

In Italy Father's Day is celebrated on the 19th of March. It is a day to celebrate and to spend with your dad.

Unfortunately to me, this is also the last day of my dad's mortal existence, 24 years ago.

I was only 13, and you might have described me as a rebel.

I loved my dad to death, but since we were both pretty stubborn people, you could see me "discussing" with him most of the time.

On father's day morning, I was upset with him for something, and I went to school without even saying "Happy Father's day". That was something I would regret forever, since he died that same morning.

I didn't get to tell him "Ti voglio bene papa'" (I love you daddy), nor to hide that handmade father's day card under his plate as we used to do for every special occasion. I lost my chance to let him know how important he was to me, because of how stubborn I was...

It took years to get over this guilt... I found my peace when finally doing the genealogy and temple work for him and our ancestors.

Various events and dreams in my life have shown me that he loves me and knows that I love him, and I know that one day I will hug him again.

As I said, my dad was stubborn, but he was it for the right reasons. He would never compromise his integrity. He was always true to himself and did every possible sacrifice to allow us children to have an education.

He was only able to get to third grade, but you would never have guessed that.

He read every possible book, he was his own doctor, he had done so many different jobs in his life, and always excelled in what he did. I got to only know him as a blacksmith, he had his own shop close to our house, so he was always with us.

He would work so hard, even when his growing health problems. Everybody knew "Mastro Oreste" ( Oreste the Master), and appreciated his work. Still nowadays I will find people telling me that my dad made a gate for their property or stairs for their home or every possible artistic iron work. 

He would go to church every Sunday, and expect that we would do the same. He taught us modesty, and integrity. He was not perfect, but to my eyes, he was pretty close!

Oh how I wish he could be here today and see my children. I know he would be such a great influence in their life... I know he is watching upon us, but I still miss him!

I hope and pray that through the stories I tell and write about him my children will get to love him just as much as I do, and grow a deep desire to be like him.

 

TI VOGLIO BENE PAPA'!!!!

How cousin are we?

Last weekend we got the chance to go visit Brenda, my husband's 2nd cousin twice removed, whom we found through a series of events that involved also another long lost cousin, Sarah.
We  enjoyed our time so much, getting to know her, her husband and her mom, and scanning so many family pictures!
At the same time, I realized that while we all know we are cousins, and both my husband and Brenda trust me when I tell them they are 2nd cousins twice removed, it really sounds a bit confusing!
It wasn't until my husband told me that he couldn't explain to Brenda's mom how they were related, that I realized I had to make it more visual, and I promised my self and Brenda that I would do it ASAP.
So, this morning I just had to do it.
I started gathering the pictures from each generation, for each of the three lines involving Sarah, Brenda and my husband, then I uploaded them on my publishing account, and I started a new 8.5x11 page project.

Once it was done, I wondered why didn't I think of it sooner!
Each level is a generation, so you can see siblings, then cousins, then 2nd cousins, 3rd cousins and so on. Looks like my children are the farthest in the descendancy line!My husband came home and finally said that he understood the relationship with his long lost cousin, plus I received a great feedback from both of the other cousins, and I know they will enjoy showing it to other  family members on their descendancy line.
It might be interesting to notice that for each line, the cousins that were "starters" in finding each other, are on a different level. Almost as if for each generation there was one appointed to reconnect the family...
I am going to create more version of this"cousin" chart, to include each and every distant cousin we  are so grateful to be connecting to, so that when we will see each other at our family reunion, it will be so much easier to understand and remember how exactly we are related!
I can't wait!

By the way, if there are other descendants of Martin Lorenzo Dow and Julia Judenia White out there, or if anybody in this chart seems familiar, let me know, I am always looking for long lost cousins!

If you would like to learn more about the various degrees of kinship, you can give a look at this entry on the wikipedia

Treasure Chest Thursday: My testimony

One of the most cherished treasures I want  to pass on to my children, my grandchildren, and all my posterity is my testimony.
I wanted to put together a book with the story of how my testimony came to be, and that included my idea of the pre-existence, my most meaningful life experiences till the moment I finally got baptized.
I wanted this book to be full of pictures that would complement my memories.
I had been thinking about it for years, and when I found out about  Heritage Makers I knew I could finally put my testimony in a book that could be preserved for generations to come.
It took me 2 more years to be able to actually realize this dream of mine, since I was in Florida and all my childhood and any other pre-digital era pictures were in my house in Italy, but when I finally was able to go back and take the most meaningful pictures with me to scan them and include them in the book, I felt like a huge burden had been lifted off my chest.
I could finally complete my book, I finally knew that my testimony was preserved and that I could make as many copies as needed to give to my children when time would come.
Oh what a joy when I received the first copy of my book...

I called it "My journey: from birth to rebirth".

 Even if my children are still very young, from time to time they have been going through the pages, looked at the pictures and the oldest one has been asking questions that he wouldn't otherwise have asked me, and to whom I might have not been able to answer in the future.
They can see what their mom dreams and thoughts were when she was their age, how she was growing up, what events signed her life, what she learned from them.... 
Life is so unpredictable, and knowing that should something happen to me, they will still be able to know who their mom was, and maybe still learn something from me, makes my heart feel at peace.
Any person has a testimony to share with his/her posterity. It is so important to make sure that the ones that will come after us might learn from our experiences, both spiritual and temporal.
This is one of the greatest treasures you can leave your children.
If you haven't done it yet, I urge you to do it today. Do it before going to bed. Start writing even just a few thoughts about what you firmly believe, and want your children, your posterity to know about you, something that goes beyond your birth date and the places you have been, something that will be more important to them than grandma's necklace or great granddad's watch.
You will discover that you are not doing this just for them, but for yourself, because it will help you take time to remember who you are, and where you are going in your life.
What's even better, this is a treasure that can be divided among all your posterity, and will not diminish, but will keep multiplying from generation to generation.

Help WANTED!

Beside being a genealogist specialized in Italian Heritage, I am a Heritage Makers Personal Publishing Consultant, and enjoy what I do.

As a Personal Publishing Consultant, I help people discovering and sharing their stories in creative ways, and give them the tools to publish their stories, and to do something special with their pictures.

I LOVE the expression in the eyes of the people  I help, especially when their project is completed and they finally receive it on their door step.

I am so grateful to be able to work doing something that helps me express my passion and share it with others.

At the same time, I cannot help everybody, and I could use some help!
I would be very happy to welcome some passionate and creative people to my team, and give them the opportunity to make an income by just doing what they love.

So, if  you are you looking for a fabulous company that has exclusivity in digital scrapbooking... This is it! No other company has the creativity that these products offer! You will love this! Call me today and I can get you started! Start Up Cost as low as $124.95.

Do you have a passion for your job? The Personal Publishing Consultants of Heritage Makers do. Heritage Makers help others tell their story through a powerful online publishing tool called Studio...

Heritage Makers Business Opportunity

If you have been thinking about what I do and would like to join me, now it is the time to call me, as the cost of the start up kit to become a Personal Publishing consultant, has been reduced, for a limited time:

 I prefer the business kit, though as it is a much better value for the price, you will save even more and will give you all the tools needed for many workshops.

Just check this flier and then contact me with any question you might have.

You have asked for it, and it is BACK!

You have heard me talking about Club Premiere, and I know that many of you wanted to take advantage of this incredible opportunity, but back in January just was not going to happen, since many of you were recovering from all the "holiday expenses"...
Well, many have asked for it, me included and we have been heard!
Club premier is back!
You not only get to digiscrap at your own heart content for a whole year, for as low as $8 a month,  but you will get special discounts on publishing credits, available only to club premier members!
Check out the flier!

 

You can read more about club premier here and here.

Hurry, this is a limited time offer!

Check out this video to learn more about Premier:

Kids heritage blocks as FHE activity

My boys had been asking for so long to have their own blocks, after I created the ones with our wedding pictures, so we decided  it was about time I would not only do it for them, but with them.
My husband went and got another 2x4, cut it, sanded it, and tonight for our FHE(Family Home Evening), we talked about genealogy and how important our children are to us, and as activity, we painted the blocks and put their pictures on them.

The boys were so thrilled!

 

Since they are still so young, and the blocks were so inexpensive, I gave them a set of extra block to just express their creativity, while I was doing most of the work..

Still, I wanted these blocks to have their touch, so I let them paint the sides a little:

 

and they got to put their own picture on their block:

I finished gluing the pieces of scrap paper that I had created with the Studio online software, and let them dry for about 30 minutes, while we were talking a little more about how important families are and how much we care for each of them. I wanted my boys to remember, each time they will look at these blocks, or play with them, that we care for them, and these are a symbol of our love for them.
Once our boys went to bed, I applied the coat of modge podge on each side of the blocks with glued scrap paper, and let dry.

I can't wait to see my boys' faces in the morning!
I know they are going to love them!

You can create these blocks with your own children too, for your FHE, family night, or simply when you desire to have some fun and constructive time together. They are easy to create, and being so durable, they will be a precious memento for your kids for years to come, not to mention that they are another great way to sparkle their interest in genealogy, since they have info on their birth and their parents, and if desired, more blocks can be created with pictures and info of parents, grandparents, and so on.
You could practically end up creating a genealogy tree out of these heritage blocks!
Wouldn't that be priceless?

March host rewards and gift

March is a great month to host a workshop, either in person or virtual since there is a very special hosting gift:
a free keepsake jewelry bracelet!
I have created one with pictures of my children, and everybody that sees it loves it, not to mention that my boys love to see that their mommy has their picture on her arm^_^
Click on the picture to see the whole flier:

Also, your guest will receive a free family fold with any purchase!

Contact me to know more about workshops and how you can take advantage of all the rewards and gifts available to all of our hosts! You might find yourself publishing your stories for FREE!!

March pick of the month

The most popular size book for publishing is the 8x8, and has been chosen as March pick of the month!

What does this mean for you? It means that you can purchase 8x8 book credits at a very special price, and start writing your stories and putting together your pictures while knowing that you are getting a super deal!

8x8 Storybooks $42.95

and if you are a club premier member you can save even more!

club premier only offer:

8x8 storybook $37.95

You can get this special price only by contacting me, and remember, credits will last at least a year, so you can get the special price now and work at your book at your own pace!
Happy Storybooking!