First off, welcome back - to us all! Glad to be recording again. This season will be all about confirmation bias and the many ways it can get in the way of writing accurate life stories. My focus has been on FamilySearch in the past few years, so we'll be talking about writing those Brief Life Histories there.

This episode is about a specific search for answers about my great-granduncle, Harley Walker Bowers, his first wife Ethel Adaline McKinney, and her second husband, Solon Beecher Selleck. I expected to find out that Harley was a hound (he DID have three wives), that Ethel was a victim, and that Solon was her answer to prayer.

Not so much.

Listen as I detail discoveries that challenged all of my expectations, and rewrote this triangle of intertwined lives.

Today's episode is a Family Cookbook episode that I've wanted to make for quite a while. It features two of my favorite foods from the area where I went to college (and where MANY of my ancestors lived for over a century) - Deep Fried Biscuits and Homemade Apple Butter, from Indiana. See the shownotes for the recipes.

The part of the apple butter recipe that fascinates me is that my mother's mother would have gone through all of the boiling and sealing of jars as a child and teenager, basically the whole canning process, and by the time she died she was using a microwave. We're never that far from history and continual evolution, even in the kitchen.

Also, I invite you to celebrate my birthday with me, help me promote my YouTube channel in three easy steps, and with that, enter to win a deck of playing cards (design of your choice) from my Zazzle shop.

Let's get cooking!

You can join my Facebook group - just be sure to answer the screening questions and agree to the house rules.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

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Here's another biography I developed on my quest to achieve one biography per day on my platform of choice, FamilySearch. With each ancestor, I always start with the auto-generated Life Story on Ancestry, copy it and paste it in the LifeStory field on FamilySearch. Then, I augment it with facts from census, vital, and other records, along with a little logical deduction thrown in for good measure. As I did before, I will read you the original from Ancestry and the final product on FamilySearch, complete with a list of sources. I hope that this inspires you to write a few biographies every month. It's the best way to come to understand the lives of our ancestors.

Also, I'm no longer on Spotify. I explain that in the episode.

Last, but absolutely not least, HAPPY BLACK HISTORY MONTH!

You can join my Facebook group - just be sure to answer the screening questions and agree to the house rules.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher | TuneIn

This February is going to be on fire with four Saturday Zoom seminars, ABSOLUTELY FREE OF CHARGE: Dr Shelley Viola Murphy's "African American Genealogy Challenges," Angela Y Walton-Raji's "Researching African/Native American Genealogy," "African American Genealogy Research in the North Carolina Portion of the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor" with Renate Yarborough-Sanders, and finally, a preview of the IAAM Center for Family History presented by Dr Shelley Viola Murphy and Toni Carrier. Register for each separately here or at tinyurl.com/MR4BBPNF.

You can join my Facebook group by visiting this page for the link.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher | TuneIn

Have you ever set a goal or {shudder} made a New Year's Resolution, and then not kept it? Yeah, you're allowed to look at me and point on that one. I am a terrible offender. But this year, I don't have a goal, or a resolution, I just have a hashtag. A THING, if you will. And that thing is - #BioADay2022. I am working hard to write a bio, little or big, for an ancestor, every day, for the year. And if I don't make one per day, no big deal - I'll just keep on trying.

The podcast helps hold me accountable (as does guilt, lots of guilt), and I'm sharing one of my bios with you today. It's for Calvin Walker, my 3rd great-grandfather. He didn't save children from burning buildings or anything, but he lived a life that, like all lives, deserves to be remembered. I hope you enjoy his story, and the tale of how I assembled it. If I meet my goal, you'll see how important it is to document our ancestors, and you'll feel inspired to do so yourself.

You can join my Facebook group by visiting this page for the link.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher

Happy New Year, and welcome back to the post-champagne life! I have three recipes for you today, and each will appease your cheesecake cravings in different ways. The first is a traditional recipe from my mother's mother. The second is a Ricotta Cheesecake (or Ricotta Pie) from a local real estate agent, AnnaLisa Bossio. The last is one of my own creation that is small yet flexible, and can be made to suit many different allergies or special diets. Listen, bake, and enjoy!

You can join my Facebook group by visiting this page for the link.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher

2021 is definitely in the running for my least favorite year EVER! It has given me reason to reexamine what I'm doing, however, both with the podcast and with my own work. Join me for a list of thank-you's, and for an introduction of the quickest, easiest solution I've found so far to distractions, brick walls, and the genealogy blues - #BioADay2022. Let's join together to hold one another accountable as we actively learn more about our ancestors by generating and augmenting short (as in, 2-minute) biographies for ancestors using Ancestry with FamilySearch and WikiTree. 2022 is not going to start off as an easy year, but we can help one another through it together and get higher-quality research out of it as a squadron than we might flying solo. Thank you for being with me in 2021 - now, on to 2022!

You can join my Facebook group by visiting this page for the link.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher

It's that time of year again - Happy Halloween, and Happy All Saints' Day too! This episode is full of delicious stories and delicious recipes. Dai Davies of GenealCymru and Andrew Martin of Family Histories Podcast contributed their own stories to the episode, as have I. I'm also providing you family and historical recipes for chocolate orange bars, apple crisp, apple cake, burnt butter icing, and three different kinds of pumpkin pies or tarts. Join me, Andrew, Dai, and assorted ghosts and monsters as we celebrate our ancestors and brace for the Pumpkin Spice Season.

You can join my Facebook group by visiting this page for the link.

Please follow my YouTube channel here - I will be doing more videos face to face, and perhaps even some live, with chat and everything!

Please rate and review the podcast on your podcast provider, at https://apple.co/2MLZW4H, or at facebook.com/AncestorsAliveGenealogy.

If you want to be on the podcast from ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD using the Zoom platform and a good mic and earphones (how about that Family Cookbook series??), you can contact me at https://bit.ly/2Kxb6rm.

Stop by the website at ancestorsalivegenealogy.com, IG @fppppodcast, Clubhouse @ancestorsalive and Twitter at both @fpppppodcast and @ancestorsalive

Sponsor the podcast at patreon.com/AncestorsAlive for super-fantastic rewards, including SWAG for different levels of sponsorship AND monthly polls that yield even more SWAG. Support levels start at $5/mo.

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Check out my Zazzle shop at zazzle.com/store/fppppodcast for the aforementioned swag.

Subscribe: Audible | Blubrry | GoodPods | iHeartRadio | iTunes/Apple | Pandora | Soundcloud | Spreaker | Stitcher