Marriage Records from find my past

Find my past has quite a collection of marriage records. In honor of Valentine's Day today, they are featuring some of their records as well as search tips. As a reminder when you're looking at those marriage records, don't forget to check out the other participants as well.
Who performed the marriage? Might this person have been a relative or be a clue to what religion/denomination they belonged to? Who are the witnesses? Could these be siblings or cousins or another close relative? Often in our excitement of finding a record, we forget to look at these subtle clues that could lead us to even more information.





     

Family tree Search

With Valentine’s Day upon us, take some time to delve into our most romantic collection – world marriage records. These emotive memoirs are much more than family heirlooms, they are vital genealogy resources. What’s more, Findmypast has over 379 million marriage records just waiting to be explored. SEARCH MARRIAGE RECORDS »

AT A GLANCE

EXPLORE MARRIAGE RECORDS »

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD… When complete, our landmark collection of United States marriage records will be the largest of its kind anywhere online. The record set currently holds over 167 million records (with more to come) and covers 360 years of history. This short video takes you inside the marriages that made America. WATCH NOW »

TOP TIPS FOR SEARCHING MARRIAGE RECORDS

Where available, our MarriageFinder™ provides potential matches for people found on the same page of a marriage register. This is extremely useful when you only know a spouse’s first name, or where the precise year or location is not known.     Be sure to check our historical newspapers for marriage information. Wedding announcements were common in the local press and often very detailed.     When searching our United States Marriages, make sure you view available images as well as transcripts, as they’ll provide additional facts.   MORE EXPERT TIPS »

MARRIAGE RECORDS

The definitive guide   WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW » 26 million new records   TO HAVE AND TO HOLD »

DISCOVERIES

“Findmypast's records have illuminated the story behind this love letter from Samuel William Franklin to his sweetheart Sarah Nelson in 1861. The letter, and an official request for permission to marry, written by Samuel to his commanding officer, has been passed down by many generations of my family. Happily, Samuel was successful in his suit, and his marriage to Sarah took place in Corfu on the 20th January 1862.” Paul Nixon   READ MORE »

MARRIAGE GUIDANCE

Marital mishaps   IN THE PAPERS » Expert search tips   LEARN MORE »

New England Regional Genealogical Conference

And yet another news release arrived in my inbox. The early registration ends this month, so if you're planning on going and haven't registered yet- why not? The little countdown on my computer says 2 months and 17 days until we leave for the conference!

“Using the Tools of Today & Tomorrow to Understand the Past,” the 14th biennial NERGC Conference, will bring together 75 leading genealogy speakers and over 900 genealogists from around New England and the US at the MassMutual Conference Center in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

Additionally, approximately 70 vendors of genealogy related products, services, software and books will be in the Exhibit Hall. The program includes not only the individual presentations but workshops covering DNA, Italian research, paleography, Portuguese genealogy, photo identification, and more.

Featured speakers are Thomas MacEntee, F. Warren Bittner and Kenyatta Berry, a co-host of the PBS series, Genealogy Road Show.  The remaining schedule of speakers will cover genealogy at all levels, from beginner to expert.

NERGC is a regional, volunteer organization supported by 23 genealogy societies, all of which will be represented by their members. The program begins on Wednesday, 26 April 2017 with a schedule of specialties in 5 main areas: Librarians, DNA, Society Management, Professional Genealogy, and Technology as well as four stand-alone workshops on Getting Started, Family History Books, Military Records, and Deeds. 

The main conference begins on Thursday, 27 April with a presentation by Mary Tedesco, another co-host of the PBS series, Genealogy Road Show, and continues through Saturday, 29 April 2017.  During the conference, registrants can choose to spend time with a professional genealogist at the Ancestor Road show, walk through the Society Fair, participate in a Special Interest Group discussion, or enjoy the sites of and resources of Springfield, MA.

Early bird registration ends on 28 February 2017. Visit www.nergc.org to register, select the programs you’d like to attend, and, optionally, the lunches and dinners, most of which are sponsored. Luncheon speakers are Thomas MacEntee, NEAPG Table Topics, and Jane Wilcox while the banquets include presentations by Kenyatta Berry on Friday and Thomas MacEntee on Saturday.

Wordless Wednesday- Mom's Artwork

Discovery Experiences

Family Search has announced the advent of it's new space on the first floor of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Discovery Experiences. They completed it just in time for RootsTech, one of the biggest, if not THE biggest genealogy conference. RootsTech is taking place at the Salt Palace Convention Center just down the street this week. The first floor used to house family genealogy books, many of which are now available online through their familysearch.org website. So, although we lose the ready access of thumbing through these books, we can now look at them online in digital form from the comfort of our own homes. There are probably at least a few that could not be digitized or that are not allowed to be viewable on the web due to restrictions from copyright or donor's stipulations, but the vast majority are available.

Here is the press release:

Family History Library Unveils Salt Lake City’s Newest Attraction

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (6 February 2017), The popular Family History Library will open the doors to Salt Lake City’s newest attraction this week, the 10,139 square foot, interactive discovery experiences. The new attraction is located on the main floor of the library downtown and offers something for guests of all ages. The innovative technology and inviting activities are designed to introduce guests to the many fun facets of personal and family discovery. The doors officially open to the public on Wednesday, February 8, at 8:00 a.m. Admission is free to the public. (Find additional high res photos and easily share this news release online through the FamilySearch Media Room.)
The Family History Library is one of the state’s top visitor attractions. The new discovery experiences will add to the library’s allure as a unique and exciting destination for locals, families, youth groups, and tourists of all ages visiting Utah or Temple Square from around the world. These experiences create an inviting environment for families to discuss their family history together in entertaining, unexpected ways.
The discovery experiences at the Family History Library has over 100 custom iPads, 44 touch-screen monitors, and 42 computers with research and discovery-experience capability. Six recording studios create free, high definition audio and video recordings that will preserve treasured family memories for future generations.
Youth enjoy the life-sized, touch-screen computer monitors for some of the interactive stations. In addition, an enclosed space for parents with smaller children allows these parents to explore their family history while also being able to observe their children play. At a fun green-screen, guests can choose from a variety of themed backgrounds to create a lasting photo memory of their visit to the discovery experiences.
Hundreds of thousands of people visit the Family History Library yearly from all over the world. Elder Bradley D. Foster, chairman of the board of FamilySearch International, a nonprofit subsidiary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that operates the library and the discovery experiences, said that people worldwide naturally want to know who they are and where and how to connect.
“The new discovery experiences at the Family History Library is a gathering place for families,” said Foster. “There's an incredible spirit here. Guests and families come for fun, to expand their family tree, and to learn new tools, sources, and skills, and then return home to apply what they learn.”
Elder Foster said the engaging activities designed for these discovery experience are part of an organizational effort to create opportunities for families to make and deepen family connections and get to know their ancestors.
When entering the discovery experiences, guests are each given a custom iPad. They log into their free FamilySearch account and proceed to the various stations throughout the facility, where they enjoy interactive family history experiences personalized to each guest's family history in the FamilySearch.org Family Tree. For the best experiences, guests should create a free online account and build their family tree before coming. A guest account option is available for those who didn't create a FamilySearch account before arriving.
Tamra Stansfield, manager of the Family History Library, said the new transformations are designed to create unique, interactive, and immersive discovery experiences for visitors of all ages. The other four floors of the library will continue to offer the signature services for which the library is known among family history enthusiasts and researchers—billions of historical records and resources and personal assistance from genealogical specialists.
It is suggested that groups over 20 register online at FamilySearch.org/Discovery.
The FamilySearch Center and Discovery Center located in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City will remain open.

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About FamilySearch
FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,983 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Fold3 Offers Free Access for Black History Month

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Fold3 sent out the following announcement about free access to certain records for Black History Month. Now's a good time to take advantage of these records if you don't have a subscription or take advantage of their offer and subscribe at a discount!
Access Fold3's Black History Collection Black History Month 2017 – Access Black History Records In recognition of Black History Month, Fold3 is making the records in its Black History collection available for free through the end of February. Whether you're searching for your ancestors or looking for primary documents to help with other research, the Black History collection gives you access to more than a million documents, records, and photos that help to capture the African-American experience during five eras of American history: Slavery, The Civil War, Reconstruction & Jim Crow Laws, World War I & II, and the Civil Rights Movement All the titles in our Black History collection contain valuable insight into the history of African-Americans in the United States, but titles that are especially rich in information include: Danish West Indies – Slavery and Emancipation Suppression of Slave Trade and Colonization (1854-72) Amistad – Federal and Supreme Court records American Colonization Society Board of Commissioners – Emancipation of Slaves in DC Court Slave Records for DC South Carolina Estate Inventories and Bills of Sale, 1732-1872 "Colored Troops" And more! Some examples of interesting records you can find in the Black History collection include: An 1810 inventory for the estate of Joseph Morton, a “free black man” An 1827 inventory for the estate of Thomas Drayton that lists his 160 slaves by family group A Civil War—era photograph of black laborers The service record of Christian A. Fleetwood of the US Colored Infantry, who earned the Medal of Honor during the Civil War A photograph of 3 members of the original black fighter squadron in WWII Get started searching Fold3’s Black History records here. Or look for individual collections by name here. *Access to the records in the featured collections will be free until Feb 28, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. MT. Free access requires registration for a free Fold3 account. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view the records in the featured collections using a paid Fold3 membership. Visit Fold3's Black History Collection. Explore now » Privacy Statement • Terms & Conditions © 2017 Fold3 by Ancestry.com • P.O. Box 990, Orem, Utah 84058 USA

Saturday Challenge-Learn About Each Other Meme

From GeneaMusings: For this week's mission (should you decide to accept it), I want you to:
1)  Using the Facebook "Learn About Each Other" meme being passed around this week, answer the 32 questions as listed below.
2)  Tell us in a blog post of your own, in a comment to this blog post, in a status line on Facebook or a stream post on Google Plus.  Be sure to leave a link to your post in Comments on this post.
Here are the questions in black, and my answers in Blue (Updated):

1. Who are you named after?  First name no one. My parents just liked it apparently. My middle name is after my mother and grandmother.
2. Last time you cried? ?? A few tears, probably yesterday with some bad Crohn’s pain.
3. Do you like your handwriting? Yes.

4. What is your favorite lunch meat?  Don’t eat it much. Probably turkey or bologna.

5.  Spicy or sweet?  Sweet.

6. Longest relationship?  Brothers - 51 years
7. Do you still have your tonsils? yes
8. Would you bungee jump? No. Just no.

9. What is your favorite kind of cereal? Frosted Flakes, Fruit Loops or Rice Krispies.

10. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No.  

 11. Do you think you're strong? I don’t, but others say that with my chronic illness that I weather through I am.

12. Favorite ice cream? Chocolate or raspberry. Maybe both at once!

13. What is the first thing you notice about a person? Face/expression.
14. Football or baseball? Neither.

15. What color pants are you wearing? Gray jeans.
16. Last thing you ate? Potato chips.
17. What are you listening to? A quiet afternoon.

18. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Rose or pink.

19. What is your Favorite Smell?  Lavender
20. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? Insurance company rep.
21.  Are you married?  Yes, five and half years.
22. Hair color? Brown with red undertones.

23. Eye color? Brown
24. Favorite foods to eat? Spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, fried haddock

25. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.
26. Last movie you watched? It’s been a long time…
27.What color shirt are you wearing? Purple

28. What is your favorite holiday?  Thanksgiving

29. Beer or Wine? Yuck! Migraines from any alcohol.
30. Night owl or morning person? Neither, more of a mid-morning.

31. Favorite day of the week? Any I get to have fun on!

I only count 31 questions?

Wordless Wednesday- Waterways