Content about FindYourFamily

When many people think of family history, they think of Aunt Mabel.  The image conjured up is that of someone who is a little eccentric whose idea of a good time is going to a cemetery to take rubbings of headstones or visiting a county courthouse to pour through county records.

Wednesday night, at the blogger dinner, FamilySearch made a number of announcements.  First off, they released that there are more than 6,700 registrants in advance of the conference.  This makes RootsTech the largest genealogical conference in North America.  In only its third year that is a remarkable achievement.  It has become the “not to miss” conference in the genealogical world.  If you did not pre-register you can still register at the door.  A one day pass is only $89. The exhibit hall is open for free.  

The growth of indexed family history records has allowed the development of new family history experiences.  The goal of a variety of companies has been to allow individuals with less genealogical experience to have success.  

I published this article a few years ago, but recently I have received some questions about it again so I thought I would re-print the article.  If you have information that shows your line traced back to Adam, I don’t mean to offend you.  I only hope to dispel the misinformation that exists on this topic.

Recently the Social Security Administration reported the most popular baby names from 1901.  The following is the list.  This may give you some insight into why your grandparents or great grandparents have their name:

Virtually all of us are immigrants.  Our ancestors may have come across on the Mayflower, or in one of the subsequent waves of immigration.  We may have ancestors from Germany, England, Wales, Scotland, Italy, Africa, China, Japan, Mexico, Brazil, or any one of a hundred other countries that have made up the wonderful melting pot that has formed the United States.  We are a nation of immigrants.

This last week there were two major announcements from the organizations working on indexing the 1940 census.  Work began early April to take the millions of digital images created from the enumerators work as they visited each household in 1940 and transcribe the information into a searchable index.  This allows individuals to search for those in the census by name rather than browse through hundreds or thousands of images to find their ancestors.

The Genealogy Star blog this week reported that editing has now come to FamilySearch’s new version of their family tree.  The family tree will be a replacement for new FamilySearch when it is released.  It has been in development for many months and its aim is to fix many of the challenges with the current tree.  

For some reason lately it seems that I have received many questions about Personal Ancestral File (PAF).  PAF is a genealogical record manager created by FamilySearch nearly 20 years ago.  It started as a DOS program and then eventually was ported to Windows.  It has been one of the more widely used record mangers for genealogical work, particularly among members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

This last week the Queen of England celebrated 60 years on the throne with a Diamond Jubilee.  She has now served longer than any other monarch since Queen Victoria, who reined for 63 years.  Many residents of Morgan have English ancestry.

Memorial Day is a great time for family history.  Each year my family makes an outing to three or four cemeteries.  A part of our outing is that we have breakfast at the same restaurant each year.  While it may be true that the kids enjoy breakfast more than the cemetery visits, our annual trek has become family tradition, one that my kids even seem to enjoy and look forward to.  

A growing method to help in genealogical research is DNA.  For the past decade DNA genealogy is been gaining ground in the community.  DNA testing can determine whether two individuals are related.  Descendants believed to have a common ancestor can be tested. The test can help to prove, or disprove genealogical theories.  It can also point to genealogical research that has been completed and indicated a family connection.  Even where no other family member has participated in a DNA study, the DNA results can point to likely places in the world from which ancestors originated.  

Many years ago I visited The Family History Library.  I had received a significant amount of genealogical information from my grandmother and I wanted to continue the work that she and my grandfather had done over many years.  I had never done genealogical research before and I understood little about what was required.  I was anxious to learn what I needed to do and find additional information.  

Well, it’s finally here.  On April 2, the United States National Archive released the images of the 1940 census.  Almost immediately the National Archive site was virtually down, it was so slow.  Over the past week the site performance has steadily improved, but it continues to run a little slow.  What is not as well known is that the images are also available on FamilySearch.org/1940census and on Ancestry.com .  Both of these sites are making the images available for free.  If you know where your ancestor lived, you can now find the image in the census.  If you don’t know where they lived you can go to FindMyPast.com who has offered to find your ancestor for you in the 1940 census.  Images will also shortly be available on FindMyPast.com.

If you have Scottish records now is a great time to be searching online.  FindMyPast has just released the 1881 Scottish census on FindMyPast.com.  There are over 3.7 million records in the collection.   This is added to the 1841 to 1871 censuses already on their site.  

Apple has been in the news lately for their digital books and particularly for textbooks.  More relevant to genealogists but with much less fanfare, FamilySearch announced that they now have more than 40,000 ebooks published online.

RootsTech has become the do not miss conference in the genealogical world.  It brings together the best and brightest from the genealogical and the genealaogical technology worlds in one space.  I have written a few articles about it over the past few months.  

One of the keynote addresses at RootsTech posed an interesting question.  He asked what we would do with unlimited bandwidth, unlimited storage, and unlimited CPU.

There is a troubling trend worldwide, for genealogists, that seems to be taking root here in the United States.  For many years, The National Archives of the United Kingdom has been making money on the records over which they have stewardship.  They have entered into partnerships with commercial entities and receive royalties for many of the records that are published online.  The National Archives of Sweden has followed suit and is now charging for access to their records.  

There are many online blogs relating to family history, but one of the best is Eastman’s Online Genealogical Newsletter (EOGN) which is located at blog.eogn.com .  Dick Eastman, who writes the blog, has long been one of the best voices in what is happening in the family history world.  He attends all of the major conferences, and covers news from all of the major genealogical players.  He also writes about technology.  His practical approach to technology is a great addition to those who follow the newsletter and have an interest in learning how to use technology in their lives and to pursue family history.

Today is the last day of early registration for RootsTech.  The cost after today will change from $149 to $189.  If you are interested in RootsTech, today is the day to act.  

If you’re looking for a little warm weather at this time of year a good place to look is St George.  The Family History Expos conference will take place February 24 and 25, 2012.  Just in time to give a little warmth after the cold winter months.

Many times family history is thought of as an activity for those who have retired.  When we picture a genealogist we often have in our minds the elderly aunt who is surrounded by books, photos, pedigree charts, and other family history documents.  While it is true that family history is a growing hobby of retired individuals, the demographic of those participating in family history is changing.

Nearly everyone will have heard of Wikipedia.  It began as a project and a software product.  The concept was that an encyclopedia could be created online in a collaborative fashion.  Wikipedia grew out of an online encyclopedia written by experts, but community content rapidly outpaced the expert contributions.  In the first year only 20,000 entries were created.  Wikipedia now boasts more than 3.6 million articles.  Studies of accuracy have been done and place Wikipedia at an accuracy rate comparable to expert authored encyclopedias.  It is the best case, worldwide, of community collaboration creating wide content, high quality content at a very low cost.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words.  In genealogy, a picture can be worth many hours of research.  Seeing your research in new ways can help you to detect errors, see patterns, and identify new opportunities for research.

One of the lesser known sources for genealogical information is periodicals.   Periodicals are published by genealogical societies, historical societies, libraries, and other organizations.  

If you missed rootstech last year and you love both genealogy and technology, or if you just want to learn more about the technology of genealogy then now is the time to act.  rootstech registration has opened and the Early Bird registration is $129 until November 30.  The normal registration cost is $189.

Vital records refer to the records of birth, marriage, and death.  They represent the key genealogical phases in an individual’s life, and are the most universally kept records.  The history of vital records in the United States has been, and continues to be, one filled with inconsistencies.  This has made US research more challenging.

The Library of Congress has launched a new service that helps to bring the past to life.  The service is called the national jukebox.  It includes access for streaming audio to more than 10,000 historical recordings. 

1752 is an important year in family history.  It is the year that most of Europe switched their calendars.  The Julian calendar did not coincide perfectly with the earth’s orbit and added eleven minutes each year.  The Gregorian calendar (which we use today) was introduced in 1582, but only a few countries in Europe adopted it.  

BrightSolid is a British company that is beginning to become a serious player in the online genealogical community.  They are owned by DC Thompson, a private British company who has been in the publishing industry for many years.  They entered the world of online family history with Scotland’s People.  Scotland’s People is the best online site for Scottish research.  They have great indexes and images to help with Scottish family history work.

Probably one of the best resources for knowing about your family, and often the least used, is your living family.  Family members don’t always have all of the genealogical information about ancestors, but what they know can help to validate or disprove theories.  Information from family members can also add color and life to ancestors and give a personal connection that, if recorded and shared, can help reveal ancestors as real individuals with real lives.

Last month FamilySearch announced that there are now more than 140 genealogical online training courses on FamilySearch.org.  I have written somewhat about these, in the past, but thought given the large increase in courses that it was worth another mention.

Today I received information about a new experience in family history.  I am a somewhat reluctant user of Facebook.  I recognize its value, but don’t really like the idea of living my life in public online.  I have several family members who are crazy about it.  I have watched many individuals while away hours of time at Farmville (a game where individuals create virtual farms and grow virtual crops).  I have played many online games and video games in my life, so I understand some of the addiction, but I have not really understood the fascination with Farmville. 

It may be jumping the gun to write about it, but this last week was an exciting milestone.  It is now less than one year before the 1940 US Census will be released.  For the first time NARA (the National Archives and Records Administration) will be releasing a digitized version of the census at their facility on the day the census is released, April 2, 2012.

FamilySearch continues to publish records at a “record” pace.  Over the past few months many new records have been added.  These records include:

It has been more than three years ago that access to Ancestry.com was removed from family history centers.  Removed might nit be the correct wording since some of the resources of the site continued to be available, but it felt as though it was being removed.  Many of the collections on Ancestry were no long available, including most of the United States census and the British census.  Shortly thereafter FamilySearch worked to replace at least some of the resources by indexing the 1910 census and purchasing subscriptions to HeritageQuest online and FindMyPast, but the loss of Ancestry continued to leave a hole. That hole has now been filled as nearly all of the Ancestry.com records can now be accessed for free from the Morgan family history center.

r more than 170 years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been involved in doing family history work.  In 1894 the Church organized the Genealogical Society of Utah (GSU) to help individuals discover their ancestors.  The GSU at one time had members like any other society, but slowly changed into a non-profit organization without members which was sponsored by the Church to help individuals around the world find their ancestors.  As the Internet arrived and the Church began offering services online, the GSU began using the website FamilySearch.org.  This then slowly took hold until the organization was renamed last year to FamilySearch.

If meta data is not a term you have heard you are probably not alone.  It is a concept, however, that you will almost certainly have benefitted from if you have done any significant amount of genealogical work.  Meta data, simply put, is data about data.  The most common application of meta data in family history is indexed records of digital images.

Often when digital cameras and families are mentioned together we think of family gatherings, snapshots, and family memories.  At RootsTech last week I had the opportunity to consider digital cameras in a new light, as digital capture devices.

Those who are regular readers will know that I work for FamilySearch.  In my role there I have responsibility for Patron Services.  My team provides help for individuals around the world to find their ancestors and use FamilySearch software.

In the world of Family History, documents are increasingly becoming digital.  This is increasingly true every year.  Digital has many advantages over paper.

Two weeks ago, I discussed getting started with family history. I outlined an approach that began with starting with what you know. By writing down what you know, looking at photographs and other items and connecting with other family members substantial family information can often be complied.

It is just after Thanksgiving and many of us are sitting at home in the after turkey stupor. If you are like me you are taking shelter indoors from the cold and enjoying time with the family. I love the holidays and the traditions handed down through the years from family. It is a great time of year to do family history.

Have you ever gotten stuck while doing family history and wished that you had a personal trainer to help you and teach you how to do research the way the professionals do? If so, you are in good company. Everyone comes upon a problem they don’t know how to solve at some point.

I will return to the topic of land records soon, but this week I have been involved with a few of the individuals who author some of the most read blogs in the genealogical community.

The United States began as a relationship between the colonies that later became states.  In the beginning, this relationship was one of a loose confederation primarily to fight the war of Independence.  Once the Constitution replaced the Articles of Confederation, the entity we now know as the United States came into existence.  Even with this change the states retained much of their authority and responsibility.

This last week, Ancestry.com, the world’s largest online family history resource, acquired Genline.com.  If you have Swedish ancestry, this could be significant. 

Over the past several years FamilySearch has been adding to the resources available to answer questions online.  I find that many individuals who use the FamilySearch sites are unaware of the help resources available.

Julie Miller, a genealogist with whom I have worked over the past few years writes a column for The Broomfield Enterprise.  She recently wrote and article which started me thinking.  Her article focused on the fact that while the Internet is a great resource, not everything can be found online.

Family Tree Maker is a record manager from Ancestry.com.  Ancestry has been steadily enhancing this product for many years.  It has always been a strong product, but has grown to be one of the best record managers in the marketplace.  The cost of the software is $39.95, making it a little more expensive than most.  Ancestry is about to ship a new version of the software.

The past few years have seen many entrants providing software for family history. The new FamilySearch pedigree software has added significantly to this mix for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Last week I focused on resources that are not available online.  Unfortunately, this still represents the majority of family history records.  This week I will  focus on the main sites where you can find online records.

As more people have begun using Macs (Apple’s personal computer) over the past few years I have often been asked if I could recommend a record manager for the Mac.  I have consistently replied that there are no good record managers for the Mac and that I run one of the Windows record managers in Parallels on my Mac.  Today I will change my reply.