Root Digger Genealogy & Legacy Consulting, LLC

07/02/2026

Black San Diego History: One Person at a Time

Before San Diego’s tourism industry became what it is today, there was Reuben Williams, a Black man known across the region as “Reuben the Guide.”

In 1889, he became San Diego’s first known tour guide and one of the city’s first international guides, taking visitors from downtown San Diego across the border into Tijuana.

06/25/2026

Identification Alert

I am hoping my San Diego community, friends, and history keepers can help me identify the women in this photograph.

I recognize Pete Chacon and my father, Dr. Walter J. Porter, but I am unsure of the other individuals pictured. I would especially love help identifying the ladies in the photo.

If you recognize anyone, please comment with their name, any details you may know, and how you know them. This photograph appears to be connected to community, civic, or educational work in San Diego, and I would love to properly document everyone represented.

Thank you for helping preserve our community history.

Pictured: Pete Chacon and Dr. Walter J. Porter are identified. The other individuals are currently unidentified.

05/14/2026

RootsTech 2027 Call for Presentations is officially OPEN!

We're looking for speakers - people with specialized skills, experiences, insights, and genealogy know-how that can help others discover their family story.

Apply to be a RootsTech 2027 presenter - in person or online - and be part of the world's premier family history event.

Link - https://www.familysearch.org/en/rootstech/call-for-presentations/instructions

03/28/2026

I don’t think I have seen as much of Nina Simone’s interviews as I have seen her perform.

02/17/2026

I was recently interviewed by Yasmeen Ludy of Channel 10 News regarding the ancestry of Johnny Ritchey and his family. There are 2 parts to this interview.

Genealogist Yvette Porter Moore helps San Diego's Ritchey family trace their ancestry, overcoming barriers that many Black Americans face in genealogy research.

09/05/2025

The White House recently directed the termination of thousands of grants from federal agencies that serve the history field, including the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), Institute for Museum and Library Servies (IMLS), and National Park Service (NPS). This sudden, widespread loss of funding is rapidly creating a crisis for America's history community. We are asking history organizations that have received cancellation letters and emails from NEH, IMLS, and/or NPS to send copies of these notices to AASLH by filling out our survey. Read more at tinyurl.com/479x3r2f.

10/26/2024

Looking through North Carolina Probate Records, 1735-1970 Bertie Wills, 1761-1784, Vol. B This is page 1. Thought I would post this page so I can remember to go back.

Enslaved people being Willed...Thought I would post in case someone is looking and because they need to be set free.