 It's me and when you're for a self and we are here for our second video interview for our member of the week. This week we're super excited to have Sandy. And I meant to ask you beforehand how you pronounce your last name because I actually don't know if it's paddock or. I don't know. Yeah. Okay. Sandy Paddock. She is one of our newer leaders and she will tell us more about the projects that she's involved in in a little bit here. But thank you for joining me. Thanks. I'm excited to chat with you for a little bit here and help other wiki traders get to know you a little bit better too. And who's your little friend in the corner. Yeah, so you can see a little photo bombing. It's nap time. So we'll just jump in with an easy one, which is when and how did you get interested in genealogy. I was really, really lucky. I can't see my favorite uncle. Okay, so any of my other uncles see this, but one of my favorite. It would actually go door to door to people's houses in the town where my entire family kind of came from on my maternal side, and go door to door and everybody knew everybody so they recommend him in. And he would just ask them questions about their history, get a little bit of tidbits and write down their names or kids and connect the dots all the way back through. When I would go back and visit him during the summers, I would go with them. I had no clue what I was doing. I thought I was just going door to door because every door we went to had some type of cake. I loved to feed you so I just kept going but the stories were fascinating, they would sit there and chat with you they would talk and it was just, it was just to me history. That's really cool. And cake I mean how can you go on with history and cake. Hello kid, yeah. Um, so what are some of your interests outside of genealogy. Well, I would say, there are a couple really strong ones, those that know me, know that huge hockey fan, my husband, go to the local hockey team that's, we're down in Atlanta, and that our NHL team left three times. We're with minor league hockey, but we're season ticket holders for many, many years so hockey, you'll see me on discord I'll say hockey night you know that's where I'm at. In camping we restored many years ago a vintage airstream, and we restored it, guided it and brought it back to life and then when my son was able to drive. We restored a smaller risk to crack trailer. So we like to go camping in I'm pretty, I'm pretty picky about things so I made sure it was really glamped up. Really nice. And then crochet, I learned it from my grandmother and still do it. Very cool. Yeah I keep meaning to learn crochet, but I haven't yet I need to get my mom to teach me. Definitely because that's what makes it special. Yeah, yeah it's like I feel like I could watch YouTube videos and learn but it's not quite the same as having your mom or grandma teach you. Yep. So mom, if you're watching. What, what would you say is your genealogy research focus. Your genealogy research focus always remains in West Virginia that's where my family's from that's where I partially grew up from it. You think that you would build out a tree, and you would be done like couple couple ancestors couple grandparents you'd be done, you're not a you're still digging for that rich history the biographies the paper articles, and also going more horizontal than just vertical so it pretty much stays there in West Virginia, the exception is, is now that I am in Georgia adopted Georgia as my new home state for the last 20 years. The province of Georgia, when Georgia became Georgia is really a hardcore focus for me right now too. Very cool. Are there any specific surnames that you are interested in researching. I still always always always research my beloved bonners, my maternal side my bonners are are like my people, I talked to them they talked to me. They're not giving me a lot of details that I want though at times but hey, we still do it. And then my Craig side. I do a lot of research that not as heavily as the bonners but if you're from West Virginia and if you're watching this, you will know that if I'm researching the bonners I'm researching the hammock Gregory and dodgers and bonners those four names go hand in hand. So, that's pretty much my name surname focus. Do you have a favorite ancestor. I do. And she, she's a bonner by marriage actually she's my third, I believe third great grandmother. And her name is Sarah and folks married Samuel Bonner, and Samuel bought in the war of 1812. Actually, he was paid to fight in the war, somebody that was a lot more richer didn't want to fight. When he died, he was supposed to be given some land a land grant for fighting but they could not prove that he fought for in the war for or even for this person, and the other person had long passed away. So for 15 years to get this land grant, never gave up. And she's in West Virginia fighting this and all the records and the attorneys are in Washington DC. She does not know how to write. So every time she goes out there's an application filled out from the lawyer or her son. She writes a big X by her name. Wow. So for 15 years she's done the tremendous a treasure trope of information came from this and she spent like $25 probably four times a year way back in late 1800s when money wasn't really there. Sadly, three months after she died. But I will tell you it is the most beautiful land you've ever seen it's right on the Elk River in West Virginia we go back there many times to fly fish, and it's just beautiful land so I'm grateful that she fought for. Yeah, for 15 years that's some dedication right there. So you guys you guys the land is still in your family and you can still go in. We do and we don't is it was sold off so many times in patches and patches so the land that the family owns is it's more my uncle, my two uncles own is a very small area, but the cemetery the Bonner cemetery is still there and we own that land. That's really cool. That's nice. How about a favorite genealogical discovery. That one's tough. Oh, that one's. I say, probably finding a uncle, my maternal side, my mother's father, my grandmother, my maternal grandfather was unknown, and my grandmother took that information to her grave. We knew that he had remarried, but we didn't know anything really about where who in out of the blue couple years ago, because I had put information about this gentleman and a lot of detail wiki tree. His daughter was trying for Father's Day to do the same thing, try and find out information about this father that he never knew because the father died, I think when he was about six months old. So he's like, Hey, since my message of wiki tree hey, who are you, and why did you know my dad, and I'm like, I think you're my uncle. So that was kind of cool and it wouldn't have really cool it wasn't wiki tree because he's not paying for family genealogy wiki tree spray. Yeah, that's, that is super cool. No, I love those kind of stories. So, so how long have you been on wiki tree. This is interesting. I've been on since about March 2016. So seven years, and this is really cool. I love this. I just discovered this this week. Mags is the one that was my greeter. I just greeted mags in that latch of project this week. Oh, circle. So I love that. Yeah, she's awesome. Um, so how did you find wiki tree or what brought you what brought you to the site. Do you remember. I do. I might be unique or might not be unique. I have as a professional genealogist, and I had clients that would do the DNA test through a different online program. But they didn't want to pay the fees to continue being a member they just wanted this find out the DNA so as I'm managing their DNA at the time I was like I have to find a way where I can easily recreate this tree so they can always see it for free. I didn't want to build out my own personal web page to have all these family trees for all the clients I ever have just did a web search in found wiki tree extremely quick. And the very first client I had I remember I just started building out the tree I didn't build my own tree out I built their tree out first, and they loved it. And they stayed tree as well so that's cool and they continue building out more horizontal they added their children and things and their brothers and sisters and things like that so it's a great way for professional genealogists as well to use this because it's there, it's all there, and you can get involved in it. It was just awesome. This is perfect opportunity. Very cool. And what would you say you spend the most time doing on wiki tree research probably looking looking at things looking at who I can add to this week I've been trying to attach myself to one of the high or the highest tree copper. Yes, so I've been trying to we both been working trying to see if I can just glad to one at the CC six level for her, so then I can bump up my CC seven number. But it mostly that and creating profiles. Pretty much for for a couple different projects. So what projects are you the most involved in. It's funny, nobody laughed at this one I'll hold the I'll hold the real answer at the end of this. But I love ambassadors, and I'm always, I'm always on Twitter, you can always find me on Twitter so I'm always sharing the ambassadors, everything they do every day and recently, I have my own one place studies. I recently joined one place studies. I love that because I love the history, I love learning of the different areas in the history, but if it's history and travel on there. You're there. I mean that's probably my favorite. I really like the disasters project I like specifically the coal mine disasters because that plays into the next project that I'm going to mention, which is my love is the Appalachia project. You spend, you spend a few minutes on that one right. I try to find at least two minutes every day with Appalachia but that's my love, and I got to tell you that I learned something new from the members every day. They're awesome they're happy. And we love to talk about biscuits. Like, you're very chatty, happy, helpful, friendly project. And you do talk about biscuits a lot. You're the, you, you colleague Appalachian right. Yeah, I, it's an interesting story because Steve Harris, who is the manager of projects with wiki tree had a webcast that said, Hey, would you like to do a project start one. Wow, it's so easy do it. And I've been sitting on this project, the name for about two years, thought about during COVID. Yeah, I had some changes going on, you know with my own business I couldn't go to courthouses I couldn't go to certain places because it's so I said you know what, he just gave me permission to go ahead and do that so I started Appalachia with just a little old space page. Way to do it. You've had several that have grown from space pages and to, like really functioning. You know, ones with lots of members helping out be brave. I think like you like wiki tree says be bold, start a space page, started up, you never know. So for that project in particular how. How can other people help with it. Where, where do you need volunteers for I think what we really need is, we need volunteers that are in different areas of Appalachia a lot of people think only West Virginia is Appalachia. Tennessee and some Kentucky but it's actually goes all the way up into New York. So most Pennsylvania, New York and it goes all the way down into Georgia where I'm actually in North Georgia, where Appalachia ends on the southern county in Appalachia for Georgia but it goes into Mississippi so we really would like to see people join that have that southern or that very northern New York or Ohio or Pennsylvania in at their ancestors and add their profiles. Very cool. So what inspires you to contribute so much yourself to wiki trees mission. Say truly, I want my own people to have a place where everybody can see them. It's really, really important to me that some of my ancestors are known and and seeing as well and I think that almost every project or every person that digs into their family tree. You just have this this feeling in your heart and your gut that these are your people and proud of them and some you're not proud of and you want you want to explain why you're not proud of what they did. Everybody has a story and I just felt like in other places, sometimes the the names were getting wrong, the parents were wrong or children are wrong. People get real crazy about pictures things like that and I just found that wiki tree was just a safe haven for my ancestors to be seen. I love that. So what's your favorite feature or function on wiki tree and why. I've got a few you know I really really love where you bring up a profile and it shows you the degrees and how close you are, and you bring up a profile and it will show you Oh, this is your second cousin two times removed and they'll tell you where and how. The one that I really use the most is, if you go to most of the category I think all category pages maybe I'm not sure at the top right is a big green button this is my connections, and I will find random categories and click that button to see who I'm closest to in a page we can just snap latches so we can all see who we're closest to. Um, I will do it in cemetery categories because I wanted to be closest to, because that's also going to help my cc seven for sure. Yeah, it's a great way to find connections I love that to you and I do you I like to go just totally random categories. Yeah, just to see like who's who my closest to here. What feature do you think we'd like to see added or improved. Oh, I've got a really easy one is a couple times I think I don't know what how you would call this feature so I'll explain it and you tell me what it's called. If you go into a profile and you hit the edit, and then you scroll down to the bottom and on the right it has the parents listed with the wiki tree link already there. If we could just put the word and in between the mom. I would love it, because then I can copy the whole thing and put it up into the profile. It sounds silly but I'm telling you, it would be fabulous if we had that. I have seen that much before. Um, do you have a story about how someone, how you were helped by someone else's participation in wiki tree. I do but I want to share with you, my husband I commenced him to do wiki tree. Yeah, he will occasionally do thongs if he wants to see me that weekend he will do. But really the coolest one is his and secret Santa that just ended a couple months ago. He was stuck at his great grandmother who we couldn't determine if it was, she's from Austria hungry because of the time frame, and an elf picked up his secret Santa and expanded out his tree by four generations, which is cool, which is very, very cool and amazing because we never thought we would get there, but she also found a picture of the house where his great grandmother was born and lived. Wow. And that just, I mean, I, I have not met matters, by the time I met my husband she'd already passed but he has very fond memories of her. It just to see a big, big guy he's a big marine to see a big guy just kind of looking and get the feels over that was awesome. That is awesome. Secret Santa was great way to go out. Yeah. What are some of the tips for someone who wants to get more involved in the wiki tree community. I think I used to say join a project. And I still think joining a project and try joining them slowly don't don't pick up 10 at a time try to answer. I think that is is still a good thing to do. But I like something a little bit better. Watch the live cast. Who, who, who the people you're going to ask questions and need help from you'll see them and they give help. We have such great live cast every month less does his technical one, we have every Saturday is Saturday roundup where we talk about things that are going on, what's going to be coming up next, the question of the week or people share and you get to know these people you get to know these names, and they become familiar with you so I really think watch these live cast play bingo. I forgot that one play bingo Friday night date night, they alternate each other, because you get to know the people that are wiki traders, and I think that will make you feel a little bit more comfortable jumping in. Yeah, it's nice to be able to see people's faces for one. It is. And then you can learn. They're kind of like easy ways to learn that's not intensive. It's not, you know, super structured. It's, you learn just by being present. And I think you start to think of of them as friends and you look forward to, for example, the Saturday roundup, you come to look forward to it. I wonder what's going to happen this week what am I going to learn this week what are they going to tell me, and it's just comfortable is casual. It's, it's like sitting over your morning coffee so I think that's an easy way to ease in to yeah. That's good I like that. And what do you think we could do to inspire more people to participate in our missions. I think that wiki tree is ever going to have the Super Bowl commercials. Right. We're free websites. So, so that's like, so I think social media, I think social media is the number one idea right now to go out and reach out to the social medias that are out there. So, every project leader also has a responsibility to keep their people involved, and then ask their people to recruit people because if you're in a project for example in the Appalachia project. It could be your cousin, it could be your neighbor, it could be your friend you're, you're living in Appalachia so those people will find that topic interesting. If you're in a particular genealogy group, the Huguenots, you know, that's an interest that you have recruit you a lot of times, especially over code we we had meetings over zoom and it's perfect. So recruit others to come in but I think as a project leader we need to start that conversation. And we rely on that quite a bit in the word of mouth because it is free. And so wiki tree sharing about wiki tree is one of the biggest draws to get people to come and join the site for sure. And then share, share the webcast share share the the Friday night date night the bingo joinathon. Start slow joinathon and that one that you're interested in. If you're interested in a particular country or topic. That's the best place because I know for our thoughts, we do team Virginia in our thoughts we all help each other somebody stuck we help each other if you've got a question we help each other we, we know share virtual cookies, we do everything so you start to become familiar with and you become wiki tree friends in that encourages you anytime somebody enjoys something it encourages you to keep going. Yeah, that is like the enthusiasm that wiki tears have for wiki tree is contagious for spur. So, well awesome, it was great to get to know a little more about you sandy and I'm excited that you're, you know, part of wiki tree family and everything that you do, keep doing the good stuff. Well thanks, I love it. And I guess I'll see everybody around the tree. Yep. Thank you.