And at this conference I am debuting a brand new item that I've been working on for months and it"s ready, and it will be available for the first time at the Expo.  Itâs actually inspired by you - you know you are all such gems to listen in to the show, and I was thinking about that, and it just seemed to me that there ought to be something wonderful to wear that shows off what a real genealogy gem you are.   So this weekend Iâm making available for the first time the Genealogy Gem rhinestone jewelry pin

My grandmother always wore sparkling costume jewelry and I was fortunate enough to inherit it, and this pin fits right in with all the wonderful vintage pieces.  So if you would like your very own pin to declare to the world that you are someone you care about is a genealogy gem, be sure and stop by the Genealogy Gems booth in the exhibit hall.  

MAILBOX:  

Russ from Tucson, AZ wrote in to ask about how to locate some Californians in his family tree, and a very happy outcome followed:

Well the "little angels" were in my court because the same day I emailed you I was listening to your old archives in the premium member section when I heard you mention the "acts of random kindness" which I emailed the same day, well someone who lived near the cemetery was able to get a hold of a record of my great grandfather's burial date but said there was no date of death.  Using that date, I manually went into the Oakland Tribune obituary archives and went back a few days before the burial date and there was his obituary!

Kay wrote in to share her experiences with Member Connect on Ancestry.  Email your comments to Lisa

GEM: Member Connect with Ancestry Part 2
Interview with David Graham, Director of Product Management

In this episode, we wrap our personal tour of Ancestryâs new Member Connect feature.

GEM: Family History Thoughts with Lee Drew

In this gem I am happy to feature another wonderful blog post from genealogy blogger Lee Drew called "Choices and Consequences.â

LineageKeeper blog

Fam Hist Blog 

Iâm going in for some surgery in early September and I know that recovery may take around 4 weeks, so you may not be hearing from me as regularly as usual, but I hope that you stay in touch and be patient until Iâm up on my feet again.  Iâm going to try to get some things wrapped up before hand, so hopefully you Genealogy Gems Premium members wonât notice any difference in the regularity of premium shows and videos.  And actually Iâm having a blast with this new video series coming up and I know youâll love it. 

I appreciate your understanding and patience and really canât wait until I can get back to the microphone with more genealogy gems.

Thanks so much for listening friend, Iâll talk to you soon!