Family History Contest Winners for the 2021 Harvest Fair

Congratulations to all the Primary children who entered the Indexing Reading Contest. In this contest, they had a few minutes to look at an image and correctly copy the two names from old documents.

All the winners:

• Rose Glenn, Elizabeth Bennion, Bradley Butterfield, Brinklee Butterfield, Debbie Calkin, Barbara De Lucena, Vivian De Lucena, Addynn Farley, Emmaline Farley, Olivia Farley, Charlotte Gardner, Georgie Gardner, Ivy Glenn, Ivory V Henage, Seth Horner, Elise Jensen, Kathryn Jensen, Anine Kalbes, Adam Mueller, Lola Nielsen, Samuel Taylor, Clara Tiexiera, Sara Tiexiera

The winners of the Youth Indexing Reading Contest had to decipher some tricky cursive writing:

Answers: Frederick Smidt and Phoebe Bishops

Winners:

• Hyrum Barlow, Lincoln Henage, Leslie Jensen, Molly Slade
• And a special recognition goes to Primary-age Ivory V Henage for also completing the Youth level challenge!

The Adults had a near-impossible challenge to read these images from 1653 and 1655 and get at least two lines correct. Everybody who tried is a winner for doing some incredibly close detective work.

Answers:

Line 1, Margrat d (daughter) of Willam Coxe (we also accepted Hoxe and Foxe and Loxe, because this clerk had such a weird way of writing capital C)

Line 2: Phillipe sonn of Willam Peaces

Line 3: Thomas sonn of Hennarij (Henry) Jurij (Jury)

Line 4: Doratheij (Dorathy) da (daughter) of Willam Houlland

Winners:

• Lonnie Burkinshaw, Janice Carlsen, Lance Conrad, Sandy Grant, Travis Grant, Brittany Henage, Heather Herrmann, Cathy Ann Tingey

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Other Contest Winners:

• Latest Immigrant in America: Rebecca Pedrosa won for her mother, Eunice Pedrosa, coming in 1996.
• Longest Living Ancestor: Elise Jensen and the Jensen family won for their ancestor Pamela Mason, who lived to be 96.

• Runner-up was Travis Grant with his ancestor Grace Pearl Buckman who lived to be 94.

• Earliest Ancestor to Arrive in America: Sandy Grant won for her ancestor Josiah Hull, who arrived  in 1629.

• Runner-up was Travis Grant with his ancestor Matthew Grant, who arrived in 1630.

• Largest Family with One Mother and Father: Dustin Poulsen, for his ancestors Levi and Mary (Vineyard) Dee, who had 15 children together.

• Tying was Sandy Grant for her ancestors Thomas de Beauchamp, 11th Earl of Warwick, and his wife Katherine Mortimer, Countess of Warwick, who had 15 children together. (More were listed, but scholars of this period certify 15 as legitimate.) Sandy also submitted her ancestors King Edward I of England and his consort Queen Eleanor of Castile, with 14 children (26 are listed, but scholars are divided on whether the King and his first wife had up to 16 children only; it's possible to prove 14).

Family History Contests for the 2021 Harvest Fair

This explains the contests so that stake members can have time to prepare to enter them at the Fair.

There are eight contests you can enter; one is an indexing record-reading contest divided by age categories: Primary children, Youth, and Adults; and the rest are general contests anybody can enter.

The general contests will take some advance preparation to win, but you can enter some of them at the Fair if you want to do a little research on the spot. You’ll need to bring your FamilySearch or Church Account username and password.

General Contests

1. Come Dressed as Your Ancestor: Bring a digital or printed picture of your ancestor for comparison. If you dress up, you win!
2. Family History Artifacts or Story: do you have a family history quilt, wall hanging, plaque, mug, plate, cane, or other artifact? Bring it to include in the displays that the Relief Society is organizing. Also, if you have an interesting or funny family history story, sign up with the entertainment to tell the story on our outdoor stage at the Harvest Fair. Everybody who participates is a winner!
3. Who Had the Oldest Granny? (or Grandpa) Bring the birth and death dates of your longest-living ancestor from FamilySearch Family Tree. Judges will verify the dates and also the relationship to the contest entrant.
4. Who Had a Unique Name? Forget John or Mary, who in your family tree had or has a unique name, one you’ve never heard of before? All unique name submitters will get a prize. Hint, look at families 200 years ago, and those from countries other than the United States.
5. Whose Ancestor Was in America First? Find out when your earliest ancestor came to the American continent. Native Americans automatically win a prize; all others with immigrant ancestors must show an ancestor in FamilySearch Family Tree.
6. Who Came Latest? Find out who among your family was the latest arrival in the United States (and not by birth). All actual immigrants automatically win, and a prize also goes to the one born in the U.S. with the latest documented arrival of a direct ancestor (parent, grandparent, etc.)
7. Who Had the Largest Family? Find the ancestors in your direct line with the most children. The children must have all been born to one mother and one father, and you must be descended directly from one of those children. Judges will verify the entries on FamilySearch Family Tree. In case of ties, multiple people can win.

Indexing Reading Contest (Enter in your age category)

An image of names will be displayed for you on a laptop, an easy 20th-century image for Primary-age children, a more difficult 19th-century American image for Youth ages 12-17, and a very difficult image from a 16th-century English record for Adults 18 and up. Winners must write the names correctly, with the exact spelling as in the original record. Primary children can ask for help from another Primary-aged child; all other age categories can’t have help from anyone else.