Wendy Wilson Spooner: How Do I Solve My Family Mysteries?
What do you do when you have a family mystery in your family history? Is there any hope of resolving unsolvable adoptions? Listen to Wendy share the story behind how she became a genetic genealogist.
Episode Discussion Points
What she does as Vice Chair for the Daughters of the American Revolution, Art/Heritage contest each year.
What got her into genetic and forensic genealogy
The fascinating story in her own family tree where she helped find her husbands biological family (since his dad had been adopted).
How genetic genealogy ties into her new historical fiction book, Celtic Winter
Should every adopted person find their biological family? “The truth shall set you free.”
Every family is broken and we each get to choose which characteristics we emulate or which destructive cycles we stop.
Self-care ideas: art therapy, exercise, cake decorating, OR family history. We’ve never discussed picking up family history as a hobby or as self-care on my podcast, but it is fun and addictive.
As Wendy sayd, “I have not yet found an adventure that is more exciting than my family tree.”
We are all family!
Ideas for Family Discussions this Christmas
Ask an older family member to tell you about their parents, or an uncle or a story from when they were younger or about their parents, their family home, favorite memory etc.
Be sure to record them telling this story on your phone so you can have that piece of family history and share it.
Family History presents: You can also ask for pictures and photo albums, letters journals and any original documents and get copies of those. There is usually a family “keeper” who has the copies of the family history. Go to FamilySearch.org and locate a center near you to be able to go and scan family documents for free, and then upload them onto your family tree on familysearch.org so that your entire family can have access to these documents.
Favorite Bible Verse
Malachi 4:5-6, “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”
For Wendy this Bible verse is all about family history and we are seeing hearts turning in our days as people look for and find out about their own families.
Connect with Wendy
Buy Wendy’s books: Once Upon an Irish Summer or Celtic Winter on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
#tamarakanderson #storiesofhopeinhardtimes #podcast #hope #God #hardtimes #familyhistory #familymysteries #genealogy #adoption #familystories #geneticfamilyhistory #genetest #DNAtest #family #ancestors #books #historicalfiction
Transcription
Wendy Spooner 0:03
He his Aunt Betty didn't tell him was adopted. She knew. And when the time came that he was to marry. She kind of under the table gave his bride, Judy, my husband's mother, these adoption papers and she said, I've never told Tom and now it's up to you if you want to tell Tom, he was adopted. Well, at that time, Judy, as this new bride said, I'm not going to tell him.
Tamara Anderson 0:39
Welcome to Stories of Hope in Hard Times, the show that explores how people endure and even thrive in difficult times, all with God's help. I'm your host Tamara K Anderson. Join me on a journey to find inspiring stories of hope and wisdom learned in life's hardest moments.
My guest today is a professional genetic genealogist by day, a writer by night and an artist in between. Her love of what we can learn from history compels her to write true stories she and earn during research because she's found that truth is indeed much more exciting and inspiring than fiction. So she writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are as children of God. And the descendants of remarkable people who paved the way for us, even though they really struggled. She believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation. She knows that's what they want for us. Because how great would it be if every generation became just a little better than the one before? I'm pleased to present Wendy Wilson Spooner. Wendy, are you ready to share your story of hope?
Wendy Spooner 2:05
Yes, I am. And I'm excited to be with you today, Tamara.
Tamara Anderson 2:08
Oh, this is such an honor. And I'm excited to have you on. I was blessed to have Wendy on just a little over a year ago, year and a half, probably actually, it's been a while. But I get to have her on one more time, probably because we're good friends. But one of the interesting facts about Wendy is that she is national on the board of the Daughters of the American Revolution. And she is a vice president on that board. So tell me a little bit about that.
Wendy Spooner 2:42
Okay, so I'm National Vice Chair.
Tamara Anderson 2:45
That's the word I'm looking for. Yes.
Wendy Spooner 2:48
So I am the National Vice Chair involved with the American Heritage Contest, which is an annual art contest that involves music, literature, painting sculptures, all the realm of Fine Arts, and I'm over the 12 subcategories of art and sculpture. So every January, I see hundreds of entries to my home, and I find the judges. And the judging takes place in February. And then the first place winners of each subcategory goes on display in Washington, DC in June. And this is a very unique way that we preserve American history through the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Tamara Anderson 3:33
Wow, that is so incredible. I, I love that you do this, it's so cool. How did you get involved with that seriously, it's so unique of a thing.
Wendy Spooner 3:49
So the DAR is a lineage society. And as a professional genealogist lineage societies are intriguing, very tempting. All the professionals are members of all the lineage societies, because they give us new challenges to trace ancestry and for the Daughters of the American Revolution. If you can trace a direct line back to a patriot, somebody that served in the Revolutionary War, and it doesn't have to be a soldier or captain or fighter, it could be a woman who aided the Revolutionary War in any way, or somebody that supplied food or somebody that was spying. There's many ways to establish a patriot by documentation, and then you must provide birth, death, and marriage certificates for every single generation back to that patriot, which can get a little tricky, but that's part of the challenge. And just joining the society is quite an experience as you document that lineage to that patriot and realize who you come from, in this great country we live in.
Tamara Anderson 5:01
Wow, that sounds amazing. I know that's something I've had desires to look into. And I just haven't done it yet.
Wendy Spooner 5:09
Yeah, only so many hours in the day.
Tamara Anderson 5:12
I know. Right? So we do our best, right? Yes. So I'm excited to have Wendy on today, Wendy and I just recently both launched new books. And we were able to be at several book signings together. But the the interesting thing that I wanted to dive into with Wendy today, because of her profession with genetic genealogy, and forensic genealogy, which I've never heard of, before, she, in her books has been able to dive into kind of a dual timeline, both in the old world and then currently. And then she she has these people kind of one researching the other and it's just kind of fascinating. But in her newest book, Celtic winter, she dives into a little bit of this genetic genealogy in her book. And so I thought we would dive into her own story and find out when what got you started into this, because this is a very unique and like niche career, what bug bit you so this would be the thing that you are so interested in?
Wendy Spooner 6:25
Well, I have always been very interested in families in general. And I grew up with incredible grandparents, who told me stories of our ancestors. And I also grew up in an area where my ancestors settled six generations previously. So I grew up amid the historical homes and all the stories. And I can't remember a time in my life that I haven't been intrigued by history, or family history. And I love other people's family histories as much as my own, it all excites me. So I don't know, at least a decade to go further back than that I was on the path to become a therapist, and my undergrad is in psychology. And I was halfway through my master's in marriage and family therapy. And I was on a path to as a way to help families, especially blended families, because I have a blended family. And that can be a difficult path to navigate. So one day, I had an utter and complete epiphany when I was working on homework. And then I was online, researching my family researching my family. And I thought, is this the right path for me? And I thought, are there any graduate programs out there in genealogy? And I searched, deserted, searched, and the day before I started this search, a and a wonderful program in genealogy and documentary Sciences at the University of London have received its accreditation just the day before, why started this year.
Tamara Anderson 8:04
That's like, too amazing to be like, just chance. Do you know what I mean? Yes.
Wendy Spooner 8:10
And so I immediately switched graduate programs and became a dual enrollment student with the University of London and with the International College of Interdisciplinary Sciences, and began a three year grueling program with the most fantastic genealogists in the world. They live in Great Britain, the British Isles, because of the feudal system, century after century, they know how to document families better than anyone else in the world. So I was very excited that almost all of my instructors and professors actually live in the British Isles, and they were extremely tough teachers, I have to tell you that but yeah, it was wonderful program. So I knew I wanted to be a professional to do medical technologist but then actually only genealogist then I attended Roots Tech in 2013. It is the largest family history conference in the world that was in Salt Lake City. And I heard a woman speak her name is CeCe Moore heard her speak about genetic genealogy, this new field where you could find the biological families of adoptees and those with unknown parentage. And then the the genetic research that was exploding for undiagnosed genetic diseases because of this niche field. And I sat riveted in her class, and CeCe Moore is she's on the TV show. She's the researcher for Find My Past with Henry Louis Gates and for the new friends. So that came out I think a year or two ago, where she solves cold case files now with genetic TV. So it's the exact same methodology for finding family, whether they're dead or alive, whether it's it's really all falls under the realm of forensic genealogist. So, CeCe inspired me and then I traveled the country from Institute to institute. She was one of my instructors and I earned advanced degrees in both, or certificates in both genetic and forensic genealogy. And I started taking clients in 2015 and established my company know my roots, genetic genealogy.
Tamara Anderson 10:34
Wow. That is fascinating. Now, let me ask you this. Did you have any stories in your own family history that you had to solve with genetic genealogy or anything like that? I did.
Wendy Spooner 10:49
So that was one of the reasons that I decided on the niche field of genetic genealogy and specifically to assist up the adoptees and those with unknown fathers, which is a lot of people. So my father was adopted. So my husband's father, and I'm going to make this long story because it's a long story. But my husband, Tony, his father was adopted, but there was never any desire by his father to find his biological family. And Tom Spooner is my father in law, and he was an only child. And both of his parents died when he was a teenager. And he had no idea he was adopted. And then then he was sent to live with his Aunt Betty and her 10 children. Oh, mercy, oh, he went from only child to being the oldest child of 11 kids. And his Aunt Betty didn't tell him was adopted, she knew. And when the time came, that he was to marry she kind of under the table gave his bride, my husband's mother, these adoption papers, and she said, I've never told Tom and now it's up to you. If you want to tell Tom. He was adopted. And she said, Here you go. Well, at that time, Judy, as this new bride said, I'm not going to tell him.
And so it was a couple of decades later, maybe even three decades later, that Tom and Judy Spooner found, were found by some missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, they were excited to join that church. And some of the doctrine of that church is eternal families, which means you go to one of the churches, temples, and that by the proper authority, your family is still together bonded together, beyond this life. So it's not till death, do you part it is for eternity. And it is some beautiful doctrine itself. At this time, Judy thought, I better tell my husband, he's got more than one set of parents, because you get to choose who you want to be sealed to right. And so she told Tom, and he was incredibly surprised. And he was sealed to his adoptive parents, because he said, this is interesting information. But I don't want to rock anyone's boat. I don't want to find my biological family, because they probably don't know I exist. So that was how it ended at that time. But then, a couple of decades later, again, Tom and Judy were going to move into retirement home and out of their basement, in this box, full of genealogies. And, Judy, behind the scenes, had done a ton of genealogical research. And she had found the biological mother of Tom because on his birth certificate and his adoption papers, her name was right there the whole time. So we find this, he was like, I'm gonna find this family. She gathered pictures, emails, so much information. And so when this box came out of their big their basement, it was given to me. And we were on the longest road trip around the country. So we're up in Minnesota when this box is given to us, right? And we start to drive home and I'm this to me, you have a kid in a candy store, look at these binders. I can't wait to see what's in them. And then I find this binder on delivery family. And when I realized it's Tom's adoptive family, I'm sitting there next to Tony, I was like, Oh, wow, okay. Well, this information we've kind of asked about very gently all these years. It's right here at Tony's looking glancing at the pictures and these two twin brothers of Tony's dad, these biological brothers looks so much like Tony said right there, he said, I want to find these people. My dad doesn't want you but I do so And after we got home, I thought, Okay, I'm gonna go the straight route, do these biological brothers who are in their 70s. And the two twin brothers had both passed away. I thought, okay, these other brothers here, maybe they've got sons who are named after them that I can find on social media. And that is exactly what happened. I found two juniors. And I sent a very ambiguous message that said, Hey, I'm trying to connect with relatives, are you a descendant of Gladys left? So this would be my husband's biological grounding. And right back, I got two messages from both these young men who are first cousins. And they said, Yes, that's our grandmother, who are you? Hi. And I just, Okay, I'm doing it.
I sent a picture of my father in law. And I said, he was adopted. I don't know if anyone in your family knows anything about this, but I'm reaching out to you his biological family. And it was a Sunday. And I went to church with my husband, and we're sitting down on the bench. And I said, Hey, by the way, I set up these messages. And I don't know what's gonna happen, but I did it. If he was like, what? Like, yeah, it's out there. And so not a peep for 24 hours. And I'm like, oh, boy, I blew it. They're gonna think I'm crazy. I was getting back to me. But they got back to me with excitement and so much chatter from many family members, who said, Why didn't you find us earlier? And we can't believe we're looking at this picture of this man, it looks exactly like these two uncles of theirs. They were beloved to this family. And the picture went viral in the family, and within a very short period of time, to have the biological siblings drove straight to beat their brother Tom. And by happenstance, Tony had already a previous trip planned. And he was in Minnesota to meet these, this uncle and aunt he never met. And he said the look on his father's face was like the weight of the world had been lifted off of him. And I think that links Well, my experience with clients is that, if they say they're not interested in their biological family is, they're probably nervous about it. They're probably many reasons. They don't want to feel the rejection, or even to go down that path. They don't have to face any more pain in their lives. But there's always a hole no matter what. And to see that whole field for Tom Spooner, and then to have them immediately organize a family reunion for that summer that said, Come and meet our brother. We were accepted with open arms. And then by this brand new family we had, they handed me 85 pages of family history, work, and original pictures back to the 1800s. So I didn't even have to research these people. They handed it to me. And it was the most incredible reunion. And then I made a family history book based on all of this shared assets that we have now. And they bought 18 copies. And they were it was just this. Anyways, me. It was like we'd always known them. And we started spending holidays together, birthdays, anytime that we could, and these aunts and uncles were snowbirds. So they actually lived across the valley from us in Arizona, for the entire winter. So we had access to each other and just, we just bonded really quickly. And so what I learned in genetic genealogy at roots tech in 2013, this had just happened, this event in our life had just happened. And I said, there it is. That's what I want to do the rest of my life. And I dove into adding to my education at that time.
Tamara Anderson 18:59
Wow. That is such an amazing story. And it's amazing that you can use genetic genealogy for so many things and to help people find these lost ancestors that they that they've never met, right? Yes. So you in your new book, Celtic winter, you've been able to blend a little bit of genetic genealogy into the story. Would you mind just giving us a sneak peek of a little bit of what that looks like in your novel?
Wendy Spooner 19:33
So I write dual timeline historical fiction. So I have a true historical story is being told based on real people to events and then a fictional present day descendants of this family who has fallen in love with them as becoming a total research nerd. Before she hated history, till she fell in love with her family tree and her grandmother is her mentor and says that let's let's have you take a DNA test. And then I can teach you about this other avenue of research that you can add to traditional genealogical research. And Beth has a really awesome girlfriend who is now her boyfriend, in books you and he wants to take a test to for fun, so that he can learn about it as well. And so they both take a DNA test. The results come back in several weeks and best grandmother is showing them what they're seeing in the genealogical database. And who all these people are that are showing us DNA matches to that. Well, Preston's matches are all strangers to him, except for one. And he says to best grandmother, Mrs. Wilson, who are these people? I have no idea. And she comes over and says, okay, never asked you this before, but are what are your parents adopted? Preston said, Yeah, my mom is she's never been interested in finding her biological family is when looking at. And she says yes, indeed. And so Preston, precedence mother is sick in the first book, she's sick, and she's getting sicker, and no one can diagnose her. And her symptoms are really unique. And she's becoming quite debilitated to the point where it's hard for her to walk, she lost a ton of weight. Her president, his father are completely frustrated, because she's getting bad. And in the second book, she's on her deathbed. And it's rough. And no one knows how to save her because the doctors don't know what she has, or how to treat her. And what Preston finds in his DNA matches in his DNA results database, is somebody who shares enough DNA with his mother to be his sister. And they find out that not only does his mother have a sister, but she has a twin sister. And so when the doctor tells the family, do you have any relatives that have the same symptoms, because we might be able to diagnose your mother, if you do. And so Preston and Beth set off, to find this mystery person and see if she can somehow help save his mother's life. Wow. So that's that part of the story.
Tamara Anderson 22:17
That is awesome. So it's, it's it's fun to be able to blend your love of genealogy with this is what genetic genealogy is that you can actually find genetic diseases and, you know, help families work together to solve genetic problems, right?
Wendy Spooner 22:35
Yes, and just connect with each other and find each other. Because genetic genealogy is a way to route around closed adoption records. And I believe that in the United States, we only have 11 states that have opened adoption records. So all these adoptees, they don't have access to the information to find their families or even know who they are. So genetic genealogy can go around that roadblock. Hmm, very powerful.
Tamara Anderson 23:06
So let me ask you this, because this is a tricky situation with adoption. And I know you've you've done research for families, probably with varying results of people that want to be found and don't want to be found. Is it the best situation always to find that other family,
Wendy Spooner 23:27
I will hang my hat on, the truth shall set you free my entire life. And that goes for every aspect of our life. And to know who you come from, even if they are criminals, even if they are in prison, or they're people that really, really struggle, the truth will always set you free. And then it's your choice. What you do with your life, when you find out you come from, you're either going to emulate their incredible choices are you're going to say this is where it stops. And from here on, I make the best choices.
Tamara Anderson 24:02
I love that, that you you bring that around to our choices. Because ultimately we do get to choose because I think every family out there is broken. You know, there are no perfect families. Sorry, guys, I hope I didn't burst any bubbles there. But there are no perfect families out there. And so we all have broken families in some way or another. And and we get to choose which traits we love. And we want to keep from our parents or grandparents and which ones were like that is not getting passed on. I don't want my kids and grandkids to have to deal with that. Now there are some genetic issues that you can't help but pass on. It's just genes right. I was talking to Wendy before we got on today about migraines that I struggle with and my family struggles with and we've identified the line of the family that it goes back to and, and it's just it's one of those crazy things and I if I could choose not to pass it on, believe me I I would not like to pass on chronic migraines to my children. Yes. So it's good that we can choose, I guess there are some things we can choose.
Wendy Spooner 25:23
Yeah, there's really only two situations where you can't choose and that is genes that are passed on, like you're talking about the migraine gene. Or if you choose a path of addiction, if you choose alcohol or drugs, and you become truly addicted, you lose control of your choices. And it's very difficult to pull out of that. Of course you can, of course, there's always hope for that. But but if you do become addicted to substances, sometimes it can be too much for people to ever pull out of so just don't ever make that choice to stay away from all addictive substances because then you're always free to choose.
Tamara Anderson 26:09
That is that is very, very wise advice. We're gonna take a quick break, but when we get back, we'll have more lessons, tips and things you can apply to your life. Stay tuned.
Hi, this is Tamara K. Anderson, and I want to share something special with you. When our son Nathan was diagnosed with autism, I felt like the life we had expected for him was ripped away and with it, my own heart shattered as well. It's very common for families to feel anger, pain, confusion and anxiety when a child is diagnosed. This is where my book, “Normal For Me,” comes into play. It shares my story of learning to replace my pain, with acceptance, peace, joy, and hope. “Normal For Me” has helped change many lives. And I'd like to give this book to as many families as possible. We put together something I think is really special. My friends and listeners can order copies of my book and significantly discounted price. And we will send them to families who have just had a child diagnosed with autism or another special needs diagnosis. We will put your name inside the cover. So they will know someone out there loves them and wants to help. I will also sign each copy. You can order as little as one or as many as hundreds to be shared with others. So go to my website tamarakanderson.com and visit the store section for more information and to place your order. You can bless the lives of many families by sending them hope, love and peace. Check it out today at tamarakanderson.com and help me spread hope to the world.
Another fact that I love about your new book “Celtic Winter” is that because Preston is dealing with a lot of stress because of his mother's health challenges. He finds a very unique way to do self care, that something he really, really enjoys. And it's not something we typically talk about on my podcast. And I don't think anybody's ever brought this up as an idea of something people can do for self care or something that people really enjoy. But would you mind kind of without spoiling the entire story. Just talking to us a little bit about what this is and why it's self care and and how we can even do that in our own lives today.
Wendy Spooner 28:46
Yes, hopefully, all of us have figured out some outlet to care for ourselves. And sometimes it's just keeping your head straight or keeping yourself sane when you're involved in a very stressful situation. Like when I was in graduate school. My kids were getting married and having grandchildren born. And so many things in life piled up and so I needed a creative outlet. And so I started a cake decorating company and started making wedding cakes and themed gigs because of an artist. This was art in frosting for me. And it was such a wonderful outlet. And so in my book, the main character Beth is she is a gifted artist and so she'll just go to her studio and paint and paint whatever she's dealing with and release her emotions onto a canvas. Art Therapy is powerful. There are a lot of people, including one of my daughters who utilize this path of self care. But for Preston, as his mother is slowly dying, he's a he's a champion swimmer. And he just can't do it anymore. He doesn't want to be at swim practice. He wants to be in his mother's side. He just kind of says That's an aside, I think that he could have used swimming very easily for self care and has an outlet. But what he chooses to do because he loves bed is to return to the library, where he said he spent the whole previous summer with her unearthing the story of her fourth great grandfather, which is a story in the first book. And this time, he they go back in time to the little sister of Allen Hamilton, who was left behind in Ireland. And it's the story is how she keeps her family alive. But there's also a very deep love story involved in this letter, bad thoughts. And so President who says Anytime he's gonna lose it, and he needs a break from the hospital, he says Bethel School, the library, let's let's go research Eliza, I need something my mind needs something to do. And so this helps him because he is a total history nerd. And he is one of the main reasons that Beth falls in love with history in the first. And so that's one of the things that they do to stay sane as they're trying to figure out how to save. Preston's other's life.
Tamara Anderson 31:08
That is so fascinating. I will warn any of you who decide to dive into family history research, that it's extremely addictive. I know. There's been times when my husband you know, I'll dive in and it's like, it's like, everything around me disappears and he'll come over is it Tamar, you've been at this for two hours. I think you need to come back to the world of the living.
Wendy Spooner 31:37
Absolutely true.
Tamara Anderson 31:38
No, I am going to just warn those of you who decide to take a family history research as a as a hobby. It's so fun. And you feel like you're unearthing is amazing secrets, but it is extremely addictive. So do you just you almost have to set a timer, or something?
Wendy Spooner 31:57
That's true. And I have to say that I am a world traveler. I have been to some incredible places and highly adventurous scuba diving, paragliding. I am highly adventurous, and I have not found an adventure yet. That is more exciting than my own family tree on every level.
Tamara Anderson 32:18
Wow, that is amazing. Well, I just love that you've been able to blend your passions and then also help other people discover this amazing story in the novels that you're writing. And these novels are actually based on your own family tree is Alexander Hamilton. Your first book is called once upon an Irish summer. And and this is actually based on your ancestor who came from Ireland, right?
Wendy Spooner 32:47
Yes, Allen Hamilton and Alexander Hamilton, signer of the Declaration of Independence. He's actually my sixth cousin several times. So Hamilton's is part of those Hamilton. But these people came from Ireland when they immigrated, so very,
Tamara Anderson 33:07
Very cool. That is awesome. So So I love that you've been able to tie this love and this genealogy, even into the stories that you're writing today in these novels and blend, blend history with a girl discovering who she's coming from. And I think, I think finding who you come from, and especially finding their good traits, you can often see those same things in yourself.
Wendy Spooner 33:37
It can really change your and it can also feel like this almost physical sensation of feeling yourself. By knowing who you come from. It's almost like if you feel empty at all, there's this sensation of being filled.
Tamara Anderson 33:55
It's true. It's true, and and how important it is to ask those questions. And so as we come up to, you know, Christmas here, if you struggled to find topics to talk about with your family, because you're a little broken. A good question to ask the older people in your family is Tell me about your parents or your grandparents or Uncle Bob that I don't know anything about or something like that? Because it begins the telling of these stories. And that's how we connect to those people in our family tree. I don't know. Do you have any other thoughts or ideas for ways to bring on those conversations? Wendy?
Wendy Spooner 34:38
Yes. Well, when you do ask that question for let's start with the oldest family member in your family, hit the record button on a phone app and record that so that you have every word that they said because you're never going to be able to write fast enough so just record them and transcribe later but ask for pictures. Ask for photo albums. As to copy original documentation, because there are a lot of records that are online, but it's a much smaller portion than people believe that it is. Here in the United States, we have this incredible wealth of documentation online, for us as a nation, our ancestors and people, but other countries don't have access to their archives at all. And I mean, zero, we are so blessed in this country to have the access that we do. But you're still not gonna find everything online. So you want to copy letters, the information you can get from letters, oh, my goodness, I based once one an Irish summer and Celtic winter, on a 200 year old letter collection of this family. That's where I gleaned some of the best parts that I learned about this family, and then filled it in with records that I could find in between, but journals just get everything, what somebody has find out who the keeper is in your family. And one of the most painful things for me when I go to an antique store and antique stores, or one of my favorite places in the world, is to see families, photos just dumped. And they're there with no names on the back. There, they're just to buy because they might be really neat looking for the quarter or something. But that's someone's family history just dumped and it kills me. Because if there's no name, no documentation on it, you can never find out who belongs to. So you need to keeper of your family's records, find out who has the things and find out how they are treating those archives and offer to become a keeper. If that's necessary. Hmm,
Tamara Anderson 36:43
no, that's fascinating. I know. My dad is way way into genealogy. And he has boxes and boxes and boxes in his garage. And every time I go home, and I see those boxes there, I'm like, I'm gonna have to go through those when he dies. So I'm like, Dad, can we start going through some of these things now? So that I'm not left with all this and not knowing? Okay, well, what is all this stuff? So? And if you're the keeper, find someone that you can pass it on to?
Wendy Spooner 37:15
Yes, exactly. And if you are of a generation that is tech savvy, take those photos and documents. And there's a website called familysearch.org. And they have family history centers all over the country. And right now you can take your documents and your pictures in and you can get them scanned for free and posted online, so that they're out there for everybody. Because if there's a fire in your house, and those boxes get burned up, they're gone. So if you can get digitized and online, or even hire a teenager or someone to do it for you, if you don't have time, that is one of the most important things that you can do to preserve your family history.
Tamara Anderson 38:00
Oh, this is amazing. Wow. Well, this has been super fun to be able to dive into family history and tying it not only to your life, but to the books you've write, and also to how we can use this as a hobby. It's a self care hobby. Unless you get to addicted that you can't think about anything else. about addiction before.
Wendy Spooner 38:28
Yeah, so this isn't a substance that's gonna take over your brain, but it takes over your life in a different way, I guess.
Tamara Anderson 38:37
Oh, my goodness. Well, I have to ask before we close, do you have a is there a favorite Bible verse by any chance that it's become meaningful to you as you have begun doing? Family Search and genealogy?
Wendy Spooner 38:51
There's a Bible verse that I've made up my head on but it has nothing to do with genealogy. The prophet Elijah, I'll just mention him, he. He's a prophet. That was such a powerful man on earth that he left the earth in a chariot of fire. And the Jewish religion. And Christian religions believe that Elijah will turn and he has a very special mission on this earth. And as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, those that Pacific religion believes that it lies his mission on this earth is to turn the hearts of the children to their fathers, and the fathers to their children. And just think for a second about what you're seeing across this globe. The television shows of people searching for families, the DNA test people searching for families, it's happening all over this globe. People want to know who they came from. And the truth is, is that we're all descendants of Noah's three sons. We're all family period. And of course, we're all descendants of Adam’s family.
Tamara Anderson 40:07
So we're all part of God's family. But that also makes us brothers and sisters, literally,
Wendy Spooner 40:13
Looking for those connections with each other is something that seems to be highly important to people right now.
Tamara Anderson 40:18
That is awesome. I love that I'm so glad that you're able to share that. Now there's going to be people who have heard you talk about your amazing story who are going to want to connect with you, perhaps as an author, or perhaps as a genetic researcher, would you mind giving us I know, you have a couple of different websites where we can find you. And I'll be sure to link those in the show notes.
Wendy Spooner 40:42
Okay, wonderful. So knowmyroots.com is my genetic genealogy website. And then my other website is WendyWilsonSpooner.com. And if you Google Wendy Wilson Spooner, you'll find all of my social media platforms, articles I've written helps for genealogy, many different things.
Tamara Anderson 41:06
That is awesome. And where can we find this “Celtic Winter” book that you've told us so much about today?
Wendy Spooner 41:13
You can find it on Barnesandnoble.com. You can find it on amazon.com. Either place, Barnes and Noble seems to keep it better stocked has been going in and out of stock on Amazon. I don't know if that's due to the paper shortages. But it's been interesting to watch.
Tamara Anderson 41:30
So if you're lucky, you might be able to get a book for Christmas.
Wendy Spooner 41:34
Yes, or get the whole series. Read what's called “An Irish Summer” first, if you haven't read that one. That's the first book.
Tamara Anderson 41:39
Very, very good. And it's it's also a great series to dive into. If you're not sure if you want to research family history, it might. Maybe the genealogy bug will bite you too. Yes, I
Wendy Spooner 41:52
get messages from people all over the country, saying just that after they've read my books, and that's my whole purpose for writing is to interest people in their own family treats.
Tamara Anderson 42:04
Well, it's it's good to know who we come from good and bad, good or bad. But hopefully we can find some good traits in the our ancestors that we can then emulate. This has been so fun. Wendy, thank you so much for sharing your personal story, and for helping people find the answers to their genealogical mysteries.
Wendy Spooner 42:30
Thanks for having me, Tamara. This has been just wonderful.
Tamara Anderson 42:33
Hey, thanks so much for listening to today's show. If you like what you heard, subscribe so you can get your weekly dose of powerful stories of hope. I know there are many of you out there who are going through a hard time, and I hope you found useful things that you can apply to your own life in today's podcast. If you'd like to access the show notes of today's show, please visit my website storiesofhopepodcast.com. There you will find a summary of today's show, the transcript and one of my favorite takeaways. You know, if someone kept coming to mind during today's episode, perhaps that means that you should share this episode with him. Maybe there was a story shared or quote, or a scripture verse that they really really need to hear. So go ahead and share this podcast. May God bless you, especially if you are struggling with hope to carry on and the strength to keep going when things get tough. Remember to walk with Christ and He will help you bear the burden. And above all outs. Remember, God loves you
You can find the transcription of today's episode here: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/podcasts/wendy-wilson-spooner-how-do-i-solve-my-family-mysteries