A rainy day in January. Is it me or does there seem to be less snow now?
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Monday, January 2, 2017
Saturday Challenge- Genealogy Presents
The Saturday Fun Challenge from Randy Seaver's GeneaMusings:
1) What gift
that you received for Christmas is your favorite for genealogy purposes? Book,
magazine, hardware, software, website subscription, research time, DNA test -
what was it, and how will it affect your genealogy research?
Well, I didn’t really receive anything for Christmas that
pertains to genealogy. In part, that is because I don’t really exchange
presents with anyone except my husband and we do just a few little things.
However I did receive a few things through the Christmas season that are wonderful
genealogical items!
First, my husband and I figured out what dates we will be
taking a trip in the spring. This trip is to NERGC (New England Regional
Genealogical Conference) in Springfield, Massachusetts. Our registrations are
in for the conference and we have our hotel room booked. I think that might
count as a present? I’m excited to see everybody in New England that week and
to learn a few new things as well. I have many ancestors in New England and
enjoy researching that area, so there will be various classes related to
specific places that I will be aiming to get to. Additionally, there is a
Writing Track at the conference that I expect to take full advantage of.
There are a couple books that I got on Christmas Eve that
might be considered genealogy as well. Both of them weren’t actual presents,
but items that were in my late mother’s house.
The first is something that she has kept careful care of
since 1970 when her mother died. It is a Bible that my Grandma owned and that
was presented to her in her Sunday School class in the Church of Ireland. This
Bible, originally received by Alice V. Jennings Wooster in 1905 won’t help my
genealogy. I have already looked through it carefully to extract any data it
might contain of a genealogical nature years ago. However, it is a tangible
item of the only grandmother I was lucky enough to know.
The second book is a cookbook from 1950. The Levanna
Community Church in southern Cayuga County, New York compiled it. This is a
typical church or community cookbook that was compiled by the members of that
group and sold presumably as a fundraiser. I noted that it was produced by a
mimeograph machine in the Sherwood High School, which has long since been
condensed into the bigger, consolidated school district of Southern Cayuga
Central Schools. Flipping through the pages, many of the names are familiar to
me. A few of them belong to people that are various degrees of cousins of mine. Again, this book
will do nothing to expand my genealogy research. However, the recipes are
representative of that area in that time period. An area very near (a few miles
of) where my direct ancestors lived; written by contemporaries of them, that
were relatives, friends, neighbors or all of the above. Are these not the
recipes my grandmother and mother would have been cooking with or very close to
them? I do already have many of my mother’s recipes, but they are mostly of a
later time period. These are, of course, from before there were so many
convenience foods available. They are what those recipes of hers evolved from.
It is nice to look through and maybe, make a few of the ones that most appeal
to us.
Thursday, December 29, 2016
FamilySearch 2016 Genealogy Highlights
Many of us have highlights of our genealogical finds and the things that we have accomplished this past year. I think we're all blown away by the amount that such organizations as FamilySearch manage to accomplish in just one year. Here is their press release of their summary for the past year:
FamilySearch 2016 Genealogy Highlights: FamilySearch has released its year-end summary of genealogy highlights looking back in 2016, all of which are focused on its mission to help connect families across generations.
FamilySearch 2016 Genealogy Highlights
SALT LAKE CITY (December 28, 2016)--Did you make a genealogy discovery online in 2016? Then you are most likely the beneficiary of the efforts of FamilySearch International, a leader in providing free, global family history services. FamilySearch has released a 2016 year-end summary highlighting some of its efforts to connect families across generations.
FamilySearch has completed extensive system upgrades on FamilySearch.org, making the free website more robust and much faster. Hundreds of millions of new historical records have been added. Improved search capabilities provide less duplication, better search results, and more insights at a glance across the multitude of various record types on FamilySearch.org. The ability to collaborate with other family members has been simplified and improved.
Family Tree Upgrades
FamilySearch’s Family Tree is based on collaboration. In 2016, more than 561,000 new contributors added information to Family Tree, making a total of 3.45 million contributions. Now 1.1 billion individuals are linked in the FamilySearch Family Tree
Family Tree’s new user-to-user messaging feature simplifies collaboration with others doing research on common ancestors..
In the past, the community family tree had limitations in merging duplicate records contributed by users. System upgrades now enable users to merge duplicate records of large or highly common family lines.
Access Increased to Historical Records
Family history discoveries are fueled by a person’s ability to easily and quickly search for ancestors by name in historical records online. In 2016, FamilySearch's online indexing initiative celebrated its 10th anniversary. FamilySearch has a dedicated team of employees and overwhelming online support from volunteers around the world who use FamilySearch’s technology to digitize and index the world’s historical records. As a result of these efforts, more than 5.57 billion searchable names are available from over 1.2 billion published searchable historical documents.
In conjunction with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and other organizations, FamilySearch completed a project to index and publish online images of Freedmen’s Bureau records from the United States National Archives and Records Administration.
These
records are pivotal for African American research because they document
freed slaves and others who struggled to redefine themselves after the
Civil War. Nearly 19,000 online volunteers—mostly from the United States
and Canada—finished indexing the nearly two million handwritten records
in June 2016—just a year and a day after the initiative started. A copy
of the database was presented to the newly completed Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History Culture on December 6 of
this year. The digitized records are searchable on DiscoverFreedmen.org and Fa
Receiving and Giving Help
During
2016, 4,807 volunteer FamilySearch missionaries helped support
worldwide operation needs. These generous volunteers donated a
staggering 3.8 million hours of service. Non-missionary online
volunteers are also critical to indexing initiatives. Nearly 315,000
volunteers logged nearly 11 million hours during the year. Together
these two groups indexed 274.8 million records in 2016, bringing the
total number of indexed records freely searchable online to 2.4 billion.
Over 36 million of those newly-indexed records were in languages other
than English, bringing the total of non-English indexed records to 872
million.
FamilySearch’s 320 camera teams around the world digitally preserved over 60 million new images of historical records in 45 countries, providing more opportunities for online volunteer indexers to help make searchable records and countless more fun, family history discoveries waiting for FamilySearch.org users. FamilySearch.org added 125 new historical collections in 2016, bringing the total to 2,174.
In 2016, FamilySearch added a Help Others feature for volunteers who provide family history research or support assistance to others. To use the feature, a person seeking help provides his or her FamilySearch username and a unique helper number. The helper number allows a selected helper to remotely access the patron’s Family Tree online to provide research assistance.
Dozens of free video courses were added online during the year. These courses are accessible through the FamilySearch Learning Center. Over 100,000 helpful, how-to articles specific to family history are also now available through on the FamilySearch Wiki.
The dynamic records hints feature on FamilySearch.org is faster and more accurate, and it includes online collections and additional record types. Adding family photos, stories, documents, and audio files has become easier and is now mobile device friendly. Patrons can also identify their relationships to people in the Family Tree using a new relationship feature.
During the year, a new discovery center was opened in Layton, Utah, and construction on a similar facility began in St. George, Utah.
In addition to in-person visitors to the 4,960 FamilySearch family history centers worldwide in 2016, FamilySearch.org received 133 million online visits and reached 7.3 million registered users.
Reaching Out to Others
Last January in Salt Lake City, Utah, FamilySearch hosted RootsTech 2016, the largest family history technology conference. The annual extravaganza included technology education and fun experiences to expand family connections. It attracted a record 375,000 attendees in person, online, and through local family discovery day events that took place across the world throughout the year. Special guests included bestselling author and New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, producer and writer Paula Williams Madison, StoryCorps founder David Isay, and America’s historian-in-chief, Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Memories—The Crown of Family History
“Family history is about stories; it is more than dates and facts,” says Steve Rockwood, president and CEO of FamilySearch, looking back on FamilySearch’s efforts in 2016. “People of every age, locale, and heritage share a universal need to know where they come from. These connections are not just about the names, dates, and places—although that certainly helps to know where someone fits in our family trees—but the fun, inspiring, real stories of those ancestors who came before us. FamilySearch is resolute in creating the tools and services people need worldwide to discover those joyful connections and share them."
FamilySearch has incorporated innovative technology and initiatives that engage a broadening swath of consumers to experience emotional, endearing experiences with their family and family history.
FamilySearch’s free mobile apps—Family Tree and Memories—now enable users to freely attach and save photos and stories (audio and text) to individuals in the FamilySearch Family Tree, add other information, and receive notifications when others add content to the records of shared ancestors. Users can easily add photos, stories, and scanned documents and sort their uploaded memories collections.
Users can now record stories of relatives with a new mobile audio recording feature and save the audio files directly to the memories gallery on FamilySearch.org from a mobile device. The memories feature now includes contributor information so participants can message each other. The Details section is another innovative tool of the mobile FamilyTree app. With it you can see information, images, documents, and sources by simply swiping the screen, and the application creates a map of locations where events took place in the life of a person as recorded on FamilySearch Family Tree.
Explore these and other new developments at FamilySearch.org.
Find and share this news release in the FamilySearch Media Room.
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 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
FamilySearch 2016 Genealogy Highlights: FamilySearch has released its year-end summary of genealogy highlights looking back in 2016, all of which are focused on its mission to help connect families across generations.
FamilySearch 2016 Genealogy Highlights
SALT LAKE CITY (December 28, 2016)--Did you make a genealogy discovery online in 2016? Then you are most likely the beneficiary of the efforts of FamilySearch International, a leader in providing free, global family history services. FamilySearch has released a 2016 year-end summary highlighting some of its efforts to connect families across generations.
FamilySearch has completed extensive system upgrades on FamilySearch.org, making the free website more robust and much faster. Hundreds of millions of new historical records have been added. Improved search capabilities provide less duplication, better search results, and more insights at a glance across the multitude of various record types on FamilySearch.org. The ability to collaborate with other family members has been simplified and improved.
Family Tree UpgradesFamilySearch’s Family Tree is based on collaboration. In 2016, more than 561,000 new contributors added information to Family Tree, making a total of 3.45 million contributions. Now 1.1 billion individuals are linked in the FamilySearch Family Tree
Family Tree’s new user-to-user messaging feature simplifies collaboration with others doing research on common ancestors..
In the past, the community family tree had limitations in merging duplicate records contributed by users. System upgrades now enable users to merge duplicate records of large or highly common family lines.
Access Increased to Historical RecordsFamily history discoveries are fueled by a person’s ability to easily and quickly search for ancestors by name in historical records online. In 2016, FamilySearch's online indexing initiative celebrated its 10th anniversary. FamilySearch has a dedicated team of employees and overwhelming online support from volunteers around the world who use FamilySearch’s technology to digitize and index the world’s historical records. As a result of these efforts, more than 5.57 billion searchable names are available from over 1.2 billion published searchable historical documents.
In conjunction with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture and other organizations, FamilySearch completed a project to index and publish online images of Freedmen’s Bureau records from the United States National Archives and Records Administration.
These
records are pivotal for African American research because they document
freed slaves and others who struggled to redefine themselves after the
Civil War. Nearly 19,000 online volunteers—mostly from the United States
and Canada—finished indexing the nearly two million handwritten records
in June 2016—just a year and a day after the initiative started. A copy
of the database was presented to the newly completed Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History Culture on December 6 of
this year. The digitized records are searchable on DiscoverFreedmen.org and FaReceiving and Giving Help
During
2016, 4,807 volunteer FamilySearch missionaries helped support
worldwide operation needs. These generous volunteers donated a
staggering 3.8 million hours of service. Non-missionary online
volunteers are also critical to indexing initiatives. Nearly 315,000
volunteers logged nearly 11 million hours during the year. Together
these two groups indexed 274.8 million records in 2016, bringing the
total number of indexed records freely searchable online to 2.4 billion.
Over 36 million of those newly-indexed records were in languages other
than English, bringing the total of non-English indexed records to 872
million.FamilySearch’s 320 camera teams around the world digitally preserved over 60 million new images of historical records in 45 countries, providing more opportunities for online volunteer indexers to help make searchable records and countless more fun, family history discoveries waiting for FamilySearch.org users. FamilySearch.org added 125 new historical collections in 2016, bringing the total to 2,174.
In 2016, FamilySearch added a Help Others feature for volunteers who provide family history research or support assistance to others. To use the feature, a person seeking help provides his or her FamilySearch username and a unique helper number. The helper number allows a selected helper to remotely access the patron’s Family Tree online to provide research assistance.
Dozens of free video courses were added online during the year. These courses are accessible through the FamilySearch Learning Center. Over 100,000 helpful, how-to articles specific to family history are also now available through on the FamilySearch Wiki.
The dynamic records hints feature on FamilySearch.org is faster and more accurate, and it includes online collections and additional record types. Adding family photos, stories, documents, and audio files has become easier and is now mobile device friendly. Patrons can also identify their relationships to people in the Family Tree using a new relationship feature.
During the year, a new discovery center was opened in Layton, Utah, and construction on a similar facility began in St. George, Utah.
In addition to in-person visitors to the 4,960 FamilySearch family history centers worldwide in 2016, FamilySearch.org received 133 million online visits and reached 7.3 million registered users.
Reaching Out to OthersLast January in Salt Lake City, Utah, FamilySearch hosted RootsTech 2016, the largest family history technology conference. The annual extravaganza included technology education and fun experiences to expand family connections. It attracted a record 375,000 attendees in person, online, and through local family discovery day events that took place across the world throughout the year. Special guests included bestselling author and New York Times columnist Bruce Feiler, producer and writer Paula Williams Madison, StoryCorps founder David Isay, and America’s historian-in-chief, Doris Kearns Goodwin.
Memories—The Crown of Family History“Family history is about stories; it is more than dates and facts,” says Steve Rockwood, president and CEO of FamilySearch, looking back on FamilySearch’s efforts in 2016. “People of every age, locale, and heritage share a universal need to know where they come from. These connections are not just about the names, dates, and places—although that certainly helps to know where someone fits in our family trees—but the fun, inspiring, real stories of those ancestors who came before us. FamilySearch is resolute in creating the tools and services people need worldwide to discover those joyful connections and share them."
FamilySearch has incorporated innovative technology and initiatives that engage a broadening swath of consumers to experience emotional, endearing experiences with their family and family history.
FamilySearch’s free mobile apps—Family Tree and Memories—now enable users to freely attach and save photos and stories (audio and text) to individuals in the FamilySearch Family Tree, add other information, and receive notifications when others add content to the records of shared ancestors. Users can easily add photos, stories, and scanned documents and sort their uploaded memories collections.
Users can now record stories of relatives with a new mobile audio recording feature and save the audio files directly to the memories gallery on FamilySearch.org from a mobile device. The memories feature now includes contributor information so participants can message each other. The Details section is another innovative tool of the mobile FamilyTree app. With it you can see information, images, documents, and sources by simply swiping the screen, and the application creates a map of locations where events took place in the life of a person as recorded on FamilySearch Family Tree.
Explore these and other new developments at FamilySearch.org.
Find and share this news release in the FamilySearch Media Room.
###
About FamilySearchFamilySearch 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 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Family History Library Webinars
With the new year are you looking to get more involved in learning about your genealogy? Do you want to take some courses? Do you not want to travel in the winter when you don't know when the next snow or ice storm is going to blow through? Are you groaning over Christmas bills and have no money to do so? Don't despair. There's a way around this.
Many places offer distance learning. Some charge money, but it's a lot cheaper than traveling! Some even offer webinars for free. That's right free! And you can listen to them in your own home, curled up in front of the computer in your jammies even. One such group that offers this (FamilySearch) has just done a news release of their webinars for January. They are listed in their news release below. Some of these classes are only offered for people that are at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Ignore those unless you can get there that day- in which case I'm jealous! However, look at the ones marked webinar and you can find a whole lot there. Be aware, the times listed are Mountain time, so if you're on the east coast like me, they are actually two hours later than listed or adjust them to your own time zone so that you don't miss out.
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 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Many places offer distance learning. Some charge money, but it's a lot cheaper than traveling! Some even offer webinars for free. That's right free! And you can listen to them in your own home, curled up in front of the computer in your jammies even. One such group that offers this (FamilySearch) has just done a news release of their webinars for January. They are listed in their news release below. Some of these classes are only offered for people that are at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Ignore those unless you can get there that day- in which case I'm jealous! However, look at the ones marked webinar and you can find a whole lot there. Be aware, the times listed are Mountain time, so if you're on the east coast like me, they are actually two hours later than listed or adjust them to your own time zone so that you don't miss out.
 | |
| Here's Where They Are Broadcast From |
The Wasatch Range in April 2010
Free Family History Library Webinars and Classes in January 2017
Salt Lake City, Utah (December 26, 2016)--Want to increase your family history skills in the new year? The world reknowned Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, has announced its line up of free, live webinars and classes for January 2017. All classes are taught by staff of the Library. Classes offered online are noted as "Webinars" in the calendar below. Webinar attendees simply need to click on the link next to the class title to attend the online class on the scheduled date and time. Those attending the Library in-person need to go to the room noted. Attend with family, friends, or colleagues and learn together. All times listed are in Mountain Standard Time (MST). No registration is required. Find or share the class schedule online in the FamilySearch Media Room.| DATE / TIME (MST) |
CLASS (SKILL LEVEL)
|
ROOM |
| Tue, 3 Jan, 1:00 PM | Starting Family Tree: Starting with Family Tree Webinar (Beginner) | 2 N Lab |
| Wed, 4 Jan, 11:00 AM | Ask Your United States Research Question Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Fri, 6 Jan, 1:00 PM | British Case Study Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Sat, 7 Jan, 1:00 PM | Poner tus asuntos en orden: Métodos de organización Webinar ( |
B1 Lab |
| Mon, 9 Jan, 10:00 AM | Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Tue, 10 Jan, 11:00 AM | Starting Family Tree: Research Help and Searching Records Webinar (Beginner) | 2 S Lab |
| Tue, 10 Jan, 1:00 PM | Turning the Tables on Tracing Elusive Ancestry in England/Wales Civil Registration Records: How to Trace Ancestry Using Online BMD Indexes Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Wed, 11 Jan, 10:00 AM | From America to Norway Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Wed, 11 Jan, 10:00 AM | Portuguese Language Indexing Webinar (1½ hours) (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Wed, 11 Jan, 1:00 PM | The New Virtual Historical Record: Introducing England's Extensive Online Church Register Databases Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Thur, 12 Jan, 11:00 AM | Oklahoma Research Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Thur, 12 Jan, 1:00 PM | Tracing Non-Church of England Ancestry Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Fri, 13 Jan, 1:00 PM | Ask Your Own British Research Question Webinar (Beginner) | B2 Lab |
| Tue, 17 Jan, 11:00 AM | Overview of FamilySearch.org Webinar ( |
B1 Lab |
| Tue, 17 Jan, 2:00 PM | Exploring the "Probate Records" in Norway Webinar (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Wed, 18 Jan, 10:00 AM | Spanish Language Indexing Webinar (1½ hours) (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Wed, 18 Jan, 1:00 PM | German Historical Geography Webinar (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Sat, 21 Jan, 10:00 AM | Boy Scout Genealogy Merit Badge (1½ hrs.) To register go to http://bit.ly/2eDQGhD | 2 S Lab |
| Sat, 21 Jan, 1:00 PM | Por qué los mexicanos deben usar Ancestry.mx Webinar (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Mon, 23 Jan, 10:00 AM | Using the FamilySearch Catalog Effectively (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Tue, 24 Jan, 1:00 PM | Tips and Tricks for Using FamilySearch's Historical Records Webinar (Beginner) | 2 S Lab |
| Wed, 25 Jan, 10:00 AM | Italian Language Indexing Webinar (1½ hours) (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
| Tue, 31 Jan, 11:00 AM | United States: Mountain States Research Webinar (Beginner) | 2 S Lab |
| Tue, 31 Jan, 1:00 PM | Marriage Laws and Customs in Germany Webinar (Beginner) | B1 Lab |
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 4,921 family history centers in 129 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Sunday, December 25, 2016
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
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