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Utah: Walking Where They Walked (with Michelle Ercanbrack) | Episode 74

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Manage episode 502946039 series 3570584
Content provided by Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

When Michelle Ercanbrack volunteered for a Mormon pioneer trek, she thought she'd be helping teenagers learn history. What she discovered instead was a missing piece of her own family story that had been hiding in plain sight for decades.

Michelle, a BYU family history program graduate and former Ancestry researcher who worked on television shows like "Who Do You Think You Are," joins me to share how sometimes the most meaningful genealogical discoveries happen not behind a computer screen, but when you physically stand where your ancestors once stood. Her emotional experience retracing her ancestor’s journey through the Wyoming wilderness to Utah reveals why knowing the facts of a story and truly understanding its impact are two completely different things.

Her ancestor, Mary Ann Malley, was a widowed single mother facing impossible choices and learning more about her life led Michelle to understand that even professional genealogists can overlook the most meaningful connections in their own family trees. Her story challenges every family historian to ask a simple but powerful question: What happens when you stop researching your ancestors’ lives and start walking where they walked?

This episode will leave you questioning whether you truly know your family's stories or if you're ready to discover what you've been missing.

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️
🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.
🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.
♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Realizing the Power of Place (00:00:00)

2. Stories That Live In Us Introduction (00:03:28)

3. Michelle's Path to Family History (00:09:10)

4. Passing Stories to the Next Generation (00:17:40)

5. The Mormon Pioneer Experience (00:23:20)

6. Mary Ann Nally's Survival Story (00:35:09)

7. Personal Connection Through Place (00:43:33)

8. The Unexpected Family Connection (00:48:45)

79 episodes

Artwork
iconShare
 
Manage episode 502946039 series 3570584
Content provided by Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Crista Cowan | The Barefoot Genealogist or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://podcastplayer.com/legal.

When Michelle Ercanbrack volunteered for a Mormon pioneer trek, she thought she'd be helping teenagers learn history. What she discovered instead was a missing piece of her own family story that had been hiding in plain sight for decades.

Michelle, a BYU family history program graduate and former Ancestry researcher who worked on television shows like "Who Do You Think You Are," joins me to share how sometimes the most meaningful genealogical discoveries happen not behind a computer screen, but when you physically stand where your ancestors once stood. Her emotional experience retracing her ancestor’s journey through the Wyoming wilderness to Utah reveals why knowing the facts of a story and truly understanding its impact are two completely different things.

Her ancestor, Mary Ann Malley, was a widowed single mother facing impossible choices and learning more about her life led Michelle to understand that even professional genealogists can overlook the most meaningful connections in their own family trees. Her story challenges every family historian to ask a simple but powerful question: What happens when you stop researching your ancestors’ lives and start walking where they walked?

This episode will leave you questioning whether you truly know your family's stories or if you're ready to discover what you've been missing.

〰️ 🌳 🧬 〰️
🎧 Ready to discover more stories that could transform your family connections? Subscribe to 'Stories That Live In Us' wherever you get your podcasts, and leave a review to help other families find their path to deeper connection through family history. Together, we're building a community of families committed to preserving and sharing the stories that matter most.
🖼️ Ready to turn your family discoveries into a beautiful conversation piece? Visit FamilyChartmasters.com to create a family tree chart that will help your family share stories for generations.
♥ Want more family history tips and inspiration? Follow me @CristaCowan on Instagram where I share behind-the-scenes looks at my own family discoveries and practical ways to uncover yours!

  continue reading

Chapters

1. Realizing the Power of Place (00:00:00)

2. Stories That Live In Us Introduction (00:03:28)

3. Michelle's Path to Family History (00:09:10)

4. Passing Stories to the Next Generation (00:17:40)

5. The Mormon Pioneer Experience (00:23:20)

6. Mary Ann Nally's Survival Story (00:35:09)

7. Personal Connection Through Place (00:43:33)

8. The Unexpected Family Connection (00:48:45)

79 episodes

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