If you happen to live in the area or are coming in for the FGS conference make sure to stop by the Ancestry booth and say hi. Saturday we are hosting a free day if classes, http://ancestrydaylittlerock.eventbrite.com/, including Tapping into the Ancestry.com and RootsWeb Community, so it may be worth a short drive to come in for the day. (Of course I think it’s worth it! But I am also flying for 6 hours today. 
Today, amongst others, I find myself reflecting on my ancestors and what they accomplished that allows me to be where I am today. I am a Canadian citizen, and grew up in Canada, although I was born in the U.S., so I have the unique opportunity to call both countries “home.”
Both of my maternal great grandmothers came to Canada, one from the U.S. and one from the UK, in the early 1900’s and both eventually settled in Western Canada. My grandmother’s mother is my namesake, Annie Louisa Smith, so I am especially fond of this side of my family. My grandfather and his father both served in the Canadian military; I can still picture my grandfather proud in his uniform at my grandparents 50th Anniversary. They gladly served their country and fought for our freedom. So how did I end up being born in the U.S.? My mother attended college in the U.S., married an American and after many years in the U.S. had a desire to return home to Canada. What a wonderful impact this decision had on my life as I grew up and eventually followed in her footsteps. (I haven’t yet convinced my husband to move to Canada though…)
As I reflect upon my heritage I am reminded that I need to sit down and write more of my history, the stories behind the records. I want to pass along the gratitude and love I have for my ancestors so their lives can be brought to life for future generations.
Although my families Canadian roots aren’t deep we are very proud of our Canadian heritage and so today I bid you all a Happy Canada Day!
The world of trees has changed today.
You will now see hints for Ancestry.com appearing in both the individual and pedigree views for persons in your tree(s). These hints will alert you to possible record matches for the individuals on your tree in databases on Ancestry.com. Clicking on the link, or leaf will bring you to a list of hints; in order to see the records you will need to be signed in to Ancestry.com.
Hints on the Individual page
Hints on the Pedigree page
We are excited to let you know that the message boards have been reindexed. Why is this so exciting? All messages through the end of last week have now been added to the searchable index and are ready to be found!
Prior to today we had encountered some errors that are now resolved, the result being that the message board posts will now be updated weekly.
Recently we updated all of the RootsWeb graphics – these graphics are mainly used by site owners whose pages are hosted on RootsWeb.
The graphics can indicate that your family tree has been posted on WorldConnect, that your site is hosted on RootsWeb or they can link to mailing lists and message boards. Each graphic has instructions for how to add it to your site and in some cases there are also instructions for how to customize the graphic. If you currently have an old graphic on your site we encourage you to update it.
We appreciate your participation in the RootsWeb community!