User:JLeanne

When I was a girl, I went with my mother to the Genealogical Library in Salt Lake City to gather stories about my mother's Twigg family from Allegany, Maryland. I was fascinated by the stories of Fleetwood John Twigg and the feud between the Black-eyed Twiggs and the Blue-eyed Twiggs and our Scotch family of McElfish's who married the Twiggs. As a youth I took genealogical Sunday classes from avid researchers who taught us concepts such as "pedigree charts," "family group sheets," and helped us create a "book of remembrance."

But it wasn't until I was a young mother and my husband died suddenly that the other side of the veil became very close and very real. I decided to go back to BYU and instead of finishing the degree I had begun (which no longer existed), I was led to choose the fairly newly created degree of Family History. At the time (1985) it was only a two-year degree. I finished the degree in 1987 and went to work as a library attendant at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. In a short time I met and married one of the Reference Consultants who worked there, at which time I was moved to a different department, as married couples were not allowed to work together.

After a short while, my husband encouraged me to work as a professional researcher and so I did for a few years, working for a genealogical firm in downtown Salt Lake City. Eventually I had the opportunity to do extensive research for members of my own family and to write their stories, which was truly a learning experience which brought great joy in getting to know and love my deceased family members.

Over the years I have served numerous times as a Ward Family History Consultant and I also served at the South Jordan Family History center for 15 years before becoming a church service missionary at the Riverton FamilySearch Library, which has been a most rewarding experience.

Sister Jill Shoemaker, Church Service Missionary, Riverton FamilySearch Library