200 Million More Historic Records See the Light of Day

FamilySearch has given us a new gift! And it's a big one, at that! Over the last few months, FamilySearch has added over 200 million new searchable historic records representing 18 countries to its online database. There are now about 700 million records online..

The latest deluge of records includes 53 new or updated collections from the United States and over 100 million new records from Europe, Scandinavia and Mexico. The United States collections include the 1910 U.S. Census (this census is not complete yet) and states’ birth, marriage and death records. There are 10 million new records from New Jersey and Michigan, 4 million from Tennessee, an amazing 41 million from Massachusetts, and many more from other states. 

Currently, 350,000 volunteers worldwide log on to FamilySearchIndexing.org and use FamilySearch’s proprietary software to view digital images of historic documents of personal interest and type in the desired information. FamilySearch then creates a free, searchable index of the historic collections online for the public to use. So if you are not one of the 350,000 volunteers currently transcribing documents, consider giving a little of your time to this great cause. You will have fun!

<> You can read the entire article here.

<> These historical records can be found at http://pilot.familysearch.org and at http://fsbeta.familysearch.org/. Try both sites. There are some different records on each, some the same, and they use different methods of searching.

<> To see the entire list in the collection, go here.

Free Monthly Seminars Offer Family History Help

Riverton FamilySearch Library to Host Classes on August 21

RIVERTON, UTAH—The new Riverton FamilySearch Library has been very popular with local family history researchers in the south part of the Salt Lake Valley since opening its doors in June of this year. The library is now expanding its services to include free quality seminars and classes for locals.

There will be eight free seminars and a keynote speaker on Saturday, August 21, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. No registration is required for these workshops. The library will also be open until 5:00 p.m. that day for patrons desiring to do individual family history research. For more information, please visit www.familysearch.org/fhc/riverton.

The keynote speaker will be Paul Nauta from FamilySearch. His presentation, “FamilySearch: Unlocking the World’s Genealogical Treasures,” will look at the state of the world’s genealogical records and demonstrate how FamilySearch can be used to preserve these records and provide online access to them. Nauta will share how he has been helped by volunteers, FamilySearch-provided records, and other surprising sources to discover his family history.

Nauta is the manager of Public Affairs for FamilySearch and travels extensively representing FamilySearch at events and conferences worldwide. He is also responsible for media relations and industry and community outreach. He received the Distinguished Faculty of the Year award in 2007 from the University of Phoenix.

Following the keynote presentation, there will be two blocks of four classes each that will cover both research and technology. 

Classes to be held during the first hour are:

1)      Advanced New FamilySearch—Loops, Editing, Etc. by Cathy Andregg

2)      Basic Irish Research by Dee Richards

3)      Basic English Research  by Marci Despain

4)      Capturing Your Computer Screen by Jon Bonnesen

The classes available for the second hour will be:

1)      Family History Books Online by Don and Diane Snow

2)      How to Synchronize Data in Ancestral Quest with nFS by Gaylon Findlay

3)      U.S. Military Records by DeAnne Shelley

4)      New Resources for Consultants by Tara Bergeson

Admission is free. The Saturday Seminars will be held on the third Saturday of each month. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

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ABOUT FAMILYSEARCH

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch has been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the renowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

New RootsTech Conference to Bring Technologists Face-to-Face with Genealogists

SALT LAKE CITY­—Technologists and genealogists from around the world will gather at the first annual RootsTech Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 10-12, 2011. The new conference, hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by leading genealogical organizations, aims to bring technologists and genealogists together to help deepen understanding of current technologies and discover new ideas in applying technology to genealogy.  Learn more at rootstech.familysearch.org.

“When the users and creators of technology come together, innovation occurs,” said Jay Verkler, president and CEO of FamilySearch. “The RootsTech Conference will accelerate that innovation through panels, discussion groups, and interactive demonstrations.”

Josh Taylor, Director of Education and Programs for the New England Historic Genealogical Society, says the time is right for such a conference.  

“The collection of technologies present at the last National Genealogical Society Conference in Salt Lake City was so impressive that we see a need and opportunity for a strong annual technology genealogy conference to pursue solutions for the unique challenges facing genealogists,” Taylor said.

The RootsTech Conference is designed to foster innovation by bringing technology users and creators together in a meaningful way. Thousands of genealogists who use technology in pursuit of one of the most popular hobbies in the world will discover how new and emerging technologies can improve and simplify their activities. Genealogists will be treated to technology prototype demonstrations, interactive workshops, and opportunities to test innovative new product and service concepts. Technology providers will get the opportunity to demonstrate product concepts face-to-face to their customer—the family history enthusiast—and better understand their needs.

“Technology is driving a revolution in family history,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “We’re excited to participate in the RootsTech Conference, and we see it as a great chance to explore with genealogists how technology can help them even more in the future.”

The RootsTech 2011 conference will be hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by Ancestry.com, New England Historic Genealogical Society (NEHGS), Brigham Young University, and other leaders in the genealogy community.

“Brigham Young University is pleased to participate in this conference, which brings together the Conference on Computerized Family History and Genealogy and the Family History Technology Workshop under the same umbrella. We think this creates a new and unique national forum for genealogists, software developers, and researchers to move genealogy forward,” said Christophe Giraude-Carrier, Associate Chair and Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Science at Brigham Young University.

Technology creators will discover new and existing technologies and techniques to help their development practices and also see how they can be applied to the unique discipline of genealogy. Anticipated themes for the conference include: using social networking to collaborate as families and societies, data backup and digital preservation, using multimedia, records and media digitization, how to use cloud computing to deploy reliable, scalable systems, handwriting recognition and automated transcription, mobile computing devices and applications, GPS mapping, and much more.

RootsMagic Classes

I know this is late, however, I am teaching a five-week series on RootsMagic software at the Riverton FamilySearch Library this month. I have completed the classes on the RootsMagic overview and using new FamilySearch features.

The classes are each Monday in August from 1pm to 3pm. Come join us! Next Monday, the 16th I will be covering sources and some of the tool features available in RM4.

Here is the map and directions on how to get to the Riverton FamilySearch Library. Come join me!

New Updates in New FamilySearch

New FamilySearch has been updated! 

One of the best features added actually removed a feature, which I think is great! You can no longer add new disputes. I think disputes were overused from the very beginning because they was so easy to create. Some people would dispute a person because the birth date wasn't exactly what they thought it should be or because the name wasn't spelled the way they wanted it spelled. However, the record is still for the correct person.

The existing disputes are still in the system and whoever entered that dispute can remove it. Eventually all remaining disputes and their associated notes will be moved to the discussion boards.

So what you probably ought to do now is go in and remove any dispute that you may have entered. In its place you should add notes or start a discussion. Discussions were added about three months ago and they work much like an online forum or message board.

Don't forget to utilize the Combined Records. You can find them on the bottom of either the Summary Tab or the Detail Tab. Anytime you find a problem, go in and double check those combined records and make sure that all records have been combined correctly. Somewhere along the line a record may have been added to the folder incorrectly. You can remove that incorrect record from the folder.

Some changes have been made to accommodate the Russian and Italian languages. And other changes to accommodate Asian languages.

New tutorials have been added to help you learn to use the system. You will find them under HELP > Training and Resources.

And lastly, corrections and additions to the User's Guide have been made and the marked with a blue horizontal arrow for easier review.

Keep up the good work everyone!!!

Time for Utah Valley PAF Users Group Meeting!

UTAH VALLEY PAF USERS GROUP MEETING
The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 14 Aug 2010, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. Information about the Users Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on the Group's website http://uvpafug.org and the press releases are at http://blog.uvpafug.org/ .

The main presentation for this meeting will be by Kara Wahlquist on ANSWERS TO WORLDWIDE RESEARCH PROBLEMS USING FAMILYSEARCH WIKI AND FORUMS. Learn how the Wiki, Forums, and Online Courses are valuable tools in finding family history answers faster than ever before! These
tools help connect researchers and sources all over the world. Family History Consultants don't have to know all of the answers – just where to find them! During the last year, Kara Wahlqjuist worked with the FamilySearch Wiki team preparing for the National Genealogical Society Conference in Salt Lake City, April 2010. She has been instrumental in teaching and infusing excitement for the Wiki and Forums by demonstrating how to use these new tools to their greatest advantage. Before joining the Wiki Team Kara worked as a consultant on the US/Canada Reference desk at the Family History Library. She worked for Ancestry.com and has been involved in British and U.S. Research for the past 30 years. Kara is a passionate, motivated genealogist who willingly shares her energy, experience and testimony to help others with their research.

Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this
meeting are as follows: (1) Personalized Help with New FamilySearch and PAF, by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen; (2) Family Insight, by Andrea Schnakenburg; (3) Q&A on the FamilySearch Wiki and Forums, by Kara Wahlquist; (4) Video of last month's main presentation, Are You My Mother? - Finding Maiden Names, by Bret Petersen; (5) Using Ancestral Quest to modify New FamilySearch, by Merlin Kitchen; (6) Legacy, by Joel Graham; and (7) RootsMagic, by Diana Olsen and Renee Zamora.

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

Saturday Seminars at Riverton FamilySearch Library

I received the following email this morning from FamilySearch. There are so many opportunities to learn so take advantage! By the way, this doesn't have to be just for consultants.

Saturday Family History Seminar Series at Riverton Library

Dear Family History Consultants,

We invite you and any of your friends, neighbors, ward members, or interested genealogy enthusiasts to attend and to help publicize the Riverton FamilySearch Library’s second monthly Saturday Seminar, which will take place on Saturday, August 21, 2010, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There will be three hours of instruction by family history experts covering a wide range of technical and research subjects.

All are invited to come and attend these free classes, which range from basic to advanced level.  Details of the classes can be found at www.familysearch.org/fhc/riverton.

Sincerely, 

FamilySearch            

VOLUNTEER at the Family History Expo Conference in Sandy, Utah!

Ok, so now you know about the Salt Lake City Family History Expo conference coming to Sandy, Utah on August 27th and 28th. Well, this year I am the volunteer coordinator for this event and         I NEED VOLUNTEERS!   This is a perfect opportunity for you to get involved and still be able to enjoy the conference.

I need volunteers for pre-conference preparation, registration, prize drawing support, and ushering and room monitoring during the scheduled classes.

The great thing is if you volunteer for either Friday or Saturday's events you can attend all the classes you want on the other day for FREE! So take advantage of this great opportunity and contact me on my contact section at the bottom of the blog!

Sandy Family History Expo - August 27-28, 2010

Here's the perfect chance for all of you FH Consultants, Center Directors, Extraction Directors and every one of you who either now works on family history or wants to get started!

The annual Salt Lake City Family History Expo (which is actually held right here in Sandy, Utah) is coming August 27-28, 2010 to the Sandy Expo Center, 9575 South State Street. The Expo is presented by Family History Expos (a private company) which does a fantastic job with their conferences.

There will be over 100 classes presented by more than 50 national and local speakers as well as staff from the Family History Center in Salt Lake. Classes range from the beginner to advanced topics so don't think you know too little or too much! You will learn about the latest techniques and technologies being used in genealogical research. You can read more about it and check the class schedule at www.fhexpos.com/expos/.

Exhibitors from throughout the U.S. will teach about their latest products and services. FamilySearch affiliated software vendors will be there to help teach you how to interact with new FamilySearch using their products using a "hands-on" approach.

You can attend the keynote address and visit the exhibit hall without any cost. However, I highly recommend you attend both days if at all possible. It's very much worth the minimal cost to attend. Register quickly because the the Early Bird registration is only good for the remainder of July.

FamilySearch will be offering four extra free classes for FH Consultants, Stake Extraction/Indexing Directors and assistants, and Priesthood Leaders.

Get together with your friends, neighbors and ward members and plan to attend the conference this year!

Orem library partners with FamilySearch | Mormon Times

Free Revolutionary War Records on Footnote.com until 7 July 2010!

In recognition of America's Independence Day, Footnote.com is opening their Revolutionary War Collection free to the public. Take advantage of this opportunity for the next four days!

Time for Utah Valley PAF Users Group Meeting!

Remember that UVPAFUG is not really about PAF these days - but it's still the organization's name! This is a great group and you should plan to attend whenever possible! Here is the press release:

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley PAF (Personal Ancestral File) Users Group will be on Saturday, 10 Jul 2010, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo. For directions to get there see the map on the group's website http://uvpafug.org .  (OR click on the address above.) The main presentation for this meeting will be by Bret Petersen on ARE YOU MY MOTHER? - FINDING MAIDEN NAMES. This will be a discussion of various types of records and research techniques that can provide clues in determining more about missing mothers. It can often be difficult to discover the maiden name of female ancestors, however, such a find can create a whole new branch on your family tree opening up connections to more and more families. Join us as we explore a few of the resources where you might look for more information regarding those elusive maiden names on your family line. 

Bret Peterson loves teaching and helping others learn all they can about using technology in researching their family history. He is a frequent presenter for classes ranging from just a few users to several hundred. He developed a love of family history research at a very young age and this continued through his college years where he graduated from BYU with a degree in communications/Journalism and a minor in Education/Sociology. His interest in computers began through newspaper writing, editing and design, and this led him into a professional training and support role with a company that supplies newspaper publishing systems internationally. His passion for family history research and the advancements in computer-assisted research led him to the Utah Valley PAF Users Group where he now serves as Webmaster. He is currently working towards accreditation with ICAPGen. Following the main presentation there will be several classes about family history and technology with something for everyone at any level of expertise. The teachers and classes presently scheduled for this meeting are as follows: 

1. Military Research on the Internet by Laurie Castillo
2. Individual Help with PAF & New FamilySearch by Don Engstrom & Finn Hansen
3. Cemetery Symbolism in Stone by Bret Petersen
4. Video of last month's main presentation How to Light a Fire Under Your Ward by Andrea Schnakenburg 
5. Family Insight by Andrea Schnakenburg
6. Ancestral Quest 12.1 by Gaylon Findlay
7. Legacy 7.4 by Joel Graham
8. Roots Magic 4 by Bruce Buzbee

All meetings of the Users Group are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Users Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually 100-125 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.

Updated "Standardized Place Name List" in new FamilySearch

Ron Tanner, the Product Manager of Family Tree in new FamilySearch posted a comment that should clarify an issue with the Standardized Place Names in nFS. There are some place names that are most definitely incorrect. You should be able to have them corrected now. Here are his comments posted to FHCNET on July 1:

" Everyone,

There have been some issues in the past that have restricted us from taking updates of the standards catalog into nFS. The last time that a standardize place catalog was updated was several years ago. And although your feedback on standardized places have been taken and the catalog updated, you never saw the fix because of this problem.

The release that was put out in June has been updated with the latest catalog that diligent engineers have been working to improve for years. We also have changed the way that standardized places are chosen and have more strongly separated the place you enter from the standardized place.

Now you can enter a place and it will pop-up with suggestions from the database, but if there are none you believe are close enough to select so you don't have to keep typing, then just don't select any from the drop-down. Then the system will attempt to match what you entered and fill in the standardized version of the place. If you don't believe the standardized place is close enough, then click on the arrow next to the standardized place and pick the closest one. By doing this we keep your original place data but also have the closest standardized place.

If entries were made by the system or others that have a poor choice for a standardized place, then just enter another opinion and correct it with the technique above and then make sure your entry is selected in the summary.

We have now corrected the issues with taking the standards catalog and expect to have more regular updates as we take your feedback and correct the errors.

Thanks,
Ron"

FamilySearch Record Search Update

The following announcement was made today that will be of help to ALL Genealogists.  I have added some comments and listed the new records in a more concise manner.

26 Million New Names Added for Costa Rica, France, Hungary, Mexico, Spain, and the U.S.

 Today at 11:09am

Twenty-nine new collections were updated or added this week at FamilySearch.org—with 26 million names and 1.5 million digital images!

The international collections continue to expand with exciting new additions for Costa Rica, France, Hungary, Mexico, and Spain. In addition, nine more indexes were added to the U.S. 1910 Federal Census collection—that means it is 37 percent complete! This project is moving along quickly.

There are now 428 collections from original source records available online at FamilySearch. Search all of these great collections for free online at FamilySearch’s Record Search pilot (from FamilySearch.org, click Search Records, and then click Record Search pilot). [or just click here for Record Search]

See the chart below for the complete concise list of all the newly added or improved collections.

None of this would be possible without the great contributions of many online FamilySearch volunteers. These individuals donate the time and effort needed to make these collections freely available to FamilySearch patrons. If you would like to help by donating a few minutes online with projects of personal interest, become a FamilySearch community volunteer at FamilySearchIndexing.org. Many hands produce great work. Thank you for your support!

Note: Waypointed images are those that you can browse through. They are not searchable by individual name, however, they are in groups based on location or some other grouping. They are high quality images of microfilm that have been tagged to identify sub-groups. They eventually will be completely indexed.

New waypointed images:

  Costa Rica—Church Records
  Hungary, Abauj-Torna—Civil Registration
  Hungary, Szabolcs—Civil Registration
  Spain, Barcelona—Civil Registration

  Spain, Barcelona, Vich—Civil Registration

  Spain, Cordoba—Civil Registration

  Spain, Gerona—Catholic Diocese Church Records, Part 2

  Spain, Málaga—Civil Registration

  Spain, Ripoll (Girona)—Municipal Records

Added or Updated records/indexes

  France—Protestant Church Records, Part B and C
  México, México—Censo de México de 1930
  México, Durango—Censo de México de 1930
  México, Guanajuato—Censo de México de 1930
  México, Hidalgo—Censo de México de 1930
  México, Jalisco—Censo de México de 1930
  México, Queretaro—Censo de México de 1930

  U.S., District of Columbia—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Indiana—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Kansas—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Kentucky—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Maryland—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Massachusetts—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Minnesota—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., New Jersey—1910 Federal Census
  U.S., Texas—1910 Federal Census

  U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, 1901–1937
  U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, 1938–1947
  U.S., New Hampshire—Statewide Deaths, Early to 1900

Yes, I have updated the blog layout!

Couldn't sleep the other night and decided to update the blog template!  :)  There are still plenty of things that I need to fix and tweak so please be patient with me. Actually, the data is all the same. The column that was in the middle is now on the left with posts in the middle. I'm also adding a few pages so watch the tabs across the top.

The left column has the BLOG ARCHIVE. That's where you find all the past articles and posts. Below that is the INDEX where you can look for articles based on the subject. So if you are interested in information about census records, click on Census!

Further down the left column are the links to various TOOLS to help you with your family history endeavors; links to help you learn about the various SOFTWARE PROGRAMS available for your use in Family History Centers, as well as the SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES that are provided for your FREE USE at the centers.

Do you need a quick review of how computers work or how to do your family history research? Then you will also find links that will take you to the various resources available for training on the internet, many of which are in video format. How easy can it get? Just sit back in your chair and watch a few videos and learn!

I will also continue to add new tools and widgets as I find them (like those little "fill in the blank" search tools you will find in the left column, towards the bottom). If you know of others please let me know. Then you can use them all in one place. You can currently search the Google historic newspapers, search the genealogy message boards Google books online, and all while listening to great music!

Don't forget about the right-hand column. There are plenty of other bloggers out there in cyberspace who have terrific information to share! The Blog News Feed does just that -- it feeds their most current blog description to the list. You can click on any of those links and you'll be taken to their blog and that specific article! The blog feed is automatic and updates as any one of them updates their blog. So you can check out my blog many times during the day and see new updates from other blogs! How easy is that?

And finally, for those of you who use the Granite South Family History Center, there is a calendar at the very bottom that has the schedule of when we are open and who is working. Remember, even if the center is closed you can get hold of one of your Family History Consultants and they can take you to the center and help you whenever you need it -- whether the center is open or not! Keep finding those missing ancestors. THEY ARE WAITING FOR YOU!