Friday, May 19, 2017

A Fond Farewell

Ancestry Insider Portrait - OriginalDear friends,

I’m afraid the time has come for the Ancestry Insider to say goodbye. Over ten years ago I put virtual pen to virtual paper. Now it is time to put it down. I wonder if a couple of times a year you might still see something from me, but this may be it.

This newsletter has brought me lots of enjoyment. I’ve enjoyed trying to bring you news you didn’t get anywhere else. I’ve enjoyed teaching how to better utilize Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. Through my reports about national conferences, I’ve enjoyed promoting education. Through my series on serendipity, I’ve enjoyed sharing my belief about the miraculous nature of life and family history. Through my Monday mailbox series, I’ve enjoyed answering your questions. Through my series, “Records Say the Darnedest Things,” I’ve enjoyed teaching about records and methodology. I have enjoyed the opportunities to acknowledge FamilySearch’s sponsor—and my current employer—The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

This newsletter began at a time when Ancestry’s communication policy was to say nothing. FamilySearch didn’t do much better when I started reporting on the rollout of New FamilySearch. Today, both organizations have healthy, vibrant communication programs.

This newsletter has also consumed about six hours of my personal life each week and I think it is time for a change. But I put down this pen with a great measure of sadness.

This newsletter has given me the opportunity to rub shoulders with many wonderful people. Thank you. For that I am most grateful. Of myself, I am pretty insignificant and I am forever humbled that you would consider this newsletter worth a little of your time.

Before I say goodbye, I’d like to personally thank each and every single one of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you…

Wow! This is going to take some time… Please feel free to go about your lives while I finish up. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …;  (inside joke), …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …, …

105 comments:

  1. Thank so much giving us the inside scoop over the years. Wish you the best in the future.

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  2. Thank you! I will miss your updates.

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  3. You will be missed - information presented with humor and clarity. You've earned the time off!

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  4. Totally understandable. Thanks for the (free) time and insight you've given over so many years. You'll be missed.

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  5. I'm going to miss your posts coming in my email. I've appreciated all the things I've learned from you over the years. Thank you.

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  6. Thank you for all your efforts through the years.

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  7. So sad to hear this! I've enjoyed all your insights for years. I wish the best for you!

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  8. I totally understand where you are coming from. I'm sure a great weight has been lifted off your shoulders with this post. You have served the community well, and I thank you for all that you have done, and all that you have taught me over the years. Now go and enjoy life, new adventures await!

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  9. You will be missed. Your humor and style were always a welcome read. Enjoy your well earned time.

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  10. Thanks for over 10 years of much appreciated insights and wishing all good things in your future.

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  11. What? This is a lifetime job. You can't quit. Who will take over? Tell Rencher to find someone. Someone snarky at Ancestry would be helpful too. Will you still go to RootsTech and NGS and FGS? Inquiring minds want to know. I'll keep you on my blog roll just in case you decide you miss doing this.

    On the other hand, enjoy life, cousin!

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  12. Wow �� I understand the need for change, but I surely will miss you!! Thanks for every word, every minute, every insight, every bit of fun - Good wishes for as much as you have shared to come back in double measure!

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  13. Thank You! You will be missed. You have contributed much to all of us and the community is better because of your contributions. Thank you Again!

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  14. I've enjoyed your posts over the years and thank you for sharing! Enjoy a well-deserved rest!

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  15. Thanks for all you've done...you will be missed!

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  16. If this were April 1st, I'd think it was an April Fool's joke. I will miss your posts with their blend of humor and information—thank you!

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  17. You will be missed. Thank you 😊....

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  18. Thank you!! I will miss your insight and wisdom. Best to you and yours.

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  19. Your sense and humor and investigative inclinations have been greatly enjoyed, and now will be recalled with pleasure. Be well, and may there be much on the up-tick to come.

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  20. I have enjoyed The Ancestry Insider and your excellent reporting for years. You will be missed by many.

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  21. I hate to see you end this. You've been helpful over the years and have provided added explanations that were needed. Wishing you success in future endeavors.
    Thank you for your service!!

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  22. Thank you for interesting information about genealogy. I'll miss seeing your notes in my inbox.

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  23. Oh no! I have stopped my subscriptions to most other genealogy blogs as they really were 90% not helpful. YOURS has been.

    While I totally understand your need to go enjoy your life, your blog will be missed. Sadly a friend of mine just signed up yesterday when I sent her your recent DNA article.

    I am sorry to see you go but know that your information has been appreciated over the years.

    Take care

    Joyce

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  24. Thank you for many years of enjoyable reading ~ especially the Serendipity stories. You will be missed!

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  25. I hadn't found you until rather recently, so I am bummed. I totally get where you are coming from though. I will have to find those other communications you mentioned. Wishing you all the best in your future endeavors.

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  26. so sorry to hear this but I understand how much of a time commitment this must have been!While all your posts have been well worth reading I have especially enjoyed the "dardest" posts and most especially the serendipity ones -- and they have made me be more attuned to serendipity in my own research life. All the best!

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  27. You will be so missed. Best of all good wishes to you. Do, please, drop in now and then.

    Connie

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  28. Thank you for sharing your time and talents and insights for so many years. Best wishes for the next stage of your life's journey.

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  29. You will certainly be missed. Thank you for filing that communication void and for all of the wonderfully inspiring things that you have included in your newsletter. I hope you find many other wonderful things to do with those six hours a week. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  30. With tears, thank you! Completely understandable. You will be missed, as you can see.

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  31. Thank you.. Thank you.. Nuff.. Simply too many thanks to write for all the value you have brought us. Enjoy the extra time you won't really find. Hopefully your insight and contacts will cause you to share more with us in the future.

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  32. I can sure understand why you need the break, but wow.. you are sure going to be missed!! :( Maybe you can pop in with an annual update? Like keeping the same name, The Ancestry Insider, just adding the word "annual"... 'The Annual Ancestry Insider". :D (Don't mind me.. I'm just daydreaming up ways to keep you in our lives and in our mailboxes) ~~ Thank you so much for everything!! xoxo

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  33. WE are all sad to read this email from you. You have been a part of our lives for so long, you are "part of the family" and we will miss you and your articles very much. I know that this is like so many of us feel, and we understand why. We wish you the best and will look forward to anything else you feel you want to share with us in the future.

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  34. "No, that's not true! That's impossible!..."

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  35. I will miss your newsletters, i found them interesting and educational. Thank you for doing them. Maybe you can continue them less frequently.

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  36. Thank you so much for your time, your wit, your support, and the wonderful information you have shared! We hope you can gain some time back in your personal schedule!

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  37. Aww, you and your humor will be missed. Best wishes for whatever endeavors you have cooked up for the future. P.S. I am also a Steve Martin fan. :-)

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  38. Your information has been invaluable. I'm glad I saved a lot of your newsletters. Enjoy your extra time, you will be missed!

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  39. Thank YOU! A million times over for your informative posts! You will be missed! Blessings to you in your future endeavors!

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  40. Thank you for all the information and fun over the years! Best wishes for your future! Take care & Godspeed!!

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  41. We'll miss you and realize that you are wise to carve some time out for yourself. All the best to you in the coming years, and thanks for everything!

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  42. Thank you for sharing your insights. While certainly ancestry and family search are better at communicating, I and I am sure many others, appreciated your insights. Good luck with your new adventures.

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  43. Thank you! For your service to us! God bless

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  44. I have enjoyed getting , reading and passing on your information many times to my Facebook genealogy group...I will miss your newsletter. I do have one question.. will the newsletters stay available for us to go back and refer to them... or in my case read one previous to me becoming a subscriber. I thank you for your time, your expertise and wish you well, spending those extra 6 hours a week on something enjoyable....
    as they say in the newspaper business -30- end of the story

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    1. Yes, the intent is to leave everything on ancestryinsider.org (or http://ancestryinsider.blogspot.com).

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  45. Your wit and wisdom will be missed. Thank you for information, insights and humor you have shared with us through the years.

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  46. I will miss your posts. They have been among the few things that I read regularly. Thanks for all you have done and all I have learned from you over the years. Have a wonderful future!

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  47. I read about 100 genealogy blogs regularly (now 99 ☹), and yours was one I always looked forward to. You had info noone else ever had and you've always been no holds barred. If Ancestry and FamilySearch are doing better now 10 years later, maybe you should just take a break and come back when you're ready as the Ancestry Outsider.

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  48. I've enjoyed reading your posts, which are both informative and usually quite funny. Good luck in all your endeavors.

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  49. Well done, thou good and faithful servant.

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  50. One of the very few newsletters I really looked forward to. I'll miss you.

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  51. I will surely miss all of the great information you have brought to us with such delightful humor and insight. This is such a sad day in the genealogy world, I wish you a long and successful journey in whatever your future plans may be.

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  52. I agree with all of the above!! I always look forward to reading your emails and will miss them. Thanks for the years of good reading.

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  53. I have only recently discovered you but I have enjoyed and appreciated your Blog. I get very little info from Ancestry even when I call them so your Blog has been a great help. Please do write again on occasion especially when something new happens at Ancestry or Family Search. Your information and opinion will always be appreciated. Thank You!

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  54. Say it's not true!

    Of all the genealogy blogs I read, yours is the one I look forward to the most and recommend to all our family searchers down here in Denton Texas. I am director of our Family History Center (or Stake Temple and Family History Consultant with secondary responsibility for the Family History Center...) and I will truly miss your blog. I hope that after a few weeks of down time, you will miss it enough to bring it back!

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  55. OH NO! I can't survive without your updates, blogs and all of your 'how to' research. Everyday I've looked forward to reading your next newsletter. I've learned a lot regarding Ancestry.com and Family Search, thanks to you. Best of luck. We are all still here, just in case you want to start again.

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  56. I'm so sorry to see you go. I have used your great ideas in many of my family history presentations as a temple and FH Consultant. You were a great source for latest ideas.

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  57. Oh No, you will be sadly missed!! I have looked forward to being kept up on genealogy news and now don't know what I will do without you!! Thanks for all your efforts and time spent on this!

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  58. You will be missed! Thoroughly enjoyed your blog each week. Thank you and the best of luck to you in all your new adventures!

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  59. I have always appreciated your generosity to our burgeoning community. Thanks for everything you have contributed to such an amazing field. Those are certainly some big shoes to fill.

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  60. Sorry to see this end! Will miss all the good info and insights! May God Bless your retirement!

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  61. Thanks for doing your blog/letter. You had the most information of any I have encountered on Genealogy. You will be missed. But totally understand a new chapter in life is warranted.

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  62. I've learned much from you. I especially enjoyed the Serendipity series. Your work will be missed, as a friend appearing in my Inbox. Thank you, and best wishes!

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  63. Noooooooo...!! Say it isn't so!! How will we ever know what's REALLY going on with FS and Ancestry and the rest of the family history world?! Even if they announce something, you make it understandable, point out the bugs, explain the reasons, etc. You've made too many contributions to begin commenting on here. At least will your blog site remain with all your past content? You've created an encyclopedia of wit and wisdom that's been sooooo needed. So sad to see you go..... Hope, hope, hope you will post occasionally from time to time.

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  64. I, too, will miss your blog. I shared it with so many people. Good luck and maybe you could drop by every few months and say hi.
    Sure gonna miss Serendipity and Darndest Things.

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  65. Merci & you're welcome! Enjoy your new life! Still genealogy, I'm certain. ��

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  66. I keep checking my calendar hoping it's April 1st. Please at least consider letting us know when there are major developments that we might otherwise miss. You've been our eyes and ears on the scene, so we're a bit spoiled. Thanks for all you've done, and wishing you all the best!

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  67. Thank You. For your time, for your sense of humor, for the info!

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  68. Thank you, Ancestry Insider, for your most informative blog. I shall certainly miss your updates, which provided me with the reassurance that whatever changes were going on at FS or Ancestry, you would tell us how it was. I agree that this was especially important in the early days, now that Social Media is a lot more widely used. I hope you enjoy your well earned break, and thank you, once again, for your dedication.

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  69. Thank you so much for what you have done! I have learned from you and enjoyed your sense of humor. I wish you the best in the future!

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  70. You are the only blog I have followed consistently over the years. I agree that the big two are much more open now but you have brought much needed clarity over the years and have continued to do so. THANK YOU for it all. I will miss you but wish you much joy and happiness in the coming years.

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  71. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us over the years. We benefitted from your attendance at conferences too far away for many of us to attend. We appreciated your updating our knowledge and research skills so that we in turn could help others at our local FHC and FHS and will continue to build on what you have taught us. Thank you. A Canadian fan.

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  72. Sad news. Your pages have been informative, instructive, inspirational, thought-provoking and entertaining in equal measure. May you have the best of luck and success in the future.

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  73. Thank you !!!!!!!'

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  74. Happy to hear that you will now have time for new endeavors...like spending time with your wife. But thanks for making these last few years bearabele, with technology going faster than most of us old timers can keep up. I especially aporeciated your candor and humor. Hope to run across you as a missionary somewhere. Don't you think you can tell us your name now.

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  75. Thanks a bunch for all your efforts keeping us informed. Very much appreciated. Enjoy your retirement!

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  76. Thank you! I'm sad to hear this!

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  77. I always enjoyed your commentary, and learned a lot from you. Thanks for your service. Hoping to see you at events like RootsTech.

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  78. I always enjoyed your commentary, and learned a lot from you. Thanks for your service. Hoping to see you at events like RootsTech.

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  79. Thanks so much for everything you've done for the genealogy community - I have loved your blog...but fully understand your need to move on!

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  80. Many thanks for all the time you have generously given to the genealogical community. So many of us have benefited from your posts. Yours was the one blog I always told my genealogy students to subscribe to. You will be missed.

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  81. Thank you so much for your dedication, you will be missed!

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  82. It'so sad when good things come to an end. Thank you for your service and insight.

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  83. So sorry to see you go. Your information and insights will be greatly missed.

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  84. Thanks so much for all you've done over the years.

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  85. Please know that you have made a difference by writing this blog. Wishing you the best in all your future endeavors.

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  86. Thank you so much for the informative and funny posts. I particularly have learned much about documenting my research from some of your earlier articles. I will miss them, and wish you the best.

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  87. Almost choked on my coffee when I read your good-bye! Will miss your valuable information and can only imagine how much you'll discover with your new found 6 hours per week

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  88. Thanks for your insights and predictions.

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  89. Thank you for all you have done for the genealogy community over the years! Enjoy whatever you chose to do next. You will be missed.

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  90. Thank you so much. Enjoy your new found time.

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  91. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have kept me informed, and taught me much. I will certainly miss seeing your arrival in my inbox.

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  92. I'll miss your emails. Thank you for all your research & insights. God bless.

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  93. I, too, will miss your always informative newsletter; my favorite being the serendipity articles, they gave me goose bumps! Thank you.

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  94. Thank you, for advancing understanding and knowledge of the Genealogy field. May the Lord continue to bless you in your genealogical endeavers, and everything else as well.

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  95. And THANK YOU!! You gave many good ideas that made me think! You also let me know when I was on the right track. And I appreciate hearing your views on Ancestry and Family Search. Enjoy your extra time during the week!
    Best wishes to you.......

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  96. Thanks so much for all you've contributed over the past 10+ years. Best wishes for whatever is next for you--and enjoy those 6 hours a week you'll get back!

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