You know, with all my talk about ax murderers and rat poison the last couple of weeks, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were scared to get involved with genealogy. But all jokes aside, I know plenty of people are scared they might uncover a family secret that upsets the balance of their current family dynamic.

It is a very real possibility.

If you research your family, you very well could uncover an extramarital affair, a secret identity, or you might even find out that one of your siblings isn’t your blood kin after all. There are other possibilities too.

Yesterday, I took my children to the public library. As it tends to happen, I got caught up talking to a lady about genealogy shortly after we arrived. She told me she was scared to start searching for her family because she was sure she would find out some nefarious family secret. Especially one she didn’t want to know.

At the same time, she told me she wished she knew more about her parents, both of whom have passed. In that moment, standing in the library with all kinds of folks milling about, I wanted to tell her that she would find small nuggets of priceless information about her parents and family if she would only start the search. I wanted to tell her that she would feel closer to her parents and grandparents and that it would be a meaningful experience. I wanted to tell her how much fun she would have and how many new friends she would find and cousins she would discover.

Unfortunately, we were interrupted. I didn’t get the chance to tell her any of that.

I’ve already resolved to tell her how amazing genealogy can be, and I will the next time I visit her branch. I’ve already resolved to tell her that ax murderers, rat poison, and family secrets aside, there’s not really anything to be afraid of when searching for your ancestors.

I’ve resolved to tell her that despite my jokes, if she takes the first step, she’ll soon find herself on a truly profound and rewarding journey. If you’ve been on your path for a while now. Keep it up. Share your stories with us. If you’re new, then please, keep at it. Learn new things and discover all the wonder you can find in this amazing field.

Until next time . . . Don’t be afraid to start. Jump in and experience all the wonders of genealogy.

Last Week, I confessed that I don't always talk ax murders and murderers. This is true. 

Because sometimes I talk about poison too. 

So, I think I will drop this little nugget right here. [1]

And while I am at it, this little newspaper article sent me down the rabbit hole, where I found a lot of other records about this case. Or more specifically, records about Mark Curry, who is a distant uncle to me. (I'm too lazy to count the generations for this short post.)

Like it would for a lot of people studying their family, this story caught my attention. It caught my attention enough to keep digging. In fact, that digging yielded enough records and stories that I might have enough about Mark Curry to write a book. Okay, maybe not a book, but at least a pamphlet. 

But the pamphlet isn't the point. I am just here to show you--I don't always talk ax murders and murderers, sometimes I talk poison too. 

P. S. if you're interested in your family, your family's stories, or doing genealogy research, please come join us here in the Mississippi Genealogical Society. We're a much safer bunch than some of our stories might suggest. 

1. "Death by Suicide," Cassville Republican (Cassville, Missouri), p. 4, col. 3. 23 February 1893. Newspapers.com. (https://www.newspapers.com/image/334977025/ : accessed 17 June 2025). 

I don't always talk ax murders and murderers, but when I do, genealogy is involved. Let me explain, lest you think me crazy. Recently a friend took me to lunch for my birthday. During the course of our meal, I recounted a family history project I am working on involving a bank robbery. 

When I was done spouting the family tale, he said, "Cool. My introduction to family history was when my mom sent me journal entries about a relative. Some guy broke into his house, grabbed a hatchet and attacked his wife. She survived, but one of their children died. Then he followed the ax guy and shot him. Apparently the authorities just said," and waved his hand to show me the authorities let his ancestor off scot-free. 

Later, after lunch, and being a fan of research, I looked it up. Here's a photo of one newspaper entry about the event. [1] I found a few others. Chatted with my friend again and he told me he likes to see genealogical photos of the inmates in prison. 

This kind of conversation and stories are the reason why I gravitated to genealogy in the first place--to learn the sordid history and drama of my family's past. Just kidding. I like to know about my ancestors and their stories. The tales don't always have to be about ax murders and murderers. They could be about rat poison . . . oops, that's an entirely different story.

What I meant to say is that the stories don't have to be about the sordid and dramatic tales people went through. They could be heroic, or even downright domestic and boring. Anything to give me a glimpse into the lives of our ancestors. 

So, if you like swapping stories about bank robberies, ax murders, and rat poison, while at the same time outing your ancestors in the process, come join us at the Mississippi Genealogical Society. We'd love to get to know you.

And not in some creepy ax murderer kind of way. 

Sources:

1. "Speedy Justice," The Deseret News (Salt Lake City), p. 8, col. 2. 7 April 1869. digitalnewspapers.org (https://newspapers.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s66t1g52 : accessed 10 June 2025). 

My mom recently introduced me to a new YouTube channel. It’s called Forgotten Lines, and its concept is that James, a professional genealogist, purchases pictures at an antique store and researches the people in the photo. Or he might visit a cemetery and research interesting tombstones he finds.

Anyway, I watched a couple of episodes and noticed James said something really interesting.  He said, “So, I called the library and asked the librarian . . .” Then he proceeded to state what he wanted to find. Lo and behold after he asked for help, the librarians produced some much needed information.

I read through some of the comments on those videos where he asked librarians for help and I saw that more than one person noted how they struggle to ask people for help. Their shyness or aversion to asking kept them from opening their mouths.

A few days later, I was in public and someone said something similar to me. “I find it difficult to ask librarians for what I need.” Which brings me to my point. Don’t be afraid to ask a librarian or archivists for help. Libraries and archives are service organizations. They’re meant to help people find and use the information preserved in their collections.

In my experience, most librarians and archivists are very friendly and want to help. So go ahead and ask. Sure, there’s always the exception to the rule. You might get someone who doesn’t want to help or is rude. But that is usually the exception to the rule. Mostly though, these professionals want to help you navigate their collections. So please, don’t be afraid to ask. Whether you ask by phone, filling out a contact form, or using the chat feature on a website, please use the services they provide so you can fully enjoy your research. Their professional help will make a world of difference in your search.

One last point. It’s easy enough for me to say, “Don’t be afraid to ask,” when in reality, many people have fears and anxieties that I am not experiencing. Asking can be difficult for some people and I realize that. For those of you with those fears, please know that asking for help can open up an entire universe of possibilities. I know from experience.

So instead of me saying “Don’t be afraid to ask,” let me say this—just ask. The librarians and archivists will do their best to help.

P. S. What I mean by asking for help is asking the librarians and archivists for help in finding what information they have in their collections. It’s up to you to do your own genealogy research after that.

I turned 50 yesterday. So Happy Birthday to me. It was in fact a fun birthday. My wife and children gave me presents, made me my favorite dinner, and we watched a movie together. When they handed over the goods, my wife even took some short videos of me opening the gifts. She said, “The kids are going to want to watch this in a year or so.” And they really will. I often find them lying next to my wife in our bed watching videos of good times we had in the past.

In other words, we made family history. We enjoyed being together. Being a family. And I loved it.

But now that it’s a day later, and I’m thinking about being 50, I realize I’m getting to be an old curmudgeon in some ways. You see, I like to keep tabs on the genealogical world. I try to keep abreast of things happening in the community. Trends, fads, skills, and more. I’m not the best at it because I like to spend time with my family and because I’m not a professional genealogist. So, I’m not always immersed in the genealogical realm.

One thing I’ve noticed that’s becoming more and more prevalent in genealogy is AI. (Yes, everyone has noticed how prevalent AI has become in every sphere.) But here’s where I’m feeling like a curmudgeon. I’m not fully accepting of AI in the genealogical community yet. There are a few things that AI is doing that I absolutely love. Family Search’s beta tool for full text search and recognizing handwriting is a game changer when searching for your long-lost relatives. Utilizing AI as a notetaker and for creating certain kinds of surveys, tables, and even generating ideas for more research can be helpful and less time consuming.

I get it. AI is a tool like any other tool. A tool that should be used. Sure. There’s a lot of arguments for the use of the tool that I agree with.

Unfortunately, when I start looking at social media, blogs, or videos that promote AI helping with genealogical writing and even some other tasks, my interest wanes immediately. I even cringed a little inside when I said AI could be used for creating tables just a moment ago. I understand how time-consuming certain tasks are. Especially writing. I understand the concept “time is money.” I understand how people often want to get on to the next thing on the list of things to do.

I also understand how fulfilling it is to write and create something on your own. I understand the peace of mind and confidence I get when I struggle through a task on my own. I also see how my thinking changes, how I learn, and how inspiration comes to me when I perform the task myself.

Like any other technology today, from the developer’s standpoint, part of the purpose of AI is to gain your attention. The tech companies are competing for your attention. The longer you spend on their platforms, the better it is for their bottom line. Never mind the impact they receive from gathering so much information because people are freely feeding them more data.

Now I’m not here to preach against AI. If I was, I’d probably bring up the controversies about energy use and water consumption. I am only pointing out that as I grow older, I’m a bit more interested in a return to the idea that the work itself is rewarding, that we can take pleasure in the job itself. That might make me a curmudgeon. If so, I will own it.

When it comes to writing of any sort, I like to sit down with a good old pen and paper and have a tactile experience thinking and writing. I enjoy the struggle and ultimately the creation. I enjoy the process.  What will happen if we automate the process of genealogy so much that we don’t enjoy the hobby/profession anymore? So much of family history is about kinship and identity and discovering the impact of family on our lives that it makes the process worth it, the process becomes a human experience. What happens if we strip genealogy of the human experience because we want something done or because it is easier?

I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.

But since I’m one day into 50 and starting my life as a bona fide curmudgeon, I think I’ve got plenty of time to struggle through and shape my ideas about AI in genealogy. But please, can we stop with the AI generated photos already?

P.S. AI tried to give me a number of suggestions on how to write this blog. I ignored them all.

If I made a grammar mistake, or if you didn’t like the blog itself, we’ll both live.

Photo via Andrew Neel

Once, when I was a student, a teacher had us create the bibliography for our papers two months before the first draft was due. Before I finished the assignment, I questioned, “Why are we doing this now? I don’t know what sources I’m going to use.”

Having never done it that way, I failed to see the reasoning of creating a bibliography, reference list, or source list first. Afterwards, I realized the power in the exercise. The same can be applied to reference lists in our genealogy. So my suggestion is to create your reference list as you grab the records during your search.

One game changing technique I’ve learned over the years is to find a record, save it, and create my citations in the reference list before I do anything else. This does a couple of things for me. First. It allows me to judge the scope of my research. I can see how many documents I’ve collected on a family member, a topic, or story. I can judge how much searching I've done in a matter of moments.

In other words, have I done a reasonably exhaustive search? A quick glance at your reference list (and research log) can help you determine exactly how much you’ve done, and maybe illuminate for you what other avenues of research you still need in order to solve your query, question, mystery. You might still have more tasks to complete, or you might see that you’ve almost exhausted every avenue of potential information.

Second. Creating a reference list first is a great guide for me to understand what kind of project I am going to work on with my sources.

Let me explain it this way. In life, we often have real people to converse with. In research we have a conversation with the documents and other sources we find. They start the conversation by making a statement. We respond to those statements in multiple ways. Are we going to write a report for a client? Write a case study? Create a family history book, a blog, a podcast, or some other kind of project? Seeing your reference list might be a determining factor in how you decide to respond to the sources you find. For instance, if I have 18 newspapers stories on an event in my ancestor’s life, I might want to create a book and focus it on that one experience.

But if I have one death certificate that tells me about a 12 year stay in one location, I might need to create a research plan to learn more about my ancestor’s time in that locale.

Doing enough research will help you define how you use your research. It helps us because our thoughts, ideas, and opinions will change the more information we consume on any particular topic. If I see a one-minute video on the life of an ancestor, I will have thoughts and feelings. Those thoughts and feelings will change if I watch a thirty-minute video of the same ancestor. Guaranteed. Because you have more information.

Anyway, I believe that the more you research, the more you will know what project comes next, because really, if you don’t plan to produce anything with your research, then why do it?

So, if you don’t create your reference lists first, why don’t you give it a try? See what happens. It might work wonders for your genealogy. Or who knows? You might do what I did and grumble over more homework. 

Hello Mississippi Genealogical Society,

First of all, our June meeting will be held on June 21^st and our speaker will be Heather Moore, Head of Special Collections at the Leland Speed Library at Mississippi College. Her presentation will focus on the records of the Baptist Historical Commission and utilizing church records in genealogical research.

Second. Friend of the Society and guest of our Winter Virtual Seminar, J. Mark Lowe, has resumed posting YouTube videos. Much of the advice he shared over the span of our seminar has come in handy for me in recent weeks, so you know I’m going to tune in and soak up a bunch of awesome tips and tricks. You can find his channel Kentucky Tennessee Research Associates here. Give his videos a perusal if you get the chance.

Third. This might be a little late to promote (thanks for the late notice, Mark), but both Mark and Society friend Dr. Deborah Abbott will appear tonight on the GenealogyQuickStart Channel on YouTube to play Password! This should be fun and entertaining if you can make it. You can catch that channel here.

Fourth. Membership Dues. It’s about that time of year for those who pay in person. We’ll be available to collect dues at the June 21^st meeting. Or you can pay online and get automatic updates when it’s time to renew again. Look at that, we’re moving into the 21^st century!

Fifth. Please be on the lookout for our member survey this week. The Society will shoot all members an email with the survey attached. This is a good way for us to understand your interests and craft programming and presentations that serve our society’s current membership. So please fill that out when you see it.  

Sixth. A few weeks ago, I sent out a call to arms. I invited all those who are willing and able to write a blog, a social media post, serve on the Board and more to volunteer to help the society in various ways. That call still stands. If you’d like to be more involved with the Society, please think about the opportunities at hand to participate. Or shoot us an email offering some help.

As always, thanks for letting me be a part of the genealogical fun here in Mississippi! I look forward to seeing you in a couple of weeks.

It’s that time of year. Schools and universities are nearing the end of the semester (or school year), finals and papers are due, and stress is a thing. During all this stress, there’s one thing that’s not in short supply. Yes, on college campuses there’s never a shortage of sermons about citing your sources.

What’s funny about citations is how many students get caught cheating and plagiarizing because they’re undereducated about how many tools are available to help them.

Some of them just go to Son of Citation or EasyBib, online generators that typically create more problems than they actually help. The savvier students will use programs like End Note or Zotero, both of which are fantastic and can truly help track your sources and cite those works.

Other students get in trouble because, despite their teacher’s sermons, they underutilize the library. If they’d use the library like their professors asked, they’d probably learn a multitude of small tips and tricks to help them tackle sources and citations. So what does any of this preaching about stress and the end of the year have to do with genealogy and genealogists?

Well, if you’re like those students, and need some help crafting a quick citation, I’ll show you one of the tricks I show my students. Are you ready?

Did you know that most library catalogs will create citations for you? All you need to do is look for the proper icons that will lead you to the promised land. They typically say something profound like “cite” on them, and you can grab what you need in seconds.

Here’s what it looks like on the Millsaps College Catalog.

Once you click that cite button, a smaller window emerges. It looks like this.

You can then select your citation style. It’s under the top arrow I’ve drawn on the second image. Once you select your preferred style, the citation will generate inside the gray window beneath your selection field. You can see it there with the middle arrow. The bottom arrow shows you where you can press a button to copy the citation. Then, “Bam!” you’re ready to paste it into your work.

To be fair, some public libraries with smaller budgets might not have a citation generator of this sort in their catalog. But many of them do. You’ll find generators like this in WorldCat, almost every academic library, and even inside databases that provide articles.

 I find myself grabbing citations all the time from the catalog. If for some reason I’ve returned a book to the library without creating a citation, I can always go back to the catalog and get one in minutes.

I’m in the camp that believes you should take the time to learn how to handcraft citations so you can truly understand how to utilize them. However, I also recognize that there are plenty of times when a quick generator like this is the way to go.

Wherever you stand on citations, please know there’s plenty of help out there for you to cite your sources without stressing too hard. I hope this one tip is helpful for your work. So go to genealogists! Cite your work! Revel in them!

Have fun and join us for our summer programming. I’ll see you here next week.

A nice gentleman stopped by the JB Cain Archives at Millsaps College this week. He wanted whatever he could find about the church he attended when he was young. So I pulled the records.

He pulled up a chair and began to read. Anytime he came across the name of a pastor or congregant, he started into a personal story of his youth, how he knew the person, what were they like and some other memories he could relate about the person. Some of them were small memories, such as, “Sis. So and So always sat in the third pew from the front on the right.” Others were tales about his family, such as an uncle who was appointed as the pastor of his church.

After the third or fourth story, I stopped him and asked, “Should I be recording this?”

He looked me straight in the eyes then. Red-rimmed. Watery with tears.

“No, I think I pretty much have it written down. Unless I find something new here today. I’ve been telling my wife for years we were going to come down to Millsaps and see what you got.”

“I was serious. I can record your stories if you’d like me to. It’s a good way to preserve them. Or I can just sit and listen as long as you need.”

“Listening is fine.”

He read more of the records. At every new name he stopped to tell me a story.

Finally, he finished. I walked him and his wife out of the building.

“Thank you,” his wife said. “You’ve been very kind.”

“I’m glad to help. I’ll let you know if we find anything more.”

“We’ll hope we can come again. He’s got surgery down this way next week.” Then she whispered low, and a little hesitantly. “Cancer.”

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and gave me an awkward smile. “It’ll be okay,” he said.

“Yeah, he’s already beat it,” she said.

But it didn’t stop me from wishing I had recorded his stories anyway.

Since this is the official blog of the Mississippi Genealogy Society, I thought I’d start posting some search hints and tricks that are specific to Mississippi. I also thought I’d start by promoting collections available at my day job.

Many of you know I am the College Librarian at Millsaps College. What many of you might not know is that Millsaps College is the home of the J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism. We are the official repository for the Mississippi Conference of the Methodist Church and some of its antecedents here in Mississippi [1]. 

The archives is a great resource for those of you searching for your Methodist ancestors. My suggestion is to start by visiting our research guide located here. This research guide is a great place to find information regarding the collections found at the J. B. Cain archives but will also guide you to online access of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, the Mississippi Advocate, and more [3].

Recently, during our Winter Virtual Seminar, researcher J. Mark Lowe was impressed by the name index of Mississippians mentioned in the New Orleans Christian Advocate. The index was created by J. B. Cain, a prominent Methodist church historian whose work resulted in the creation of the archive.

However, the Christian newspapers aren’t the only noteworthy collections. If you peruse the various tabs and hyperlinks on the page, you will find lists of memoirs and obituaries of notable Methodist ministers, a list of church registers residing in the collection, and finding aids for the United Methodist Women’s Society and the Manuscript Collections of notable Mississippi Methodists[4].

If you’re looking specifically for a name of a family member who belonged to a particular church, you’d go to the church registers and records tab, scroll to the hyperlink that says Church Registers and Records, and voila! [5] A document providing the list of church registers in the collection will open. Then you can check to see if the church your ancestor attended is on the list. Once you've found the church you're looking for be sure to schedule an appointment with us to scroll through the church register in person.

The library and archive staff are willing to answer any questions you might have about the process. Please understand that the J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism is currently open by appointment only. If you want to schedule a visit, please email librarian@millsaps.edu.

Also, it's best to know that there are other genealogical resources housed in the Millsaps-Wilson Library. I just wanted to highlight some of the most used items from the J. B. Cain Archives today.

Other than that, I do hope this information is helpful to your search. Have a good week and I hope to get you more useful tips soon. 

P.S. Here's a classic view of the old archives reading room [6].

[1] Millsaps-Wilson Library. “The Archives.” Millsaps College, 2024. https://millsaps.edu/academics/millsaps-wilson-library/the-archives/

[2] Millsaps-Wilson Library. "J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism: Overview." Millsaps College. Hyperlink to an Overview of the resources found in the J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism is provided. Accessed 22 April 2025. https://libguides.millsaps.edu/methodist/overview

[3] Millsaps-Wilson Library. “J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism: Finding Aids.” Millsaps College. New Orleans Christian Advocate hyperlink is provided in blue lettering at the top of the page. Accessed 21 April 2025. https://libguides.millsaps.edu/methodist/indexes

[4] Millsaps-Wilson Library. “J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism: Finding Aids.” Millsaps College. The memoirs and obituaries and United Methodist Women’s Society hyperlinks are provided in blue lettering at the top of the page. Accessed 21 April 2025. https://libguides.millsaps.edu/methodist/indexes

[5] Millsaps-Wilson Library. “J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism: Church Registers and Records” Millsaps College. Accessed 21 April 2025. https://libguides.millsaps.edu/methodist/churches

[6] Millsaps-Wilson Library. "Reading Room at the J. B. Cain Archives of Mississippi Methodism." Photograph. 2017. Millsaps College Archives, Jackson, Mississippi. Accessed 2025.