Turn Your Heart

Think of your ancestors, such as a great-grand parent of yours. Remember them. Turn your heart to them. Think of the good traits passed on to you from them.

Step 1: Gather information: Search for primary records that contain birth, marriage, death or census data about your ancestors. Ask your extended family members and other relatives for information. Or, search online. Find out, at the very least, where and when they were born.

Step 2: Input data: Record the data you find about your ancestors. Go to Geni.com or FamilySearch.org and input their information.

Step 3: Create a 9-generation pedigree chart: By doing so, you will have a clear picture of missing information about many other ancestors you have yet to discover! You can create a 9-generation pedigree chart at treeSeek.com

Start today to find information about past family members of yours, those who came before you. Learning about them will help you define who you are. Start remembering your ancestors! Turn Your Heart to them, to your family!

The following is an illustration that will help you understand what to expect once you start turning your heart to your ancestors.

I've had this photo for some time. I got it from my aunt Hope. Photos are nice to have, in fact when I showed this to a friend of mine, he said, "Where can I get a photo like that?" Photos are not necessary in the process that turns your heart. As you read on, I hope you realize that much of the following was gleaned simply from dates and places of my great grand parents and their children.

The photo above is of the Hyrum Ralston and Olive Celestia Huntsman family. My great grandmother, Olive Celestia Bullard Huntsman, was born November 19, 1868, and passed away May 28, 1929, at age 60 (that's why she is not in this photo). This photo was taken, probably at the family home in Ferron, Utah, at the funeral of their youngest child, Don, who died on May 24, 1937, nearly 8 years after his mother's passing. Don was born September 27, 1915, and passed away in Saint George, Utah, about four months before his 22nd birthday. His mother passed away when he was four months shy of his 14th birthday. A photo of Don is in the photo above, on the right hand side.

Hyrum Ralston Huntsman, Jr. was born in Hebron, Utah on October 4, 1866 and died on May 23, 1944 at age 77. He's the older man, sitting in the front row in the middle. He was 70 years old when this photo was taken. Olive was born on November 19, 1868 at Pine Valley, Utah. The towns where Hyrum and Olive were born are approximately 25 miles apart. They, no doubt, met in school, at a church social, or through a friend. Or, maybe a relative introduced them to each other.

I find it interesting that these three (Hyrum, Olive, and their youngest son Don) all passed away in the month of May. I think it is somewhat tragic that Don passed away at age 21. I am 53 years old, and consider my years since 21 to be filled with many rich experiences with my wife of 22 years and our five children. It is interesting that my great grandfather lived 17 years longer than my great grandmother, as it is usually more common for women to live longer than men. The photo shows that my grandparents had 12 children together. How unusual is it to have one marriage, let alone 12 children with the same spouse! This photo was taken at a funeral, so maybe that explains the lack of smiles, but, today, when I attend funerals of my family or friends, I smile and feel great joy at the opportunity we have to live life, though our years be many or few! As I learn tidbits about my ancestors, my heart turns to them. I appreciate the heritage they have given, left, and made for me. I wish I knew more about them, but having a little information about them and their family, and having a photo of them, brings them to life for me.

On March 1, 2012, I was in my bedroom talking to my wife. The thought came into my mind, and I verbalized it to her, to setup a Facebook page for my grandmother, Flora Johnson Jensen. I had attended a class at the Roots Tech conference about working with photos. The instructor said that we are years away from being able to tag photos online. On this evening, as my thoughts progressed, I said, "No, we're not years away from tagging photos, we can tag photos on Facebook today!" Very soon, I was very excited to setup a Facebook page for my grandmother Flora, and upload photos of her, and send a friend request to her grandson (my cousin) Howard Burkholz who is active in doing family history research. The next day, I met with Howard's mother, my Aunt Gay, and, using some information from her, about her mother (Flora) and photos I already had, I created a Facebook page for Flora Mabel Jensen and sent friend requests to her grandchildren! Facebook makes it simple to tag photos so that decendants know each person in old photos.

Since this initial inspiration, I have created pages for many of my grand and great grand parents. As I send out friend requests from these ancestors, I have been met with diverse responses, but I am sure this will help turn the hearts of the children to the fathers (and mothers) and help the younger generation catch the spirit of family history research, which is the work of learning more about who we are, by discovering those who came before us.

Age Calculator

Calculate the age based on the Date of Birth and another date (default is the current date).

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Dates should be entered in the US format mm/dd/yyyy, using four digits for the year.

I think you will find this exercise to be an effective method to put flesh on the bones of your ancestors (so to speak) helping bring them to life in your mind and heart, helping them live again in the minds of their descendants. You can accomplish this by doing simple date calculations using the dates of significant events from their lives! Dates become more meaningful as we discover how long our ancestors lived compared to other members in their family, how old our ancestors were when they had family members pass away, and their age when events took place, such as when they were married. It is interesting to compare our ancestors lives with our lives, for example, the age of our ancestors when they married, versus our age when we married, etc.

As we learn about our ancestors, they become real people and our hearts turn to them.

Visit our blog to tell us about your experiences as you turn your heart.

On April 4, 2013, I posted the following to Facebook, after uploading and tagging those in the photo you see above, "Click the link below to see a photo of some of the family of my great grandparents, Hyrum Ralston Huntsman (pictured in the photo, sitting down in the middle), and Hannah Davis Huntsman. Hannah passed away eight years before this photo was taken. This photo was taken at the funeral of their youngest child, Donald. He is in this photo, in the photo on the table on the right. Donald passed away on May 24th 1937. I'm grateful for my ancestors and for what I know about them. Sure they had struggles and difficult times, but I am thankful for what they endured, suffered, and for the sacrifices they made that paved the way for my life today. Thank you to each of you. I love you all!"

Turn your heart is a site that will turn your heart to your ancestors as you go through the exercises outlined here. As you discover more about your ancestors, by calculating dates to find out how old they were when one of their parents or siblings passed away, when they were born, when they married, etc. you will turn your heart to them as you compare your life to theirs. Turn Your Heart . com will truly bring your ancestors to life as you learn about them.

You can turn your heart to your ancestors by putting them closer to the forefront in your life. Imagine how you can turn your heart by accepting a friend request from your ancestors memorial Facebook page. Experience how you can turn your heart by uploading and tagging ancestor photos. Turn your heart today by creating an Online Gathering Place™ where you and your ancestors can gather to move forward on your family history efforts

Turn your heart is a site dedicated to your ancestors. They are anxiously waiting for you to turn your heart to them and make a place for them in your life. Begin basking in the rich experience it is when you turn your heart to your ancestors and reserve time for them and to find out more about them. Your heart will turn when you learn something new about your ancestors each day. Recently, my heart turned more toward my ancestors when I read a history about a man married to my great great great grandparents daughter. It gave me greater insight into their lives and I appreciate how they faced their challenges so that I could enjoy a better life or at least a life void of the physical hardships that was a common and frequent part of their lives. Turn your heart and you will have similar discoveries about your anestors.