Family Discovery Day for LDS Church Members at RootsTech

In conjunction with the third day of RootsTech, on Saturday, February 8, 2014, Family Discover Day is a day of devotionals, classes, and interactive experiences designed especially for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Whether you’re just getting started with photos and stories or are already into your family tree, there is something for everyone.

Hear inspirational messages from Elder Neil L. Andersen, Elder Allan F. Packer, Elder Bradley D. Foster, and popular speakers who will:

• Help inspire you to record, preserve, and share your family stories.
• Teach you to find and prepare your family names for temple work.
• Teach you the powerful features of the Family Tree on FamilySearch.
• Help those with family history callings with insightful training.
• Help you get started on your family history.

Family Discovery Day is free to attend and includes access to the huge RootsTech Expo Hall, where more than 100 vendors will help you with things, such as:

• Recording your story.
• Scanning photos and books.
• Creating a visual family tree and more.

Family Discovery Day Classes

View full Family Discovery Day schedule, Family Discovery Day classes have an ID number that starts with LDS.

Register for Family Discovery Day

Family Discovery Day is free and includes access to the RootsTech Expo Hall. Click here to REGISTER. Begin the process, and on step 3, select Family Discovery Day as your pass option.

Start with Family Stories - Riverton FamilySearch Library Saturday Seminar

The Riverton FamilySearch Library will host a free seminar on Saturday, January 18th, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. that will offer help to genealogists of all skill levels. 

 Start with Family Stories: Find, Organize, Preserve, and Share 

Stories make up who we are, and with the miracle of modern technology, we can share family stories in new ways. Learn how to upload photos, stories, and documents online; capture stories in the Family Story Room; explore the future at RootsTech 2014; and engage children, youth, and adults along the way. 

Devin Ashby is a project manager for FamilySearch, the largest genealogical organization in the world. Devin has been involved in family history for over ten years and holds bachelor degrees in history and Spanish and a masters degree in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University. 

 Following the keynote presentation from 9:00 to10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that cover topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts. 

10:15 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes: 
   • “Using British Naming Patterns to Find Your Ancestors” - Craig Foster 
   • “How Photos and Stories Can Lead to Temple Work” - Fran Jensen 
   • “Ancestral Quest Basics”- -Bud Wood 
   • “United States Statewide Collections on FamilySearch.org” - Adele Marcum 

11:30 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes: 
   • “Canadian Vital Records” - Yvonne Sorenson 
   • “I'm Irish, now what? Beginner's Guide to Tracing Your Immigrant Ancestor Back to Ireland”- -Jessica Taylor 
   • “The Research Journal: Your New Best Friend” - Katie Ledbetter 
   • “My Family Have Been Latter-day Saints for Generations: What Can I Do with Respect to Family History?” - Michael Grimshaw 

 Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 West Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

UVTAGG - Free Saturday Keynote and Classes

UTAH VALLEY TECHNOLOGY AND GENEALOGY GROUP MEETING - UVTAGG 

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG  will be on Saturday, 11 Jan 2014, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.  Information about the Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website http://uvtagg.org.

The main presentation this month will be by Diane C. Loosle on Discover the Future of the Family History Library and Family History Centers.  What does the future experience in the Family History Library and Centers look like? What are the future plans for the Family History Library and Centers? How will things change in the next few years with more records and books being available online? How do the new partnerships between FamilySearch and Ancestry, MyHeritage and DC Thomson Family History change things? What is the “discovery center” we keep hearing about? These and other questions you may have about the Family History Library and Family History Centers will be addressed.  Diane C. Loosle is the new Director of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, as well as the Family History Centers worldwide, so this will be a chance to hear what is really happening, not just rumors.  

Diane is an Accredited Genealogist^® and a Certified Genealogist^SM  with a Bachelors degree in History from BYU with an emphasis in Family History and Genealogy and a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Utah.   She has worked for FamilySearch for the past twenty years as a British Reference Consultant, British Reference Unit Supervisor, Customer Experience Manager, FamilySearch Genealogical Community Services Manager and now as Director of the Family History Library and Family History Centers worldwide. She enjoys spending time in the outdoors and traveling with her husband Mike.  Of additional interest to Utah County people is that she was in the BYU Cougar Marching Band while a student at the "Y"!  Information on her appointment as Director of the Family History Library is at https://familysearch.org/blog/en/diane-loosle-named-director-world-renowned-family-history-library/ 

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.   

(1)  Evernote:  Your Virtual Genealogy Assistant, by Sue Maxwell;  

(2)  Q&A: Discover the Future of the Family History Library and Family History Centers, by Diane C. Loosle;  

(3)  Making Your Trip to the Family History Center More Productive, by Ron Snowden;  

(4)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen;  

(5)  Video of November's main presentation: The Latest and Greatest in FamilySearch Photos and Stories, by Tim Cross;  

(6)  Ancestral Quest, by Gaylon Findlay;  

(7)  Legacy: New Features in 8.0, by Dean Bennett;  and  

(8)  RootsMagic, by Renee Zamora.

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

RootsMagic Special

Here is a message from our friends at RootsMagic:

Give RootsMagic + Book Together for $20
It's hard to believe this is our 10th year offering holiday pricing for gifts, and to celebrate we are going to do our best holiday offer ever!

During this special holiday sale, you can order gift copies of RootsMagic 6 *AND* the book "Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic" for just $20 (plus shipping).  That's right, both the program and book together for $20.

Even better, you can order our other products for just $19.95 each, or you can order our 3 best sellers (RootsMagic, Personal Historian, Family Atlas, and the RootsMagic book) together for just $49.95.

There is no limit on the number of discounted gift copies you can buy during this limited time offer which will end December 20, 2013. You will receive the full program and 360 page book for each copy you order.

To take advantage of this offer, just visit:

http://www.rootsmagic.com/holidayoffer

or order by phone at 1-800-ROOTSMAGIC (1-800-766-8762).  You'll need to mention the code HOLIDAY2013 when you call.

Get Kids Involved in Family History - MY STORY app

Attention, Parents, Teachers, Grandparents, Family Historians! I'm always looking for tools to help with family history and find ways to get children involved in the process. Today I found an iPad app called MY STORY - BOOK MAKER FOR KIDS that looks pretty great. Every day I check the app "Apps Gone Free" and for today only, this app is free. 

Right after installing the app there is a button for "grown-ups" that allows grown-ups, like teachers, to register for a free Bright Bot account to be able to synchronize a classroom, authors (the kids), and their stories. When I went to that site today it lets me register and be notified when the site is ready to go, but it's not available right now.

I created an author by adding a name and a single click of a button adds a Book.  I can add pictures from my camera roll, take a picture with my built-in camera, write and draw pictures free hand or add text from the keyboard, change my text color, tool size and erase mistakes with the eraser tool. There are digital stickers to enhance pages. I can add as many pages as I want, add titles to each page and add audio clips using the iPad's microphone. 

This is a great tool for children to tell stories about themselves, their activities, family members or friends. These books can be shared via email, twitter, facebook, or open in iBooks on the iPad or iPhone or, on any device that opens epub files. The only think I didn't find that would be helpful is an "undo" feature. If you make a mistake you can erase it, but not undo it.

This is a simple tool that that I think my younger granddaughters will love. And as a grandma - I'd love to get a "book" for Christmas! What a fun keepsake. 

Disclaimer: I don't have any affiliation with this app or its author. I just saw it, liked it, and thought you might, too. By the way, the regular price of this app is $3.99, so it's not a bad deal even if you miss the free deal today!

Gratitude for Memories – Looking Forward to RootsTech 2014

During November on facebook gratitude has been the object of discussion and I’m grateful for my memories! Earlier this year at RootsTech 2013, Dennis C Brimhall posed the question “what would our great-great-grandchildren wish we had spent our time preserving?” I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.

Childhood memories. I have a memory from childhood that I never recorded but it was one of those aha moments for me – the day I came into the kitchen with “something” in my hands behind my back. My mom asked what I was hiding as she stood over the stove cooking. I pulled my hands out from behind me and showed her my new find – a large green grasshopper! I thought she would go through the roof screaming at me. I have never touched one since! Oh how I wish I had a photo of that day to preserve that memory and to share it with my granddaughters. Even though I don’t have a photo, I just created a “story” – one funny one I can share with them.

Stashing "things'. Like many of you, my house has too many “things” in it, in boxes, storage, cupboards and shelves. Those stuffed animals, marbles, dolls, and even the little tin jar my great aunt gave me after her daughter died. I fight the urge to get rid of them. Why? Why are these things important to me? Because they represent my memories, both good and not so good!

Getting organized. I was reading one day about the process of getting organized, throwing away all those “things” that are just adding to the clutter in one's life. One of the solutions was simple – photograph the “things” and then get rid of them. It’s not necessarily the things that you can’t live without, it’s the memories that are associated with the “things”.  So are my “things” what my granddaughters would be interested in? Some of them might be, but the “things” would not mean much unless they knew why it was important to me. They want the memories I have in my head, a piece of me. We love each other and those memories will be what they remember of me.

Photo albums. As a young child I loved dragging my parent’s photo albums out. I’d sit for hours going through them and asking questions. However, I never wrote any of it down. Some people and places I remember and others I wish I did. Photos were few and far between in those days because of the expense of film and processing. However, I do have some great ones, including shots of my mom’s teenage friends that are not identified or only have a first name. I am sure they have grandchildren who would love to see them, but I don’t know who they are. We were taught to not write on photos because it might damage them. Hey, I’d be one happy soul if those photo’s had been written on!

Over the years, paper photos get lost, damaged or even passed on to only one child and then to their one child. I’m so grateful to those cousins who have posted copies of those pictures that are part of my tree! It’s the only discovered and created memory I can have. It creates a sense of self and belonging.

Journals and stories. My ancestors were not the ones who passed down journals or left their memories behind, but with a combination of a few family notes, family lore, DNA testing and the gathering of documents I’ve been able to piece together a bit of their lives. I have learned what my maiden name should have been and the unusual upbringing of my grandfather and his family. I have learned about the struggles that made them strong and other events that made them happy. I want to be able to tell them how much they mean to me when I get to the “other side”. I want them to know how grateful I am for the part they played in my life.

FamilySearch Photos and Stories. I’m grateful that FamilySearch has come to the rescue for all of us. I can upload all the photos I can get my hands on. I know those pics will be available to my grandchildren and their grandchildren. The more pics I upload the more the ancestor “comes alive” to me. Those pictures, along with the facts I gather from documents create a story or a “created memory” --a better understanding of who I am.  Pictures don’t make us, but they remind us of who we are, where we came from and where we are going.

My grandfather, as a young man playing the violin (he performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir circa 1915), his marriage to my favorite ancestor, Grandma,  and his old age - uploaded  and preserved on Family Tree Photos

That’s what I want to pass on to my grandchildren – my memories, my thoughts, my feelings, my activities and my “created memories” of those who have gone before.  What I wouldn't give to have those memories from my ancestors in their own words and pictures! If you have been lucky enough to have any of these items handed down to you, share them with your family members -- even the ones you don't currently know by adding them to FamilySearch.

RootsTech 2014 is coming in just a couple months. It’s a terrific opportunity to get started, keep going, and master the art of Family History. Take the opportunity to learn more about preserving your memories. Check out the schedule for the many classes being taught to help with organizing, digitizing, restoring, and sharing photos. Then learn how to tell the stories of yourself and your ancestors and share them with family and friends. Give your children and grandchildren the best gift you can possibly give – a gift of past memories and a better understanding of who they are and where they came from!

RootsTech 2014
February 6-8 in Salt Lake City, Utah
Register today for RootsTech 2014 here
Check out the schedule here

Come and enjoy – stay a few days and visit the Family History Library, visit the local sites, go skiing or enjoy the shopping! Salt Lake has it all. And it’s beautiful during the winter – typically snow in the mountains and not much in the valley.  This year the TRAX light rail runs from the airport to town in just a few short minutes. See you there!

RootsTech Early Bird Registration $10 off Promo Code

For a special limited time (30 Nov 2013) readers of Granite Genealogy can save an additional $10 off the RootsTech 2014 Early Bird Registration price of $159 for a full access 3-day conference pass. 

Register at: RootsTech.org

Enter Promo Code: RT14LTO to received this discount. 

This $10 off promo code ends 30 Nov 2014. You need to register now to save $90 on the full registration price. After entering the promo code the registration cost will be $149.00.

Early Bird Registration period ends 6 Jan 2014. Full price registration is $239.00.

New Activity Book Series Brings Youthful Fun To Family History

 NOTE: I have the book "Zap The Grandma Gap" by Janet Hovorka which was published earlier this year, and love it. Janet has a great love for family and her enthusiasm shines through on every page. If you are looking for ways to get your children and/or grandchildren involved in Family History, this book and the new accompanying activity books will get you started. Check these out and plan some great family activities.


Studies have shown that greater knowledge about family history especially strengthens and empowers youth by creating self-esteem, resilience and a greater sense of control over their lives.  Learning about the family’s past also strengthens the relationships between living family members by creating a shared experience and core identity that no one else in the world can duplicate.

To help families achieve these great benefits authors Janet Hovorka and Amy Slade have developed a new series of “Zap The Grandma Gap--My Ancestor” activity books.  The first four books, My British Ancestor, My Civil War Ancestor, My Swedish Ancestor and My German Ancestor are 52 page activity books designed for 6-14 year-olds with puzzles, activities, games and recipes combined with questions and learning opportunities about specific ancestors and the culture that surrounded them.  Timelines, paper dolls, coloring pages, maps, fairy tales, music, dot to dots and crossword puzzles combine to give youth the full picture of what their ancestors’ lives were like.  When pre-ordered now, the books will arrive in time to prompt questions around the Thanksgiving table.  Or they can become the perfect Christmas gift for children and grandchildren that will create stronger bonds in modern families by encouraging the whole family to learn about their ancestors together.  Sample pages from the books can be viewed on the website and blog at ZapTheGrandmaGap.com where they join other online and print resources to help families connect to each other by connecting to their past.

With the My British Ancestor Activity Book youth can:
- Discover online and offline resources for finding more information about your British roots
- Compare British Schools to today’s schools
- Solve puzzles about different British homes
- Complete a crossword puzzle about British words your ancestors used
- Learn about and participate in a British holiday
- Plan a proper British family history tea party
- Play British games your ancestors may have played
- And explore many other activities


With the My German Ancestor Activity Book youth can:
- Record how you are related to your German ancestor
- Try some German recipes
- Read a German Fairy Tale your ancestors might have known.
- Color and cut out German paper dolls to tell the stories of your ancestors
- Collect documents about your German ancestor’s life
- Make a Schultute School Bag like your ancestors may have received for school.
- Explore some of the qualities you share with your German Ancestor
- And explore many other activities



With the My Civil War Ancestor Activity Book youth can:
- Discover online and offline resources for finding more information about your Civil War ancestors
- Follow a dot to dot about an important Civil War landmark
- Try some of the food eaten by the Civil War soldiers
- Learn some Civil War songs and bugle calls
-  Create a military band with homemade instruments
- Record the battles in which your ancestors were involved
- Write a eulogy for your Civil War ancestor
- And explore many other activities


With the My Swedish Ancestor Activity Book youth can:
- Place your Swedish ancestor in the context of broader Swedish history
- Complete a crossword puzzle about Swedish words your ancestors used
- Learn about and create items for a Swedish holiday
- Color and cut out Swedish paper dolls to tell the stories of your ancestors
- Write a letter to your Swedish ancestor
- Design and color a drawing of a Dala horse such as your ancestor might have played with
- Involve your whole family in the fun of learning about your Swedish ancestors
- And explore many other activities

The “My Ancestor” activity books are designed to give kids ownership of their own family history.  “These books help young kids take the lead in learning about their family history for themselves,” says Hovorka.  “As they accomplish the activities together with the help of their parents and grandparents, they strengthen modern family bonds while they are strengthening their identity with the past.”  Parents and grandparents who teach children who they are and where they came from give youth a secure identity from which to draw courage as they encounter the challenges in their lives.

The authors, sisters Janet Hovorka and Amy Slade grew up in a family history oriented home, but didn’t realize how much they were learning about their family history until later in life.   Throughout Janet’s 12 years as a popular genealogy speaker, co-owner of a family history company, genealogy instructor at SLCC, and as past president of the Utah Genealogical Association, she has witnessed over and over again how family history can heal the relationships in a family.  Her books Zap The Grandma Gap: Connect To Your Family By Connecting Them To Their Family History, and Zap The Grandma Gap Power Up Workbook have helped families connect with their roots through the real life examples drawn from Janet’s own experiences with her teenage children.   Over the last 8 years, Amy has traveled studying folklore, dance and food and culture around the world and recently received her Masters Degree in Folklore from George Mason University.  Together, they are living proof that exploring your family history helps strengthen relationships with living family members.

Riverton Family History Library - Free Seminar

Saturday, November 16^th, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Discovering the Family History Center of Tomorrow

The family history center of the future is a place where families can discover together. It offers individuals and families simple, yet powerful, in-person experiences to discover their heritage and have their hearts turned to their ancestors.

Merrill White was born and raised in Sparks, Nevada. He graduated from BYU with a BA in history and a minor in music. He has worked for FamilySearch for 13 years, managed the Family History Library for six years, and is currently a product manager for the FamilySearch Discovery Center initiative. Merrill resides with his beautiful wife and five children in South Jordan, Utah. 

Following Merrill’s keynote presentation from 9:00 to10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that cover topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts.

10:15 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

    ·           “Using British Naming Patterns to Find Your Ancestors” - Craig Foster

    ·           “How Photos and Stories Can Lead to Temple Work” - Fran Jensen

    ·           “Ancestral Quest Basics” - Bud Wood

    ·          “United States Statewide Collections on FamilySearch.org” - Adele Marcum

11:30 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

    ·          “Doing Family History 15 Minutes at a Time by Organizing Your Time and Space” - CindyLee Banks

    ·          “United States Church Records” - Jill Shoemaker

    ·          “MacGyver Genealogy: How to Use What You Have to Create the Results You Want” - Adele Marcum

    ·          “Photo Editing to Prepare Pictures for Family Tree and Other Uses” - Paul Hyer

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 West Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

Utah Valley Technology & Genealogy Group Meeting-UVTAGG

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 09 Nov 2013, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.  Information about the Group, main presentations, classes, and class notes are available on their website http://uvtagg.org.

The main presentation this month will be by Timothy G. Cross of the FamilySearch Department of the LDS Church.  His presentation is titled, THE LATEST AND GREATEST IN FAMILY TREE PHOTOS AND STORIES.  Tim is currently responsible for FamilySearch Family Tree Photos and Stories which now includes Documents.  Pictures and stories of our ancestors help us know them much more than just knowing their dates and places.  For those who have uploaded scanned documents, e.g. birth certificates, into the Photos section, there is now an easy way to move them into the Documents section and that's probably the reason that the Documents section is with the Photos now.  This is still in beta test, so we can hope that eventually the Documents section will be with the Sources section where you would expect to find it.  The file size limit has also been increased recently for uploaded files and you can now upload pdf's (Portable Document Format).  Family Tree has been making good strides from when it started a couple of years ago.  Tim Cross graduated from BYU in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Management in the Business School and has worked as a Product Manager for FamilySearch for 9 years.  Prior to working for the Church, Tim worked in the computer industry for PriceWaterhouse, Booz, Allen, & Hamilton, and for Novell.  He and his family live in Mapleton, Utah.

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.  

(1)  Are There Germans In Your Past?, by Laurie Castillo;
(2)  Presenting and Preserving Your Family History:  You Can't Take It With You, So How Do You Leave It?, by Don Snow;
(3)  Q&A: The Latest and Greatest in FamilySearch Family Tree, by Tim Cross;
(4)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom, Finn Hansen, & Beth Ann Wiseman;
(5)  Video of last month's main presentation: A Fanciful Genealogy or Clues to the Past, by Karen Clifford; (6)  MAC: OS Mavericks Update and Evernote, by Ron Snowden;
(7)  Ancestral Quest, by Benjamin Findlay;
(8)  RootsMagic, by Bruce Buzbee; and
(9)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett.

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

Riverton FamilySearch Library Free Seminar

The Riverton FamilySearch Library will host a free seminar on

Saturday, October 19, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

that will offer help to genealogists of all skill levels.

Taking Your Family History Electronic: Creating Your Own Amazing E-book

E-books are gaining favor with genealogists and family historians for their readability, look, and convenience. Learn how to take your written family history from paper to electronic format. You can even add photos and embed videos. Using Sigil, a free open-source software program, and a few publication tricks, you will be up and running in no time. Share your family stories in multiple formats to be read on a computer or on one of the many readers on the market, including the iPad, iPhone, Nook, Kindle, or other mobile device.

The keynote presentation will be by Luana Darby, MLIS, a professional genealogist based in Salt Lake City. She specializes in the U.S. Midwest, Palatine German, LDS, and American patriot research. She is working toward receiving her AG and CG credentials. For over 20 years, she has worked with clients of her company, Lineages by Luana, and is a frequent speaker at conferences, workshops, and institutes. She is a past president of the Utah Genealogical Association.

Following the keynote presentation from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that address topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts.

10:15 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

• “Recognizing and Extracting Genealogical Information from Norwegian Church Records” - Anka Haslam

• “United States Military Records” - Pat Jensen

• “Merging People in FamilySearch’s Family Tree” - Ben Baker

• “Digging Up Death Records Online” - Lorraine Bourne

11:30 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

• “FamilySearch Family Tree Made Easy with Legacy Family Tree” - John Baker

• “Presenting and Preserving Your Family History: You Can’t Take It with You, So How Do You Leave It?” - Don Snow and Linda Snow Westover

• “Italian Marriage Civil Registration Records: 1809–1900” - Paola Manfredi

• “Using Online Resources for Danish Research” - Linda Baker

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 West Market Center Drive (13175 South). The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

Ancestry.com and FamilySearch to Make a Billion Global Records Available Online

Just in case you missed this announcement here it is again..

Groundbreaking Agreement to Deliver Valuable Historical Content Over the Next Five Years

PROVO, Utah, September 5, 2013 – Ancestry.com and FamilySearch International (online at FamilySearch.org), the two largest providers of family history resources, announced today an agreement that is expected to make approximately 1 billion global historical records available online and more easily accessible to the public for the first time. With this long-term strategic agreement, the two services will work together with the archive community over the next five years to digitize, index and publish these records from the FamilySearch vault.

The access to the global collection of records marks a major investment in international content as Ancestry.com continues to invest in expanding family history interest in its current markets and worldwide. Ancestry.com expects to invest more than $60 million over the next five years in the project alongside thousands of hours of volunteer efforts facilitated by FamilySearch.

“This agreement sets a path for the future for Ancestry.com and FamilySearch to increasingly share international sets of records more collaboratively,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com. “A significant part of our vision for family history is helping provide a rich, engaging experience on a global scale. We are excited about the opportunities it will bring to help benefit the family history community and look forward to collaborating with FamilySearch to identify other opportunities to help people discover and share their family history.”

The organizations will also be looking at other ways to share content across the two organizations. Both organizations expect to add to the already digitized records shared across the two websites in addition to new record projects to be completed over the next five years.

"We are excited to work with Ancestry.com on a vision we both share," said Dennis Brimhall, President of FamilySearch. "Expanding online access to historical records through this type of collaboration can help millions more people discover and share their family's history."

This marks a groundbreaking agreement between the two services. But the two organizations aren’t strangers to working with each other; hundreds of millions of records have already been shared and are available on Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org. The companies also announced in early 2013 an additional project where they plan to publish 140 million U.S. Wills & Probate images and indexes over the next three years—creating a national database of wills and other probate documents spanning 1800-1930 online for the very first time.

Ancestry.com LLC Acquires Find A Grave, Inc.

From our friends at Ancestry.com:

PROVO, Utah, September 30, 2013 – Ancestry.com LLC announced today it has acquired Find A Grave, Inc., the leading online cemetery database.

With over 100 million memorials and 75 million photos, Find A Grave has amassed an unparalleled collection of burial information. Over the past 18 years, it has grown to become an invaluable resource for genealogists, history buffs and cemetery preservationists. Find A Grave will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Ancestry.com, and will continue to be managed by its founder, Jim Tipton.

“Find A Grave is an amazing phenomenon supported by a passionate and engaged community of volunteers around the world,” said Tim Sullivan, CEO of Ancestry.com.  “We at Ancestry.com are so excited…honored really…to take on the responsibility of supporting this community.  We will maintain Find A Grave as a free website, will retain its existing policies and mode of operation, and look forward to working with Jim Tipton and the entire Find A Grave team to accelerate the development of tools designed to make it even easier for the Find A Grave community to fulfill its original mission to capture every tombstone on Earth.”

Ancestry.com plans to bolster the resources dedicated to Find A Grave to launch a new mobile app, improve customer support, introduce an enhanced edit system for submitting updates to memorials, foreign-language support, and other site improvements.

“Ancestry.com has been a long-time supporter of Find A Grave. They have been linking and driving traffic to the site for several years,” said Jim Tipton, founder of Find A Grave. “Burial information is a wonderful source for people researching their family history and I look forward to working with Ancestry.com to help continue our growth and accelerate the pace of improvements.”

The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Riverton Family History Library Seminar - GeneTech: Y-DNA Solutions to Common Genealogical Problems

DNA testing has become an accepted tool for identifying ancestors. Information stored in the Y-chromosome passes virtually unchanged from father to son for centuries. Analysis of this genetic information, found in living people, can help determine whether or not you share a common ancestor with another person alive today. Computer algorithms predict approximately how long ago the common ancestor lived. These results have many genealogical applications.

Nathan W. Murphy, MA, AG, works at FamilySearch in the Patron Services Division. He holds degrees in family and local history from Brigham Young University and the University of Leicester (the English university that recently discovered King Richard III’s remains). He has assisted more than 25 clients through DNA testing. His own Murphy Y-DNA originates near County Cork, Ireland.

Following this keynote presentation from 9:00 to10:00 a.m., two blocks of four classes each are offered that cover topics of interest for beginning, intermediate, and advanced family history enthusiasts.

10:15 to 11:15 a.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

• “Introduction to the Church History Library for LDS Research” by Jay Burrup

• “Writing Family Histories” by Mike Grimshaw

• “Find Your Ancestors at Home Using Thousands of Free Sites” by Boyd Willden

• “Dropbox and RecordSeek’s Tree Connect: Tools for Adding Sources to Family Tree” by Tom Stubben 

11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Choose one of the following four classes:

• “Introduction to Research in LDS Branch, Ward, Stake, District, and Mission Records” by Jay Burrup

• “Bite-size Pieces: Writing Your Personal History” by RoseAnn Fisher

• “Questions, Clues, and Strategies for Genealogy Research” by Diana Toland

·        • “RootsMagic Features That Enhance the Software”¾Paul Hyer

Registration is not required for this free seminar. The Riverton FamilySearch Library is located in the LDS Riverton Office Building at 3740 West Market Center Drive. The facility is near the intersection of Bangerter Highway and 13400 South, just east of The Home Depot.

Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group Meeting (UVTAGG) - Not a member -That's OK!

The next regular, second-Saturday-of-the-month meeting of the Utah Valley Technology and Genealogy Group - UVTAGG (Formerly the Utah Valley PAF Users Group - UVPAFUG) will be on Saturday, 14 Sep 2013, from 9 am to noon in the LDS "Red Chapel", 4050 North Timpview Drive (650 East), Provo.  

The main presentation this month will be by Bret Petersen on MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR MOBILE DEVICES.  Mobile devices are all around us with smartphones, tablets, and other devices.  We use them for communicating, playing games and maybe keeping our calendar up-to-date. However, many don't realize all of the ways that they can help in our genealogy research.  Come with us as we explore some of the many ways that one might make the most of the power behind these devices.  

After the main presentation the following classes are scheduled.  Check the meetings page at http://uvtagg.org/ for last minute changes or additions.   

  (1)  The Shady Side of the Family Tree: Prison, Criminal, Asylum and Other Records, by Bret Petersen;  

  (2)  A Comparison: Ancestral Quest, RootsMagic, and a Touch of Legacy, by Bud Wood;  

  (3)  Advanced Animap, by Marilyn Thomsen;  

  (4)  Video of last month's main presentation: Zap the Grandma Gap: 10 Best Ideas to Leap the Generation Gap, by Janet Hovorka;  

  (5)  Ask An Expert (Personal Help), by Don Engstrom and Finn Hansen;  

  (6)  MAC: Getting Started with Reunion and MAC Essentials, by Ron Snowden;  

  (7)  RootsMagic, by Sue Maxwell;  

  (8)  Ancestral Quest, by Merlin Kitchen; and  

  (9)  Legacy, by Dean Bennett.

All meetings of UVTAGG are open to the public whether members of the Group or not. The Group has the goal of helping individuals use technology to further their family history and there are usually about 100 attending the monthly meetings on the second Saturdays.  Many members don't live close enough to participate in the monthly meetings, but belong by paying $10 per year, so they can receive the monthly newsletter via email and purchase DVDs of the presentations and classes.  Gift memberships are wonderful presents for family history-minded relatives, friends, and Family History Consultants.