Texan Melissa McKneely guest speaker at RootsTech 2015

Allen resident and genealogy enthusiast Melissa McKneely had no idea when she answered a Facebook call for family history story submissions for RootsTech 2015, a genealogy conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that she would be invited to attend the conference as a guest speaker, sharing the podium with the likes of Laura Bush, Donny Osmond and David Archuleta.

“I felt an immediate and urgent need to respond, so I typed, and my response flowed so nicely, I submitted it and didn’t think about it again, “ said McKneely. “A few weeks later, I was contacted and invited to come share my story in person.”

A busy mother of four, McKneely only recently became engaged in learning more about her family history, joining millions of other genealogists in what is thought to be America’s second favorite pastime behind gardening.

McKneely wasn’t indulging idle curiosity, however, but rather what she calls a spiritual prompting that she should find a way to involve her children in family history work.  A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which espouses the belief that families are eternal in nature, encouraging all people to learn more about their ancestors, McNeely says this inspiration evolved into what she calls “Family History Nights” which included her parents.

“I invited my parents to prepare some stories about their lives and come share them with my children. My parents were so excited! They prepared well, and brought pictures, maps, old toys, and cherished belongings. We didn’t know how long of an attention span my children would have, but we were pleasantly surprised that even after an hour, my children still wanted to know more! They were asking lots of questions and were disappointed when our time together ended.  Because my parents have other grandchildren who don’t live close by, they requested that we record their stories on video and we did.

“First, we had an evening about my dad, followed by an evening about my mother.  Next, they planned to share stories about their own parents, then their grandparents, and so forth.  We had just completed our 3rd Family History Night, featuring my grandfather’s life, as told by my dad.  My children really enjoyed the life stories, pictures, and items that belonged to their great grandfather Lewis.

“Less than a week after this meeting it was Memorial Day Weekend and my family was out of state for a wedding.  I got a phone call that my mother had been killed in a car accident by a reckless driver who had crossed over a center median hitting her head-on and killing her instantly. . . . She was only 59 years old.

“She was on her way home from a church ladies group meeting that had been about family history work.  She was preparing activities for an upcoming family reunion that would bring all her children and grandchildren together for the first time in years.  Some would be traveling from as far away as Japan bringing a grandson she hadn’t met yet.

“One of my first thoughts upon hearing of her passing was the video we had made. What a treasure this video of her sharing her life story is to us now. When I told my children of her death, through their tears, some of their first questions were “What about our family history? Who will tell us about her parents?”   I replied that I would, and that her sisters would help me.  It was then that I realized what an impact our “Family History Nights” had made.

“I will be forever grateful that I listened to the prompting to involve my children in family history work. Watching that video now brings peace and comfort.

“I now take lots of opportunities to share memories of my mom with my children. I tell them of her favorite things and things that made her laugh. I have found pictures of her with each of them and they are framed in their bedrooms. On her “Family History Night” she’d shown us a toy tea set she’d enjoyed as a child.  My daughters were fascinated with it and plans were made for a tea party.  The tea party never happened, but the tea set is now ours, and when we use it, we think about her.  Through these things, my mother isn’t forgotten.  She lives on, in our hearts through the stories, pictures, and videos that keep her memory alive.”

Genealogy has taken on a larger purpose and meaning worldwide. A growing sense of the importance of family, living and dead, fuels the imagination with a growing number of television programs dedicated to the pursuit. It has never been easier to find your roots than it is today.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints maintains the world’s largest family history library in Salt Lake City, Utah, with hundreds of satellite family history centers worldwide. All of its holdings are free to the user, with most available online at www.familysearch.org.

“I think that there is an aspect of Family History work for everyone,” says McKneely.  “For some it’s finding names on FamilySearch.org or Ancestry.com . . . for others it’s recording the personal histories of living relatives, or young moms keeping a blog, scrapbook or other record of what’s going on right now.”