Saturday Night Genealogy Fun

 It’s Saturday night again—

Time for some more Genealogy Fun!!

Come on, everybody—accept the mission and execute it with precision. Here’s your chance to sit on Genea-Santa’s lap (virtually) and share your genealogy-themed Christmas wish list.

This week’s mission:
Write your 2025 Genea-Santa letter. Have you been a good genealogy girl or boy? What family history dreams, tools, or discoveries are on your wish list?

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✉️ Dear Genea-Santa,

Thank you for being SO, SO good to me this past year.

Through a bit of Santa magic, the experimental full-text search on FamilySearch has become an ever-expanding reality. This tool has allowed my fingers to “do the dancing,” uncovering records from the comfort of my home office—or with a short trip to my local public library.

Your magic has also kept me connected to the genealogy community through Facebook groups, YouTube videos, webinars, Zoom meetings, and virtual RootsTech events. Even when researching solo, I’ve never felt alone.

I’ve especially appreciated the creative ideas shared by others using artificial intelligence tools in genealogy. I’m particularly thankful for Randy Seaver and his willingness to share his ABC Biography process on the Genea-Musings blog—what a gift to the community.

Your Santa magic also helped bring a Vivid-Pix Memory Station and a ScanSnap scanner to the Nemaha County Historical Society. These tools are already making it easier to preserve and share precious historical documents and images.

That said, there are a few miracles I’m still hoping you can help with. I’m patiently waiting for your magic to:

• Identify the father of James Crawford (1772–1854), husband of Sally Duggins
• Verify the death date and place of Hiram Currey, former Treasurer of the State of Ohio
• Find the death date and place of Hiram Currey, a lawyer in Peoria County, Illinois

Looking ahead to 2026, dear Genea-Santa, I would greatly appreciate your help with:

• Keeping me and my husband healthy so we can each continue our genealogy journeys
• Helping me keep learning and experimenting with AI tools
• Expanding my access to records and research resources
• Deepening my understanding of DNA results to support my family tree
• Continuing my volunteer work at the Nemaha County Historical Society
• And lastly, using your magic to fill in the blanks on my tree—whether those blanks are missing death dates, unknown siblings, or elusive parents

Thank you, Genea-Santa, for all you do to keep our research exciting, challenging, and full of wonder.

With gratitude (and plenty of pedigree charts),
Marcia Crawford Philbrick