Introducing Jennifer Holik, Guest Genealogist

Today's interview is with Jennifer Holik of Woodridge, Illinois. I first "met" Jennifer on Facebook and have been continually impressed with her passion for telling the stories of WW2 military personnel.  I'll let Jennifer fill you in on what else she does, and why.

1.    How and when did you become involved in the field of genealogy?
I began research about 20 years ago when I was completing some history courses for my degree. We had a project for class and once I spoke to some family members and heard some stories……I was hooked.

2.    What is your main genealogical focus?
My business focuses on several things. Primarily – World War II US research. I speak a lot on this topic and just published WWII Research books for all branches to teach people how to conduct research. Nothing like this has ever been done.

My World War II work revolves around writing stories of soldiers so they and their service are remembered. I write guides and books on conducting research and writing the stories. I am on the staff of the World War II History Network (http://wwiihistorynetwork.com) where I join in discussions on WWII topics and genealogy. My lectures focus on how to conduct research and write the stories.

The other part of my business focuses on genealogy. I have a lot of Chicago Italian clients so specialize in that and kids genealogy. I also published books for kids to learn how to do genealogical research.

3.     What are your website(s) and blogs? 
Website: http://jenniferholik.com
Blog: http://blog.generationsbiz.com

4.    Do you have a Social Media presence? 
Twitter @Jennifer_Holik
FaceBook Jennifer Holik-Author https://www.facebook.com/jenniferholikauthor
LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/jenholik/en
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/jencoffeelover/

5.    Do you believe a Social Media presence is important?
Yes. I am active primarily on Facebook and LinkedIn, sometimes Twitter and Pinterest. I join genealogy and WWII groups to discuss research and help others with their questions.

6.    Are you a member of any genealogical societies or organizations?
APG
Military Writers Society of America
Chicago Writers Association
World War II History Network
Pritzker Military Museum and Library

7.    What does genealogy mean to you? Why do you believe it is important?

I believe genealogy is important because we can learn from the past to create a better present and future. Look at the lives of our ancestors and see how they lived, mistakes they made, lessons they learned and passed down. What can we learn from that? I think this especially important where military service is part of the family story. It seems history continues to repeat itself where war is concerned and we never learn our lessons. Examining our soldiers and their stories related to the war in which they fought – what do the soldiers have to teach us?

8.    Do you have a prediction or hope for the field of genealogy in the future?

I hope the genealogy field becomes more open to allowing more education and inclusion of teachers of topics collaterally related to genealogical research. Look at the military history, social history, economic history, and even the psychological history of the times. Let’s go outside the genealogy box of names, dates, and places, and explore the real lives and lessons of our ancestors.

Introducing Drew Smith, Guest Genealogist

Some genealogists may not be familiar with Drew Smith, who is based in Florida.

I "met" Drew online on Facebook a year ago and was immediately impressed with his knowledge and genealogical skills. Drew's a busy guy and I am thankful he found the time to answer my questions. Read on to learn more about Drew and his work in technology and genealogy. 

1.     How and when did you become involved in the field of genealogy? 

Growing up in upstate South Carolina, it was difficult not to be aware of the importance of knowing about one's family and how everyone was related.  But as a child I was easily discouraged about working on my family, given such common family names as Smith, Martin, and King. When my favorite aunt passed away in 1991, I decided that her generation was nearly gone and that I needed to get serious about genealogical research. 

2.     What is your main genealogical focus? 

I have written and co-written a few books, written a large number of articles, and have done speaking at national and state conferences going back many years.  I am especially known as being the co-host of The Genealogy Guys Podcast. 

3.     Please tell us more about this main focus. 

Because I have a technology background, I am most interested in how to apply technology to solve genealogical problems. 

4.      What are your website(s) and blogs? 

I podcast at The Genealogy Guys Podcast (genealogyguys.com), and blog on occasion at Rootsmithing with Technology (rootsmithing.com). 

5.     Do you have a Social Media presence?  

I'm on Twitter at @drewsmithtpa, Pinterest at drewsmithtpa (haven't had much time to spend there), Facebook at drew.smith, and Google+ at +DrewSmithTPA. 

6.     Do you believe a Social Media presence is important? 

I think that Social Media provides the best way to be visible to other genealogists, especially if you're engaged in professional activities and you want people to be able to find you and see what you're doing. 

7.     Are you a member of any genealogical societies or organizations? 

I'm a member of APG and NGS.  I have previously served on the Board of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the Florida State Genealogical Society.  I am currently the President of my local society here in Tampa, the Florida Genealogical Society, and I'm the Chair of the Family History Information Standards Organisation (FHISO). 

8.     What does genealogy mean to you? Why do you believe it is important? 

I think genealogy connects us to our history and to each other.  It makes history come alive and it enlightens us about our ancestors and about ourselves. 

9.     What do you believe is the most exciting development in genealogy today? 

The two most exciting developments in genealogy today are the increasing number of original records being digitized and put online for viewing, and the availability of DNA testing. 

10. Do you have a prediction or hope for the field of genealogy in the future? 

I hope that genealogy will continue to fascinate each new generation as it tries to understand the world and how its ancestors' past decisions led to the individuals alive today.  It is an affordable hobby that remains personal and intriguing.  I estimate that we'll continue to benefit from future digitization efforts for decades to come. 

11.  Please feel free to add anything you would like to say that hasn’t been addressed by the questions above. 

While genealogy isn't some sort of panacea that will lead to world peace, I do believe that those who engage in it come away with a better appreciation of humanity, both the good and the bad.

Introducing Thomas MacEntee, Guest Genealogist

Thomas MacEntee from Chicago Illinois is our next guest genealogist. Thomas is known as the "guru" of the genealogy community and is always available to offer ideas and to help others. I met Thomas several years ago at a RootsTech Conference and was impressed with his passion for his work. Over the years I witnessed his generousity to others in the genealogy field, and his dedication to genealogical pursuits. Recently Thomas and I discovered that we are actually cousins through our shared Van Slyke ancestry.

Bio: Thomas MacEntee is a genealogy professional based in the United States specializing in the use of technology and social media to improve genealogy research and as a way to connect with others in the family history community.

1.     How and when did you become involved in the field of genealogy?
My first interest in genealogy was in 1977 when as a child I watched the mini-series “Roots” on television. However, it wasn’t until around 1990 when cleaning out items from my recently deceased great-grandmother that I caught the “bug” – one item I located was a 1916 printed genealogy tracing my family back to Schenectady, New York.

2.     What is your main genealogical focus?
I consider myself a genealogy professional and I run several successful entities that comprise my genealogy business. I’ve moved away from client research and now I lecture in-person and online (via webinar), write books and do consulting work for genealogy startups.

3.     Re Question 2 – please tell us more about this main focus.
I see myself as a genealogy “solopreneur” – I like to dabble in many different things and seek out success. I will often try to deploy new products and services that to most genealogists don’t seem like a good fit with the family history sector, but over time I’ve been able to make them work. Most of my projects have some element of entrepreneurial risk: instead of taking payment for services upfront, I will often ask for a royalty and bet on the success of the product.

4.     What are your website(s) and blogs? (Names and URLs)
GeneaBloggers.com (http://www.geneabloggers.com)
Hack Genealogy (http://www.hackgenealogy.com)
High-Definition Genealogy (http://www.hidefgen.com)
Genealogy Bargains (http://genealogy.bargains)

5.     Do you have a Social Media presence? 
Twitter – http://www.twitter.com/geneabloggers
Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/geneabloggers
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/Geneabloggers
LinkedIn – http://www.linkedin.com/in/thomasmacentee

6.     Do you believe a Social Media presence is important?
Absolutely. If we are to attract the next generation to genealogy, we need to place our welcome mat where they congregate: Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and other social media sites.

7.     Are you a member of any genealogical societies or organizations?
Association of Professional Genealogists, Illinois State Genealogical Society

8.     What does genealogy mean to you? Why do you believe it is important?
Genealogy for me is a journey of self-discovery by connecting with my ancestors.

9.     What do you believe is the most exciting development in genealogy today?
Each day brings new advances in how genealogists can use technology to learn more about their ancestors. Whether it is DNA testing or apps to help wrangle Big Data, we need “tool creators” to assist us in our search.

10. Do you have a prediction or hope for the field of genealogy in the future?
In the next five to ten years, there will be even more “information overload” as more and more records are digitized. We will need tools to help us make connections that we can’t readily see at first glance. This means semantic markup of newspaper records and wikis. It means the use of wearables to help us interpret records and even index them.