The Shamrock Genealogist

It's officially the first day of the new year, 2019. It's been a whirlwind this past year, particularly over the last few months. Since my last blog post I made a huge change in my life. I quit my current job as an IT analyst and become a professional genealogist at New England Historic Genealogical Society. I'm so excited for this opportunity. I've been working hard to advance in the genealogy industry by lecturing at local events and even my first international conference (Ontario Conference). I was accepted to speak at RootsTech and NERGC in the next few months. I took a position at the end of the summer being an on-call genealogist where I was filling in for other employees at NEHGS that were out. This greatly helped me understand what it means to help other genealogists do their research in a library setting. I learned in the past year that it's never too late to chase your dreams and that you can get your dream job. I feel I'm making more of a difference...

I recently hosted a RootsTech 4-day pass giveaway. It's a great perk I receive as a RootsTech ambassador to give out to my readers. The winner has been selected and the lucky winner is (drum roll please): Charlene Ferris-Kozlowski Charlene participates in historical reenactments and is portraying her great grandmother, a farm/ranch owner in Southern California (circa 1870's) Let's find out more about Charlene: " Who am I?  A  semi-retired busy Southern Californian whose  converted my research from Index Cards to Internet platforms over the past decade.  My family heritage is as a  fourth-generation California gal, with roots back to the early American shores ~ and then further “back” across the ocean!  And my husband’s Mid-West lines have links that take my research into Canada, and European lands as well. Oh, and I’m the proud Mom of a Special Olympian who will be honored in 2019 as Athlete of...

Family History Month is drawing to a close but genealogy continues. Let's face it's a daily part of our lives. One of my favorite genealogy events is attending RootsTech. It will be my third year attending and my second year as an ambassador. One of you lucky readers will have the chance to win the prize valued at $299! It includes the following: • Over 300 classes • Keynote / General sessions • Expo Hall • Evening events Note: It does NOT include any paid lunches or paid labs. Click here to enter the contest Rules: 1. The giveaway will last until November 6th and the winner will be notified on November 7th 2. If you have already registered for RootsTech, we will provide you with instructions to redeem your reward and receive a refund on registration. 3. In addition to no paid lunches or paid labs, prize does not include airfare, hotel, etc. This pass is for the registration to attend RootsTech. Good luck!

New England Historic Genealogical Society aka my second home It has been a whirlwind the last few weeks. I have been busy with work travel and lecture prep. I even started working as an on-call genealogist on weekends at the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston, MA. It's still a busy time but I'm playing catch up and have a lot of exciting projects in the works. I've been thinking about making some updates to my blog. I want to highlight some of the historical artifacts and buildings in New England I uncover.  As someone who was raised in New York their entire life, everything feels new and wonderful. My new blog series is called "Wicked History" (kudos to my husband for the name). I will blog about some of the interesting things I find throughout New England and include some genealogy about the persons involved. Coincidentally, I live right near Salem so the blog series name has a double meaning.  I will still have my other series ...

It's been over a month since I last blogged and yet it feels longer. A lot has been going on. I recently celebrated my 34th birthday.  I have some upcoming lectures for the next couple of weeks and of course preparing for RootsTech (registration starts 9/20!). The latest BSO (bright shiny object) was the updated ethnicity estimates rolled out by Ancestry, due to an estimated 13,000 reference samples added to the database. I took a few screen shots to the show difference. I'm showing that I "lost" Scandinavia, Iberian Peninsula and a few other trace regions. My Irish/Scotland and European Jewish estimates increased and I gained Baltic States (refined from Europe East). Overall, nothing drastically different but it does line up more with the paper trail. What updates did you notice on your AncestryDNA estimates? Previous AncestryDNA estimate (including percentages) Updated AncestryDNA Estimate (including percentages)

It's that time of year again where registration will soon start for RootsTech, September 20th to be exact. Hotels are filling up quickly so I recommend reserving your place today (the Marriott filled up very quickly). Lots of changing are happening for the 2019 conference , including no badge scanning and faster check ins! I'm pleased to announce that I will serve as an ambassador again. This means that I will be giving away a free registration pass over the next few months of one of my readers. In addition, I will also be giving a lecture "Conducting Research Using Roman Catholic Records" at RootsTech. I'm very excited for this opportunity!  Need more reasons on why you should attend RootsTech? Check out this update from the RootsTech team.  What are you looking forward to about RootsTech? Are you attending in person or watching the streamed sessions and connecting with #NotatRootsTech on social media? Disclaimer: I am an Ambassador for RootsTec...

Folsom Public Library I recently returned from a work trip to Folsom, California. It was a hot one! Over 100 degrees each day. At least no humidity but a bit too hot to stop by a local cemetery. Due to my work and flight schedule, I had only a short amount of time for my next #genealogyontheroad excursion. I visited the Folsom Public Library one afternoon after work. It's a small library and had only two small shelves held the genealogy books (seen below). I love uncovering local history at the public library. You always find some kind of treasure and this trip didn't disappoint. I wandered into one of the reading rooms (which was really beautiful and relaxing). On the wall there were several frames that had a marked up document with lots of edits. I peered closer and noticed a framed note that said "The original copy of President Abraham Lincoln's first Inaugural Speech was presented to the City of Folsom, California on June 7, 2010 in honor of the 1...