Marina's Genealogy Blog

Familysearch.org announcement

2009-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

The following is a press release issued today:

Here is some important information about a newly certified software application that will work directly with the new.familysearch.org Web site to prepare ancestral ordinances for the temple.

RootsMagic 4 is the first software affiliate product that is certified to reserve and submit ancestral names to temples to print LDS temple name cards using new FamilySearch Web services.

As an application that is certified to reserve ordinances, RootsMagic 4 has the ability to link people in your desktop genealogy file with matching people on the new.familysearch.org Web site. Once linked, a simple click on the temple icon next to a person’s name will display that person's official temple ordinances, complete with dates, temple name, and status. Incomplete temple ordinances may then be reserved to be performed at a later time. Your own file may also be updated with ordinances that are already completed. RootsMagic 4 can select reserved ordinances and print a Family Ordinance Request (FOR) form to take to the temple. Once at the temple, a worker will scan the bar code on the form and print all the desired temple name ordinance cards. Once the ordinances have been completed, RootsMagic will be updated with your ancestors’ new ordinance status.

For more product information go to: http://www.rootsmagic.com/fs/.

Ask A Genealogist

2008-10-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

I will be participating in the Kelowna Public Library's "Ask A Genealogist" Day on Saturday 1st November 2008 in conjunction with the Kelowna and District Genealogy Society. The library is located on Ellis Street in downtown Kelowna and everyone is welcome. "Ask A Genealogist" hours are 9.30am to 4pm. I will be there at least from 9.30am-12pm.

If you'd like to ask a genealogist something, then head on out to the library :)

New FamilySearch

2008-10-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

It seems just about forever since I posted last but it's time for an update. During the Summer I had my baby and things have been a little hectic every since.

However, I did manage to speak on LDS Resources at the Kelowna and District Genealogy Society's annual seminar. I covered all aspects of FamilySearch including the two databases not available online (Scottish Church Records and Military Index), the FamilySearch.org web site, the Indexing project, Pilot Familysearch, Wiki Familysearch and finally New Familysearch. To be honest, I wish the powers that be in Salt Lake City could actually come up with unique names for the different parts of the FamilySeach system, because it sure was confusing! There were 29 registered for the session but I ended up with standing room only with 42 attendees :)

As a result of the preparation for that session I have been using New FamilySearch extensively and have made some exciting discoveries which I'll save for a separate post shortly. Currently New Familysearch is only available to those with church membership numbers but you are able to access all the other sites mentioned abovve.

British Civil Registration Online Project Withdrawn

2008-08-05T12:46:00.001-07:00

A while ago I reported that the Family Records Center in Islington were removing the birth, marriage and death record books as they were to be put online. Unfortunately the project between the Family Records Center and the contractor has now been cancelled by "mutual consent". There have been no comments as to whether a new project will be launched or a new contractor found.

It should be noted that most of these records (1837 to 1983) are already online at FreeBMD or Ancestry. However, these are both private projects and (in theory) could be removed, and in the case of Ancestry become fee based, at any time leaving people without free access to these resources.

Rootsmagic 4

2008-07-31T10:26:00.002-07:00

You may recall that I currently use Rootsmagic 3 for my genealogy research software. I settled on this package a while ago as it was one of two (the other being The Master Genealogist) that would export real footnootes/endnotes when compiling a book.

I am pleased to announce that Rootsmagic 4 is being released. Bruce Buzbee is blogging a series of articles about the new features in Rootsmagic 4 here.

How to create a family history book using Ancestry Press

2008-07-13T11:23:00.003-07:00

If you haven't tried the new publishing feature at http://ancestrypress.ancestry.com/ you should try it. This tool is designed for you to produce a family history book.

You can create a tree on http://www.ancestry.com/ (set up a free account not a paid account) either by typing in the information or by using a genealogy software program such as free http://www.legacyfamilytree.com/ to export a GEDCOM file which you can then import into Ancestry. Then when you go into the publishing module you tell it to use your tree (and which one if you have more than one). You can then auto-generate a book using the information in the tree.

Books generally consist of a pedigree chart, family group records and individual timelines. However, you can add additional pages of various types as well as importing photos that you can then drag and drop onto the pages. You can also drag and drop various scrapbooking elements such as quotes, labels, journaling tags, flowers, buttons as well as choosing from a number of different background colors, textures and pictures.

When you’re done, you can either order a book or print the individual pages to your local printer for insertion into a scrapbook/ring binder. The tool is free, you only pay if you order a book (and then just the cost of book production).

New FamilySearch

2008-06-14T20:06:00.001-07:00

For those of you that volunteer at your FHC and have signed up as Family History Consultants at http://consultant.familysearch.org/ you will now have seen an announcement that TempleReady is being replaced by something called “new FamilySearch”.

A site has been made accessible to all Church Member consultants at http://new.familysearch.org/ and you can sign up for access at that site by clicking on the Register link. You will need your membership number (11 digits) and your confirmation date. If you do not have this information please contact your Ward Membership Clerk to get it so that you can sign up.

Once you have signed up, you will fill out a profile and will then have access to the site. What you will find on the site are training materials including a video that will launch automatically (which I suggest you watch), as well as links to PDF format guide books and lessons that you can follow.

All Church members will be using the new system to prepare to take names to the temple as of the switch over. They will be able to upload gedcom files or individual names for work (note: a gedcom file can be extracted from your genealogy software – it doesn’t need to be the whole file, maybe a family or group of individuals). The system will then compare the names to those in the up-to-date temple ordinance records (like IGI but current) and only let you prepare those that are incomplete. You will then be able to reserve which names you wish to complete ordinances for (I suggest only reserving those that you think you can complete in a reasonable amount of time – otherwise you are preventing someone else from doing the work if they wish) and print something called a Temple Ordinance Request to take to the temple (no disk is required). In addition, anyone who is signed up on the system can also log in as a “helper”. This is to help other members prepare their names and I guess how we will assist others in the library (unless we encourage them to sign up with their own account).

The good news is that the system looks to be way simpler than the current system and has plenty of help options. However, we are still going to run into the existing issue of preparing a gedcom from PAF or whatever software is being used.

Lack of Updates

2008-04-06T07:54:00.003-07:00

I've had a number of inquiries as to the lack of postings over the last 3 months. No, I haven't stopped doing genealogy! My husband has been diagnosed with cancer and is currently undergoing cancer treatment at the present time. Today we are at the half way point and I hope to be back and blogging by mid-May.

Thanks for your patience with me and look for new articles/tips then.

New York Times 1851-1980 articles available online

2008-01-20T17:43:00.001-08:00

The New York Times has released all of its 11 million public domain articles from 1851-1980 in PDF image based format on its website NYTimes.com. These articles are available free of charge in an effort to eliminate their TimeSelect subscription service.

These articles are of great value to the genealogical researcher, both for genealogical information as well as providing a valuable social history to enhance your family history.

To access the archive, visit http://www.nytimes.com/ and in the search area (top center of page) enter your search term and select NYT Archive 1851-1980 and then click the Search button. Your search results will be shown on the next screen.

Blog has moved - update your bookmarks!

2007-12-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

I have finally decided to move this blog over to it's own dedicated domain name

http://www.genealogybuzz.com

Please update your bookmarks/favorites.

FHL in SLC & 13 others to get Ancestry.com

2007-12-19T16:47:00.001-08:00

The following bulletin was issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints today. This is good news for the Family History Library and Centers network and hopefully they will expand it to include all FHCs in the near future.

FamilySearch and The Generations Network Agreement Give Patrons Access to More than 24,000 Ancestry.com Databases and Titles

Provo, UT – December 19, 2007 – FamilySearch and The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com, today announced an agreement that provides free access of Ancestry.com to patrons of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and the 13 largest regional family history centers effective today.

With this new agreement, full access will be provided to more than 24,000 Ancestry.com databases and titles and 5 billion names in family history records. In addition to the Family History Library, the following 13 regional family history centers have been licensed to receive access to Ancestry.com:

Mesa, Arizona
Los Angeles, California
Oakland, California
Orange, California
Sacramento, California
San Diego, California
Idaho Falls, Idaho
Pocatello, Idaho
Las Vegas, Nevada
Logan, Utah
Ogden, Utah
St. George, Utah
Hyde Park, London, England

“We’re excited for our patrons to receive online access to an expanded collection of family history records on Ancestry.com,” said Don Anderson, director of FamilySearch Support. “Ancestry.com’s indexes and digital images of census, immigration, vital, military and other records, combined with the excellent resources of FamilySearch, will increase the likelihood of success for patrons researching their family history.”

The Generations Network and FamilySearch hope to expand access to other family history centers in the future.

FamilySearch patrons at the designated facilities will have access to Ancestry.com’s completely indexed U.S. Federal Census Collection, 1790-1930, and more than 100 million names in passenger lists from 1820-1960, among other U.S. and international record collections. Throughout the past year, Ancestry.com has added indexes to Scotland censuses from 1841-1901, created the largest online collection of military and African American records, and reached more than 4 million user-submitted family trees.

Free access is also available at Brigham Young University Provo, Idaho, and Hawaii campuses, and LDS Business College patrons through a separate agreement with The Generations Network.

“FamilySearch’s Family History Library in Salt Lake City is one of the most important physical centers for family history research in the world, and we are happy that patrons to the Library and these major regional centers will have access to Ancestry.com,” said Tim Sullivan, President and CEO of The Generations Network, Inc., parent company of Ancestry.com. “We’ve enjoyed a ten-year working relationship with FamilySearch, and we look forward to continued collaboration on a number of family history projects.”

About Ancestry.com – Visit us at www.ancestry.comWith 24,000 searchable databases and titles and more than 2.5 million active users, Ancestry.com is the No. 1 online source for family history information. Since its launch in 1997, Ancestry.com has been the premier resource for family history, simplifying genealogical research for millions of people by providing them with many easy-to-use tools and resources to build their own unique family trees. The site is home to the only complete online U.S. Federal Census collection, 1790-1930, as well as the world’s largest online collection of U.S. ship passenger list records featuring more than 100 million names, 1820-1960. Ancestry.com is part of The Generations Network, Inc., a leading network of family-focused interactive properties, including www.myfamily.com,www.rootsweb.com, www.genealogy.com and Family Tree Maker. In total, The Generations Network properties receive 8.7 million unique visitors worldwide and more than 416 million page views a month (© comScore Media Metrix, October 2007).

About FamilySearch
FamilySearch is a nonprofit organization that maintains the world’s largest repository of genealogical resources. Patrons may access resources online at FamilySearch.org or through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries. FamilySearch is a trademark of Intellectual Reserve, Inc. and is registered in the United States of America and other countries.

Legacy version 7 imminent

2007-11-14T14:39:00.000-08:00

Geoff Rasmussen of Millennia Corp, publishers of Legacy Family Tree software, will be coming to Vernon, British Columbia on Dec 1 to talk about the soon to be released Legacy 7. As with all previous versions of Legacy, Legacy will come in two versions, the free version and the Deluxe version. No word as to the upgrade pricing but it will most likely be in the $20-$30 range.

Legacy 7 will include real footnotes/endnotes for RTF reports (yay Geoff!). This feature has been a long time in coming.

Keep checking www.legacyfamilytree.com for the release.

Family History Consultants Training session

2007-10-07T18:50:00.001-07:00

http://www.familyhistoryliveonline.com/ is holding a special training session for Family History Consultants on Tuesday 9th October. As the name of the web site suggests, the training is held online and is live (i.e. not recorded).

FAIR AGENDA (all times Mountain Standard Time)
8:00 AM - 8:50 AM Log On and Check Your Sound System
8:55 AM - 9:00 AM Welcome - Gena Philibert Ortega, CA, USA
9:00 AM - 10:00 AM Helping Family History Happen - Sandra Raymond Jarvis, UT,USA
10:10 AM - 11:10 AM Helping Members - Sandra Raymond Jarvis, UT,USA
11:15 AM - 11:45 AM Break
11:50 AM - 12:50 PM Consultant Resources - Gena Philibert Ortega, CA, USA
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Temple and Family History Work - Amy Anderson, CO, USA

I have reviewed the fair syllabus and would recommend this training to family history consultants that are also church members.

Family Records Center to close

2007-10-01T15:34:00.001-07:00

After having a great Summer filled with lots of fun activities with my 2 small kids, I'm back with some sad genealogical news. Apparently the Family Records Center in London is to close next year BUT all of the birth, marriage and death indexes (1837-2007) will be removed on 27 October 2007 prior to next year's closure.

I am not sure why the FRC is closing. Every time I am there it is jam packed (my last visit was in 2004). I can only assume that because indexes are online (albeit for a fee) that they have determined that the center is no long cost effective.

This is the end of an era as the FRC (back then St. Catherine's House) was how I first got into genealogy in 1990-3 when I attended University in London. I used to visit the center regularly to do my family history research and without this center I doubt I would have ever stumbled into this fascinating and enjoyable hobby.

For those of you interested in this amazing resource, most of the records have been transcribed and are available for free on http://freebmd.rootsweb.com/ or http://www.ancestry.com/.

If you don't have access to the Internet, many Family History Centers have actual reproductions (not transcriptions) of the index on microfilm and microfiche on site and if your local FHC doesn't have the index you are looking for it can be ordered in from the main library in Salt Lake City which has them all.

Correction re FamilySearch premium services

2007-06-07T13:35:00.001-07:00

I received the following press release from FamilySearch.org

Correction Regarding Premium Online Services

The premium online services described below and in the 29 May 2007 e-mail are not yet available. We will inform you as they become available.

We apologize for any misunderstanding we caused.

New Premium Services Available for Free through Family History Centers

FamilySearch announced the addition of new premium online genealogy services [that will become] available for free through its family history center network. The expanded services are in keeping with FamilySearch’s goal to provide increased economical access to records that will assist individuals in family history pursuits. Following is a list and description of the new resources.

Footnote (www.footnote.com)
Footnote is a subscription-based website that features searchable, original documents that provide users a view of the events, places and people that shaped the American nation and the world. The site will have over 25 million digital images by the end of 2007. Footnote is currently working with FamilySearch to index the American Revolutionary War Pension files. Additional projects with FamilySearch are under development.

Individuals with Footnote subscriptions will still be able to sign in with the same Footnote username and password they use at home to save, annotate, and upload content.

Godfrey Memorial Library (www.godfrey.org)
Godfrey Memorial Library has an extensive collection of essential resources to assist genealogical and historical research. Resources include newspapers, city and business directories, vital records, printed census records, state, county, and local histories, as well as numerous family histories, family bible records, and service and pension records.

Heritage Quest/ProQuest (www.heritagequestonline.com)
Heritage Quest online includes the complete set of U.S. Federal Census images from 1790 to 1930 including names and indexes for many of the sets. Users will be able to find people and places located in over 20,000 published family and local histories and PERSI, an index of over 1.9 million genealogy and local history articles. Other online databases include Revolutionary War Pension, Bounty-Land Warrant Application files, and the Freedman Bank Records.

Access to this service will be limited to 1400 family history centers in North America. Patrons should contact their local family history center to see if this service is available if their local center. Family history center directors should contact Family History Center Support with questions.

Kindred Konnections (www.kindredkonnections.com)
Kindred Konnections has over 230 million pedigree linked names with submitter information. The online pedigrees are not merged, but maintained by individual patrons. There are additional databases of birth, marriage, death, and census records that are automatically searched along with the pedigree linked data. Segments of pedigrees can be downloaded.

World Vital Records (WorldVitalRecords.com)
WorldVitalRecords.com provides access to research helps and has a wide variety of international records.

Godfrey Memorial Library access at Family History Centers

2007-06-04T15:55:00.001-07:00

The following is a press release from the Godfrey Memorial Library:

"We are excited to include Godfrey Memorial Library to our list of premium databases or services offered throughout FamilySearch centers worldwide. They provide some premier resources that will certainly be of great value to FamilySearch center patrons," said Paul Nauta, manager of public affairs for FamilySearch. "In return Godfrey Memorial Library will significantly broaden its reach and awareness by being introduced to scores of researchers through 4500 FamilySearch facilities in over 70 countries," Nauta added.

Many new genealogical websites and services are coming online everyday, making more and more records available. FamilySearch is teaming up with these online service providers like Godfrey Memorial Library to introduce patrons to these exciting services and provide even greater online access to the world's genealogical records. These premium services are available for free in family history centers, the Family History Library and FamilySearch operated centers.

FamilySearch is committed to providing as much genealogical data as possible to its patrons quickly and economically. The accomplishment of this initiative will come in part from its own programs, and others will come from affiliations with service providers like Godfrey Memorial Library. This will allow maximum and efficient use of industry resources.

Godfrey Memorial Library can greatly increase awareness of its services through the FamilySearch public distribution channels. FamilySearch workers will innately help patrons become familiar with and use Godfrey's online services. Patrons to FamilySearch facilities get access to Godfrey's databases-an otherwise fee-based online service. The FamilySearch resources are frequented by mostly enthusiasts and professional researchers; many of which may elect to subscribe personally to the services for home or remote access.

Richard E. Black, Director
Godfrey Memorial Library
134 Newfield StreetMiddletown, CT 06457
(860) 346-4375
richard@godfrey.org

Google News Archive Server

2007-04-13T12:45:00.001-07:00

I would like to respond to a comment a reader left in response to my article on Google News Archive Server published in Internet Genealogy Magazine May 2007. This reader stated that I had misled them as ALL the articles for their search were subscription based. This is simply NOT true.

While original copies of the articles are often subscription based, transcriptions are usually FREE. This particular reader was interested in a ship, "Xylon", and to prove my point here is what I found.

Here is a sample result:
The Evening Times (Newspaper) - August 27, 1906, Cumberland, MarylandSubscription - Evening Times - NewspaperArchive - Aug 27, 1906
Mr. Bell is a Forty-niner, AND was at The time of which he speaks on his way from Baltimore TO San Francisco on The ship Xylon. This vessel, With a large ...
Related web pages

Once I click on the result:
As you will see above, yes there is a big ad to sign up for full access to the original, but in the lower left corner (I have highlighted this with the red box) is the transcription available for FREE.

I guess the reader failed to notice this when they reviewed the page.

I checked a few other entries and it was the same situation. The reader has been distracted by the ad and hasn't noticed the transcribed text is right on the screen.

If you understand the way Google works, it can't access pages hidden behind subscriptions (it doesn't have one) so whenever you see text in a search result listing it means that it has to be on the page somewhere. The fact that the listing had extracted some actual newspaper text meant that it was available on the page (as demonstrated above).

Canada to US Border Crossings 1895-1956

2007-04-11T14:04:00.003-07:00

Ancestry.com has added a fantastic resource to their site for North Americans, the Canada to US Border Crossings 1895-1956. Many people arriving to the US came on ships to neighboring Canada and so this is a fabulous resource for anyone whose ancestors either emigrated directly from Canada or came via a Canadian port.

Information given on the record includes name, arrival date, age, estimated birthdate, gender, nationality, ship name, port of arrival, port of departure.

The index and its transcribed entries are available in the Family History Center Edition of Ancestry.com (available at ALL Family History Centers in North America) although you will need to use a paid subscription to view a copy of the original record.

FHC Ancestry access

2007-04-06T11:40:00.001-07:00

For the last few years Family History Centers have been blessed to have free access to Ancestry.com. As of 1 April this arrangement stopped but there has been some confusion as to what exactly is happening.

While it is true that FHCs no longer have free access to Ancestry's complete collection, the Family History Library Edition of Ancestry does allow FHC patrons to access 43 databases (indexes and transcribed records - not originals). The following list details what will still be available.

These records are still essential to researchers with British and US roots. Please continue to visit your FHC to do your research in these areas. You should also realize that many FHC staff are not completely aware of what is still available as these changes are so new, so please print this blog entry and take it with you.

1841 Channel Islands Census
1841 England Census
1841 Isle of Man Census
1841 Wales Census
1851 Channel Islands Census
1851 England Census
1851 Isle of Man Census
1851 Wales Census
1861 Channel Islands Census
1861 England Census
1861 Isle of Man Census
1861 Wales Census
1871 Channel Islands Census
1871 England Census
1871 Isle of Man Census
1871 Wales Census
1880 United States Federal Census
1881 Channel Islands Census
1881 England Census
1881 Isle of Man Census
1881 Wales Census
1891 Channel Islands Census
1891 England Census
1891 Isle of Man Census
1891 Wales Census
1900 United States Federal Census
1920 United States Federal Census
Atlantic Ports Passenger Lists, 1820-1873 and 1893-1959
Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948
Boston Passenger Lists, 1820-1943
California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
Detroit Border Crossings and Passenger and Crew Lists, 1905-1957
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Death Index: 1837-1983
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1837-1983
Florida Passenger Lists, 1898-1951
Galveston Passenger Lists, 1896-1948
New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
Philadelphia Passenger Lists, 1800-1945
Seattle Passenger and Crew Lists, 1882-1957
U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918

Nova Scotia Releases Early Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

2007-03-30T13:57:00.002-07:00

The following is a press release from Genealogical Society of Utah (Familysearch.org):

One Million Historical Names from Canada Go Online
Nova Scotia Releases Early Birth, Marriage, and Death Records

SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH - Early vital records of Nova Scotia, Canada, are viewable over the Internet for the first time and for free, thanks to a joint project by the Genealogical Society of Utah, FamilySearch, and the Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management (NSARM). The records include one million names found in birth records from 1864 to 1877, marriages from 1864 to 1930, and death records from 1864 to 1877 and 1908 to 1955. Users can search the database at http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/.

Nova Scotia is the first province in Canada to digitize all of its historical vital statistics and make them available online. "This project provides key information to researchers on their ancestors," said Genealogical Society of Utah regional manager Alain Allard. "It involves the vital records-births, marriages, and deaths-which are a key record set to find, identify, and link ancestors into family units."

The Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) first microfilmed most of Nova Scotia's vital records back in the 1980s. In 2005, GSU used FamilySearch Scanning to convert those microfilms to digital images, while at the same time capturing additional vital records with a specially designed digital camera. Volunteers for the Nova Scotia Archives then used the images to create the searchable electronic index, which was completed in 2006.

Anyone can now search names in the index and view a high quality digital copy of the original image online for free at NSARM's Web site, http://www.novascotiagenealogy.com/. In the near future, the index and images will also be available on FamilySearch.org. Researchers who want to obtain an official copy of a record can do so online through the Nova Scotia Archives. The cost will be CAN$9.95 for an electronic file and CAN$19.95, plus shipping and taxes, for paper copies.

Nova Scotia Provincial Archivist, W. Brian Speirs, said the cooperation of GSU was crucial to this important project. "Without the Genealogical Society of Utah offering in the early days of the project to provide complimentary digitization of all the records as their contribution to the initiative, the proposed undertaking would have been dead in the water and gone nowhere," Speirs said.

FamilySearch is the public channel of the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU), a nonprofit organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. FamilySearch maintains the world's largest repository of genealogical resources accessed through FamilySearch.org, the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, and over 4,500 family history centers in 70 countries.

Wanted: NGSQ CD-ROM

2007-03-25T18:37:00.002-07:00

I am looking for a copy of the National Genealogy Society Quarterly CD-ROM (1-85) that was published around 2002. I am willing to *pay* even for a copy.... Let me know if you have one that you're willing to part with or make a copy for me.

(I don't usually condone copying but this CD is out of print and NGS has no plans to re-publish. If they would sell me a copy I'd happily buy one).

Internet Genealogy Magazine article

2007-03-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

For those of you expecting to see my article on the Google News Archive in the Feb/Mar 2007 issue of Internet Genealogy magazine, I have been informed that it will now appear in the April/May 2007 issue instead. Check your magazine store, library or local family history society to read that issue.

How to research your family history - Part 2

2007-03-24T14:34:00.001-07:00

This is the second in a 2 part series that outlines the strategy that I successfully use with the researchers I deal with.

HELPING RESEARCHERS WITH SPECIFIC GENEALOGICAL PROBLEMS

Identify what the problem is (or in other words, what piece of information they are trying to find). Usually this is to identify the parents of a particular individual and is most commonly related to finding the birth of the known individual.
Identify the location and date range of the event you are looking for. Examine any known facts about the ancestor for clues that might help. Examples might be death record information, census returns with birth location and age, marriage record stating age, military records stating age, etc.
Identify the record types that might contain the data. This is not always the obvious. Yes a birth would be recorded in civil registration, possibly a baptismal record, but a census return may also have an age (calculated date of birth) as would a marriage certificate and military service record. A marriage (spouse) may be recorded on a civil marriage certificate, church marriage record, marriage licence (although technically this only proves intent), but a census return may also indicate a marriage by the words relationship to Head of Household: Wife.
Search the Family History Library Catalog for the location (either national, state/province, county, town levels) to see what records might be available. Also read the research guide for the country/state/province you are researching in to find out what records are available and for what periods of time. Usually the research guide will tell you the FHLC film numbers for the collections discussed if it is available through the FHL.
Consult the materials. This may involve ordering the films/fiche, searching online database, hiring a professional researcher, visiting an archive etc.
Record the results. All researchers record the information they find, but what about the information you don't find. Don't forget to record the materials that you have searched with no success. Why? Just to make sure that you search them again looking for the same thing. However, be aware that certain online materials are being constantly updated and that just because you don't find the record today doesn't mean that you
won't find it in the future. For this reason it is advisable to make note of the date on which you did the research and which version of a record (online, film, etc) that you consulted with. If you found relevant information, record the WHOLE record. Sometimes there are hidden gems of information that don't seem relevant but may turn out to be important later on. Transcribe the whole record so you don't have to find it again or simply photocopy it.
Write down the citation. Just in case you didn't record the whole record or you need to refer to it again, make sure you write down the whole citation. This is usually a sore point for researchers who are hung up on the proper way to cite their sources. Don't worry about doing it "properly" worry about doing it "fully". Make sure there is enough information that ANYONE can find the record you are referring to. Usually this
would require a book and author name with page reference, magazine and article name with date published or film/fiche number with page references.
Analyze the findings. If you found relevant information, don't forget to analyze it to see what it actually tells you. Does this new piece of information actually answer your question or is it just circumstantial evidence?

I hope this information helps you with your genealogy research. If it does I'd love to hear about your successes.

How to research your family history - Part 1

2007-03-23T19:53:00.001-07:00

I've had a lot of experience helping patrons of Family History Centers over the years. Patrons vary in their level of experience in family history search. While it can be overwhelming to try to help patrons coming into the center, the strategy you use is the same regardless of level of ability, research location and research time range.

This is the first in a 2 part series that outlines the strategy that I successfully use with the researchers I deal with.

FOR RESEARCHERS NEW TO GENEALOGY RESEARCH

Write down everything you know - The biggest advice I have for a new researcher is to put everything you know down onto a pedigree chart supported by a family group sheet for each "couple" with their children. Of course, they must start with yourself and work back without skipping any generations. This was made clear to me a few years back when a fellow researcher told the story of their search which they started with their grandparent. This researcher was retired and their parent was deceased already. They researched for several years with much success before an elderly aunt? finally explained to them that actually their parent was adopted into the family and that the grandparent they had being researching was not actually a blood relation (being the adoptive parent). This illustrates the importance of evaluating what you REALLY know and not what you THINK you know. Obtaining birth certificates for yourself and your parents may be part of this process especially if your parents are deceased.
Look for missing data - Once the pedigree chart is filled out, the next thing is to look for missing data on the pedigree chart. What I mean by this is not every life event that could have occured, but the main three events surrounding an individuals life: birth, marriage and death (birth and death can be supplemented with baptismal/christening and burial records). The reason for obtaining this information is to establish relationships between individuals. A birth record will almost always name at least one of the parents and possibly both (as will the baptismal/christening record). A marriage record will obviously identify the two parties to the marriage and quite possibly one or both of their parents. A death record might identify the spouse or other relative reporting the death and may identify the parents of the deceased.

Once you have successfully identified that missing piece of information, you can move on to the steps I use for specific problems outlined in Part 2 of this article.

I've been tagged (again)

2007-02-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

I've just been tagged by Wonder Woman. This isn't the first time I've been tagged, but is the first time for this blog, so I'll go with it. So here are 5 things you might not know about me.

1. I've been doing genealogy research for 16 years, but still manage to be the youngest genealogist at most events that I attend :)

2. I am still working on my first family history "book" on my Rayner/Aggio families of Marylebone, London. This is my father's maternal line and is a sad tale of 4 generations of Londoners in the workhouse.

3. I have genealogy cousins in Britain, Canada, Australia. I am extremely grateful to all of them for their generosity when it comes to sharing information and working on our family trees together.

4. My genealogy articles been published several times online, but am about to be published for the first time in print (Internet Genealogy magazine - Feb/Mar 2007 issue).

5. My bigger goal is to write a book about the use of technology to support your family history research. Not just using genealogy software or the internet, but making use of other resources such as digital cameras, video, scanners, printers, PDAs, photo editing software and any technology device during the research process. This will also include a large chapter on using the reporting features of genealogy software to analyze what you really know about your ancestors.