Today we worked on the temple ordinances. For the previous class, I posted a detailed explanation of the temple ordinances. In the interest of time, I will just refer you to the previous post.
May 1, 2016 - Reserving Temple Ordinances
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
November 13, 2016 - Records
Since I was sick today, Maynard Hammond took the class. I appreciate his willingness to just jump in and share what he is doing. Here is the summary of what he did:
I showed them a family that I
was working on. It was put together by a researcher that hadn't given a
single source. We then went in and found multiple census records on
FamilySearch and a marriage certificate on Findmypast. They all agreed
with the family except for the wife. The marriage certificate showed
the marriage about a year before the first child was born. The census
data showed he hadn't remarried well after children were born. We
talked about how they might go about changing and fixing the record.
Then I showed them the easiest way.
I also showed them Recordseek.com and we added the marriage record from Findmypast. We also added the census records.
There
was so much to do in the little class time we had, but I feel all who
were there learned how records can be fixed and documented.
When I went home I added
several more sources and continued to try and unravel the many Samuel
Law's that were married to a Betty in the area. I'm still working on
getting the puzzles unraveled and have proven and documented several but
still have a few more to unravel. I'd like to get all the records
available assigned correctly. I'd also like to find the correct husband
for the wife we replaced and verify she wasn't a marriage late in
life. Somehow, the researcher thought she was part of the family, but I
haven't found records that support it.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
November 6, 2016 - Sources
Today we continued working on FamilySearch person page, focusing on the section for sources.
A source is any piece of information that helps to verify and/or explain an event in the life of an individual. The value of a source depends on when, where, and by whom the document or information was recorded. Each source needs to be evaluated as to its value and inevitability. Even a primary source (recorded at the time of the event by someone who witnessed the event) can contain errors. Therefore, a good genealogist looks for multiple sources to support each point of fact.
It is also important to find as many sources as possible to be able to tell a more complete story of the life of the ancestor. An interesting story is far more than just birth, marriage, and death.
FamilySearch allows us to attach a link to a source that is found on FS and also to sources which are found on other sites, such as Ancestry.com, My Heritage, or Find My Past. You can also create a link to any other site that contains a source.
Attached Sources:
1 - The source section is below the family section, which shows every source that has already been attached.
2 - Using the same person from last week (Henry Lester 9NNP-HRR), we reviewed the existing sources. We also reviewed the same person on Ancestry and in RootsMagic.
3 - When we looked at his death certificate, we learned that his name was Harrision H. Lester. FS had Henry and both Ancestry and RM said Harry. We decided that the correct name must be Harrison Henry Lester. We made that change in the name section.
4 - We also discovered that I had several more sources attached to RM and to Ancestry than were attached to FS. So, once we were sure that FS was as correct as we could get it, we moved over to Ancestry.
Linking FamilySearch to Ancestry: (This option is only available on the LDS memberships.)
1 - We wanted to copy the sources from Ancestry to FS. To do so, we needed to get them connected.
2 - At the top right side of the Profile page in Ancestry is the Family Search Tree symbol. Click it.
3 - Sign in to FS.
4 - Click the tree symbol again and choose to connect. This will show you the same person on FS. We clicked on the correct person.
5 - Click on the tree symbol once more and choose compare. This will open a window with FS information on the left and Ancestry on the right.
6 - You can now move information back and forth between the two trees. We also chose to add all the sources that were on Ancestry to the FS tree.
7 - Click save at the bottom of the page and all the information will be saved.
8 - When we went back to FS and refreshed the page, all the sources from Ancestry were now attached to the FS tree.
To change the order that the sources appear, use click and drag with the mouse. I personally like to put all the sources in a particular order as it helps me to see quickly what is there. It also helps me to see if there are duplicates.
It is of value to add the same source (like a census record) from multiple sites. Although the original source is the same, there can be differences in the indexing.
FORMS:
We also discussed the importance of keeping records of what you are doing as you research. I handed out four copies of common forms that are used:
Research Log - keep a record of all research you do, where you searched, what you did or did not find, etc.
To Do List - Keep a list of things that you notice that you need to do. This is especially important when you are working on one thing and find related things that need to be done. It is easy to find yourself jumping from thing to thing with nothing ever being completed.
Timeline - It helps to list all events from sources you have found in a chronological order. This will allow you to see what is missing, what doesn't fit together, etc.
Individual Source List - This allows you to keep track of what potential sources you have already found.
I said I would try to add links to this blog, but I haven't figured that out. You can search for blank forms on the internet.
Google: Free Genealogy Forms
FamilySearch.org - Wiki - forms
FamilyTreeMagazine.com/freeforms
Cyndislist.com
These may or may not show up:
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Genealogy_Research_Forms
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/freeforms
http://www.cyndislist.com/cyndislistsearch/?q=blank%20forms
See you next week. We will working on the Temple section.
A source is any piece of information that helps to verify and/or explain an event in the life of an individual. The value of a source depends on when, where, and by whom the document or information was recorded. Each source needs to be evaluated as to its value and inevitability. Even a primary source (recorded at the time of the event by someone who witnessed the event) can contain errors. Therefore, a good genealogist looks for multiple sources to support each point of fact.
It is also important to find as many sources as possible to be able to tell a more complete story of the life of the ancestor. An interesting story is far more than just birth, marriage, and death.
FamilySearch allows us to attach a link to a source that is found on FS and also to sources which are found on other sites, such as Ancestry.com, My Heritage, or Find My Past. You can also create a link to any other site that contains a source.
Attached Sources:
1 - The source section is below the family section, which shows every source that has already been attached.
2 - Using the same person from last week (Henry Lester 9NNP-HRR), we reviewed the existing sources. We also reviewed the same person on Ancestry and in RootsMagic.
3 - When we looked at his death certificate, we learned that his name was Harrision H. Lester. FS had Henry and both Ancestry and RM said Harry. We decided that the correct name must be Harrison Henry Lester. We made that change in the name section.
4 - We also discovered that I had several more sources attached to RM and to Ancestry than were attached to FS. So, once we were sure that FS was as correct as we could get it, we moved over to Ancestry.
Linking FamilySearch to Ancestry: (This option is only available on the LDS memberships.)
1 - We wanted to copy the sources from Ancestry to FS. To do so, we needed to get them connected.
2 - At the top right side of the Profile page in Ancestry is the Family Search Tree symbol. Click it.
3 - Sign in to FS.
4 - Click the tree symbol again and choose to connect. This will show you the same person on FS. We clicked on the correct person.
5 - Click on the tree symbol once more and choose compare. This will open a window with FS information on the left and Ancestry on the right.
6 - You can now move information back and forth between the two trees. We also chose to add all the sources that were on Ancestry to the FS tree.
7 - Click save at the bottom of the page and all the information will be saved.
8 - When we went back to FS and refreshed the page, all the sources from Ancestry were now attached to the FS tree.
To change the order that the sources appear, use click and drag with the mouse. I personally like to put all the sources in a particular order as it helps me to see quickly what is there. It also helps me to see if there are duplicates.
It is of value to add the same source (like a census record) from multiple sites. Although the original source is the same, there can be differences in the indexing.
FORMS:
We also discussed the importance of keeping records of what you are doing as you research. I handed out four copies of common forms that are used:
Research Log - keep a record of all research you do, where you searched, what you did or did not find, etc.
To Do List - Keep a list of things that you notice that you need to do. This is especially important when you are working on one thing and find related things that need to be done. It is easy to find yourself jumping from thing to thing with nothing ever being completed.
Timeline - It helps to list all events from sources you have found in a chronological order. This will allow you to see what is missing, what doesn't fit together, etc.
Individual Source List - This allows you to keep track of what potential sources you have already found.
I said I would try to add links to this blog, but I haven't figured that out. You can search for blank forms on the internet.
Google: Free Genealogy Forms
FamilySearch.org - Wiki - forms
FamilyTreeMagazine.com/freeforms
Cyndislist.com
These may or may not show up:
https://familysearch.org/wiki/en/Genealogy_Research_Forms
http://www.familytreemagazine.com/freeforms
http://www.cyndislist.com/cyndislistsearch/?q=blank%20forms
See you next week. We will working on the Temple section.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
October 30, 2016 - Working on the Person Page
This week we went into more detail on using the Person Page on FamilySearch.org. In order to be able to experience using the page, we found a person on my tree that we could work on. I chose Henry Lester 9NNP-HRR.
Here are some of the things we did:
1 - Watch - By clicking the watch button, I will receive notice if anyone else makes any changes.
2 - Duplicate - There was no duplicate, so we started to work on this page.
3 - Dates and Places - Needed to standardize both dates and places.
Clicked on the date/place for birth. (Then repeated for death.)
Edit.
Adjusted the date and place so the standardized list appeared.
Chose the correct entry from the list.
Reason - "Standardized date and place." This lets the next person know that I did not add or change the information, just put it into standardized form.
4 - Went to the Family Section and looked over what was there. We noticed that he has a sister that was born the same year as the oldest brother. This is something we will need to check.
5 - Went to the Source Section to see what sources have already been added.
6 - 1880 census shows the parents with Henry and two brothers, but no sister.
7 - Birth record for Martha shows she was born in England. Since this family was all born in the US, it appears that she should not be in the family. Her parents' names are similar, but the birth place tells us that these are not correct.
8 - Unlinked Martha by going back to the Family Section.
Click the pencil next to her name.
Remove or Replace.
On the pop up page, we clicked that we had reviewed the relationship.
Reason. In this case, we made sure the statement was specific so that the next person would understand clearly what we had done and why.
We will continue working on Henry Lester next lesson.
Here are some of the things we did:
1 - Watch - By clicking the watch button, I will receive notice if anyone else makes any changes.
2 - Duplicate - There was no duplicate, so we started to work on this page.
3 - Dates and Places - Needed to standardize both dates and places.
Clicked on the date/place for birth. (Then repeated for death.)
Edit.
Adjusted the date and place so the standardized list appeared.
Chose the correct entry from the list.
Reason - "Standardized date and place." This lets the next person know that I did not add or change the information, just put it into standardized form.
4 - Went to the Family Section and looked over what was there. We noticed that he has a sister that was born the same year as the oldest brother. This is something we will need to check.
5 - Went to the Source Section to see what sources have already been added.
6 - 1880 census shows the parents with Henry and two brothers, but no sister.
7 - Birth record for Martha shows she was born in England. Since this family was all born in the US, it appears that she should not be in the family. Her parents' names are similar, but the birth place tells us that these are not correct.
8 - Unlinked Martha by going back to the Family Section.
Click the pencil next to her name.
Remove or Replace.
On the pop up page, we clicked that we had reviewed the relationship.
Reason. In this case, we made sure the statement was specific so that the next person would understand clearly what we had done and why.
We will continue working on Henry Lester next lesson.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
October 23, 2016 - FamilySearch Person Page
Today we reviewed the different parts of the Person Page on FamilySearch.
From the pedigree view, click on the name of the person who want to work on. From the pop-up page, click on "Person" to go to the detail page. Most of the work we will do will be from this page. Today, we just looked at the various sections so we could get a good overview.
Some of what we talked about:
Some parts of the page:
1 - Vital Information - Birth and Death date and place.
2 - Other Information - Alternate names, time line of events, personal information. Click on the "Add" button to see some of the things that can be added to this section.
3 - Family Members - Shows the person as the parent (on left) and also as a child (on right).
4 - Sources - List of all sources that have been attached to person. Includes sources from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other places. I choose to put the list in a certain order. An item can be moved by left clicking with the mouse and then moving to desired spot on the list.
5 - Discussion and Notes - Add as desired. These can help you remember things, as well as be a resource for others working on the same person.
6 - Research Help - Includes hints for sources, problems, suggestions, etc. This is a very useful section and is usually the place to start when working on an individual.
7 - Search Records - This is where we search to see what records are available. By clicking on the site name, we can search the records for this person on that site.
8 - Print - Print pedigree charts or family group sheets.
9 - Latest Changes - Allows you to see all the changes that have been made to this individual.
10 - Tools - Check for duplicates, report abuse of any kind, delete a person if there are no links to other individuals.
We will be going back and working on some of these in detail over the next couple of weeks.
The first 3 things I always do:
1 - Watch. I click the watch button if I want to know if anyone else does work on this page. I get a weekly email with all changes. I can then go in and look to see if I agree with the changes. I can also see where other researchers have found new information that I want to copy to my files.
2 - Duplicates (near bottom of right hand column on the Person page). We will do this in a future lesson.
3 - Standardize dates and places. All dates and places need to be pulled from the list in order to get maximum benefit from the search engines. We will also do this in a future lesson.
From the pedigree view, click on the name of the person who want to work on. From the pop-up page, click on "Person" to go to the detail page. Most of the work we will do will be from this page. Today, we just looked at the various sections so we could get a good overview.
Some of what we talked about:
Some parts of the page:
1 - Vital Information - Birth and Death date and place.
2 - Other Information - Alternate names, time line of events, personal information. Click on the "Add" button to see some of the things that can be added to this section.
3 - Family Members - Shows the person as the parent (on left) and also as a child (on right).
4 - Sources - List of all sources that have been attached to person. Includes sources from FamilySearch, Ancestry, and other places. I choose to put the list in a certain order. An item can be moved by left clicking with the mouse and then moving to desired spot on the list.
5 - Discussion and Notes - Add as desired. These can help you remember things, as well as be a resource for others working on the same person.
6 - Research Help - Includes hints for sources, problems, suggestions, etc. This is a very useful section and is usually the place to start when working on an individual.
7 - Search Records - This is where we search to see what records are available. By clicking on the site name, we can search the records for this person on that site.
8 - Print - Print pedigree charts or family group sheets.
9 - Latest Changes - Allows you to see all the changes that have been made to this individual.
10 - Tools - Check for duplicates, report abuse of any kind, delete a person if there are no links to other individuals.
We will be going back and working on some of these in detail over the next couple of weeks.
The first 3 things I always do:
1 - Watch. I click the watch button if I want to know if anyone else does work on this page. I get a weekly email with all changes. I can then go in and look to see if I agree with the changes. I can also see where other researchers have found new information that I want to copy to my files.
2 - Duplicates (near bottom of right hand column on the Person page). We will do this in a future lesson.
3 - Standardize dates and places. All dates and places need to be pulled from the list in order to get maximum benefit from the search engines. We will also do this in a future lesson.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
October 16, 2016 - Lesson 4 - Learning More on Family Search
Thanks to Maynard Hammond for teaching the class while I was out of town. I think this was my last time to miss until Thanksgiving!
Here is what was covered in the lesson:
Here is what was covered in the lesson:
1 - Discussion based on a question that was asked: Keep those born in the last 110 years alive unless
you know they are deceased.
2 - How to add a spouse and child. Can be added from the tree view or from the person's record. Discussed importance of using sources.
3 - Updated a record, adding wife and children. Used John Beeston MVCX-5PD as the example.
4 - Talked briefly about searching and
multiple supporting sources. Went over some documents.
5 - Handout about a short video: "How to find your
Ancestors in Your Family Tree." Here is the link to the video: https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/lesson/how-to-find-your-ancestors-in-your-family-tree/1188
I hope this covers what was discussed. Let me know if I need to edit anything. See you Sunday!
Monday, October 10, 2016
October 9, 2016 Lessons 2 & 3 - FamilySearch.org: Help; Partner & Pedigree Charts
Lesson 2 - Help
Thank you to Maynard Hammond who taught the class while I was out of town. Since we will be spending the first several weeks learning FamilySearch, he went over what is available on the Help Section.
Get Help is located on the right hand side of the screen, just about your name. The menu that opens shows several choices. On the left, the videos at the top are very helpful in getting started in FS. Below that is the Help Center. This is the place to go to get answers to your questions. Next down is the Learning Center. There are hundreds of videos about all sorts of things related to genealogy and research. The right side of the menu box allows you to ask questions directly to a person, via messaging, phone, or live chat.
Lesson 3 - Partners and Pedigree Charts
Partners - go in the Get Help section, click on Help Center, then scroll down to Partners. Open Our Partners. The partners listed offer a free account to those who have an LDS account. This was part of the agreement when FS agreed to share records with these pay sites. Click on the account you would like to join and follow the screen instructions. If you have problems, be sure to contact me.
We did not discuss the "Other Partners" on the list. This is the app gallery and you can explore that part on your own.
Pedigree Charts - From the home page, click on Family Tree on the menu at the top of the page.
The menu just above the pedigree chart on the left has symbols for the various pedigree views. When the symbol is clicked, the name of that view appears, as well as the pedigree chart in that format.
Landscape View - This is the default view and is the most useful when doing basic research. It shows you as the center person, with ancestors to the right and descendants to the left. This view was recently updated and now shows more information than before. Each square on the chart is a family unit, with husband on the top and wife on the bottom. All standard genealogy pedigree charts are in this format. The male line above and the female line below.
Marriage information, portraits, ordinance information, hints and other notices all show. In addition, a small arrow that points down by either a husband or wife name indicates that there are additional spouses. To see what the notice icons are, just click on them and a box will open with information. If you do not want all this additional information to show, click on the "Show" button on the top right and a list of items that can be excluded will appear. The last item on the list is "Invert colors" which allows you to have a dark background with white letters or a light background with black letters. Choose the one that is easiest for you to see.
An arrow at the end of any pedigree line indicates that there are more generations. Click on the arrow to open the next screen. When you reach the end of a line, the next generation family box will say Add Husband and Add Wife. If you know the next generation, you can add from here. Remember these are the parents of the last generation known, but they are the husband and wife of the family unit. Don't let the terminology confuse you.
Portrait View - This shows the chart in a vertical rather than landscape style. It does not show all the information that is shown on the landscape. Any pictures are larger and only birth and death years are shown. It is a nice visual chart, but is not useful for researching.
Fan Chart - This shows the chart in a fan view, which is helpful for seeing four additional generations at one view. Any missing pieces show up clearly. It is also a nice chart for printing out. In my personal opinion, these are the generations that should be researched first. This is a good view for seeing what is still missing.
Descendancy Chart - This chart shows the descendants of a person. This can be very helpful in finding names not completed for the temple.
Tree - Regardless of the view you choose, you will appear as the root person, or the beginning person. To change the beginning person, click on the name of the person you want. A small box will open. At the bottom of the box, there are two choices: Tree and Person. By clicking on Tree, you will move that person to the root position. This is especially useful when working on the descendancy view.
Your assignment for this week is to play around with the pedigree charts so you become comfortable with working with them. Remember, the landscape view is the most useful when actually doing research.
I will be out of town next week, but Brother Hammond will be there.
Thanks.
Thank you to Maynard Hammond who taught the class while I was out of town. Since we will be spending the first several weeks learning FamilySearch, he went over what is available on the Help Section.
Get Help is located on the right hand side of the screen, just about your name. The menu that opens shows several choices. On the left, the videos at the top are very helpful in getting started in FS. Below that is the Help Center. This is the place to go to get answers to your questions. Next down is the Learning Center. There are hundreds of videos about all sorts of things related to genealogy and research. The right side of the menu box allows you to ask questions directly to a person, via messaging, phone, or live chat.
Lesson 3 - Partners and Pedigree Charts
Partners - go in the Get Help section, click on Help Center, then scroll down to Partners. Open Our Partners. The partners listed offer a free account to those who have an LDS account. This was part of the agreement when FS agreed to share records with these pay sites. Click on the account you would like to join and follow the screen instructions. If you have problems, be sure to contact me.
We did not discuss the "Other Partners" on the list. This is the app gallery and you can explore that part on your own.
Pedigree Charts - From the home page, click on Family Tree on the menu at the top of the page.
The menu just above the pedigree chart on the left has symbols for the various pedigree views. When the symbol is clicked, the name of that view appears, as well as the pedigree chart in that format.
Landscape View - This is the default view and is the most useful when doing basic research. It shows you as the center person, with ancestors to the right and descendants to the left. This view was recently updated and now shows more information than before. Each square on the chart is a family unit, with husband on the top and wife on the bottom. All standard genealogy pedigree charts are in this format. The male line above and the female line below.
Marriage information, portraits, ordinance information, hints and other notices all show. In addition, a small arrow that points down by either a husband or wife name indicates that there are additional spouses. To see what the notice icons are, just click on them and a box will open with information. If you do not want all this additional information to show, click on the "Show" button on the top right and a list of items that can be excluded will appear. The last item on the list is "Invert colors" which allows you to have a dark background with white letters or a light background with black letters. Choose the one that is easiest for you to see.
An arrow at the end of any pedigree line indicates that there are more generations. Click on the arrow to open the next screen. When you reach the end of a line, the next generation family box will say Add Husband and Add Wife. If you know the next generation, you can add from here. Remember these are the parents of the last generation known, but they are the husband and wife of the family unit. Don't let the terminology confuse you.
Portrait View - This shows the chart in a vertical rather than landscape style. It does not show all the information that is shown on the landscape. Any pictures are larger and only birth and death years are shown. It is a nice visual chart, but is not useful for researching.
Fan Chart - This shows the chart in a fan view, which is helpful for seeing four additional generations at one view. Any missing pieces show up clearly. It is also a nice chart for printing out. In my personal opinion, these are the generations that should be researched first. This is a good view for seeing what is still missing.
Descendancy Chart - This chart shows the descendants of a person. This can be very helpful in finding names not completed for the temple.
Tree - Regardless of the view you choose, you will appear as the root person, or the beginning person. To change the beginning person, click on the name of the person you want. A small box will open. At the bottom of the box, there are two choices: Tree and Person. By clicking on Tree, you will move that person to the root position. This is especially useful when working on the descendancy view.
Your assignment for this week is to play around with the pedigree charts so you become comfortable with working with them. Remember, the landscape view is the most useful when actually doing research.
I will be out of town next week, but Brother Hammond will be there.
Thanks.
Friday, September 23, 2016
September 18, 2016 Lesson 1 - Getting Started
We had our first class today and it went well. We spent a few
minutes getting acquainted and finding where everyone was on their
personal family history, then we talked about a few things to get started.
Goals
1 - Learn to submit names to the temple
2 - Become acquainted with FamilySearch.org
3 - Be a good steward of family history - "correct & complete"
4 - Learn the stories of our ancestors
5 - Catch the Vision! (Get addicted!)
The Doctrine
We briefly talked about the doctrine that teaches why family history is so important.
The Plan of Salvation - Our time on earth has a purpose and we are expected to do certain things in order to return to our Heavenly Father. Among those things are to make covenants, like baptism and others. Because most who lived on earth did not have the opportunity to make those covenants, we can do it on their behalf in the temple. But, first, we need to find them through family history work.
Savior on Mount Zion - Just as the Savior did things for us that we would never have been able to do, we can do for our ancestors what they were unable to do. When we find them and have temple work completed for them, we become their saviors. The phrase "Mount Zion" in the scriptures almost always refers to the temple.
Hastening the Work - While this is almost always used in reference to missionary work, we need to remember that those who have died are being taught the gospel in the spirit world. When we find these people and do their temple work, we are completing the missionary work for them.
Everyone was encouraged to make sure they had a log-in for FamilySearch.org It is the same name and password as an LDS.org account. For non-members, create a user name and password. An account is required to work on FamilySearch, but there is no cost.
Next week, I will be out of town, but Maynard Hammond will teach the class. He will show a video reviewing the doctrine we discussed today. He will also get everyone started on FamilySearch. The week after that will be General Conference, so I will see you on the 9th.
Any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Goals
1 - Learn to submit names to the temple
2 - Become acquainted with FamilySearch.org
3 - Be a good steward of family history - "correct & complete"
4 - Learn the stories of our ancestors
5 - Catch the Vision! (Get addicted!)
The Doctrine
We briefly talked about the doctrine that teaches why family history is so important.
The Plan of Salvation - Our time on earth has a purpose and we are expected to do certain things in order to return to our Heavenly Father. Among those things are to make covenants, like baptism and others. Because most who lived on earth did not have the opportunity to make those covenants, we can do it on their behalf in the temple. But, first, we need to find them through family history work.
Savior on Mount Zion - Just as the Savior did things for us that we would never have been able to do, we can do for our ancestors what they were unable to do. When we find them and have temple work completed for them, we become their saviors. The phrase "Mount Zion" in the scriptures almost always refers to the temple.
Hastening the Work - While this is almost always used in reference to missionary work, we need to remember that those who have died are being taught the gospel in the spirit world. When we find these people and do their temple work, we are completing the missionary work for them.
Everyone was encouraged to make sure they had a log-in for FamilySearch.org It is the same name and password as an LDS.org account. For non-members, create a user name and password. An account is required to work on FamilySearch, but there is no cost.
Next week, I will be out of town, but Maynard Hammond will teach the class. He will show a video reviewing the doctrine we discussed today. He will also get everyone started on FamilySearch. The week after that will be General Conference, so I will see you on the 9th.
Any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thursday, July 7, 2016
July 3, 2016 - Research Plans
We reviewed a story about my great-great-grandfather Reuben Wesco. There is a lot of confusing information about his early life. His death certificate, obituary, and gravestone all say he was born in 1839. However, there are other records that show he was born in 1834 or 1835. To add to the confusion, his mother died when he was a baby and his father remarried very quickly. Depending on which date of birth is used, either woman could be his mother. Then his father died when he was about four years old. One more point of confusion is that he had two cousins who both lived in the area, were born about the same time, and both were named Reuben Wesco, after an uncle Reuben Wesco. All three of the Reubens also served in the civil war.
The question is how to figure out the correct information about my Reuben's date of birth, mother, and early childhood. Whenever we come upon a "brick wall" or difficult problem, the best way to figure out what to do next is to make a research plan. We talked about some of the steps we would need to take in order to resolve the questions about Reuben.
1 - Re-evaluate everything that has already been found. Lay out all the documents and pieces of information you already have - either by physically spreading it out and organizing it on a table or by doing the same on the computer, whichever works best for you. Look at every detail in each document to see if there are clues that you may have missed previously.
2 - Create a time line. We did time lines in this class several weeks ago. A time line will help us to see exactly what we have and where there are missing pieces or errors.
3 - Determine where to focus research. Based on those errors or missing pieces, formulate a plan about what needs to be done next. In this example, we decided that there were three areas that needed to be addressed next:
a. military service to see if those records shed further light on the problem. Since all three Reubens served in the civil war, we need to make sure we get the correct set of records, even if all three need to be sent for. Sometimes, there is birth information in military records. It would also be interesting to learn what he did during the war, which would help to fill out his life story.
b. birth information, particularly information about his mother and step-mother. By researching the women, we may find some additional clues about Reuben. We need something that clearly shows which is his birth mother. Since birth certificates are not available in 1835, we need to find other clues.
c. custody. Since both of his natural parents died when he was very young, learning who cared for him might help give clues as to his age, which would help to support the birth year. There are some court records already found that indicate that the stepmother was not given custody. That leads to some interesting questions and we would want the answers.
4 - Make a research plan. Decide exactly what steps need to be taken next in each of these areas. Some of the kinds of things that might be included would be:
a. Internet searches -
revisit the genealogy sites used previously to see if new collections are available or if something was missed;
additional sites to look at that have not been used previously, such as local historical or genealogical sites, online books, newspapers, etc;
different google criteria that might be used to search, including trying different search engines to see if different results are found
Descendancy research to see if there are descendants of the family still in the area who might be able to add information
b. On site visits -
court house (have a search list prepared so you know exactly what you are looking for)
local history or genealogy societies (many do not have their collections online and may have local experts who know lots of helpful things)
local libraries (often have local newspapers on microfilm, as well)
cemeteries
follow-up on any things you find, including visiting places where the ancestor may have lived
c. Visit the descendants found. They may have family stories, bibles, documents, etc., that they will share with you. You can use a portable scanner or your iPhone to take a picture of the document.
Every research plan will be a little different, but these ideas should help you figure out what needs to be done in your case. Make sure that everything is written out clearly and completely, so that you will not forget what you had in mind when you planned it out. Sometimes it may take years to complete all the possible research. By having the plans for each ancestor organized properly, it is easy to pull out some things to do when you get a chance to travel somewhere.
I would suggest using To Do lists. Have one for each ancestor and another for each geographical location. These are easy to do when kept on the computer. You can then easily pull up the list for a particular county, for instance, and see what ancestors have research plans prepared that need to be researched in that area. Pull up the ancestor research plan and you are all prepared to go!
REMINDER: This was the last class in this course. We will start a new class, probably in September. Watch the bulletin and Facebook to get exact information once it has been decided.
This has been a great class. I hope you have learned something of value. Our initial goals were:
1 - Submit names to the temple - CHECK
2 - Become acquainted with FamilySearch.org - CHECK
3 - Be a good steward of family history (correct & complete) - CHECK
4 - Tell the story - CHECK
5 - Catch the Vision! - CHECK, I hope!!!!
The question is how to figure out the correct information about my Reuben's date of birth, mother, and early childhood. Whenever we come upon a "brick wall" or difficult problem, the best way to figure out what to do next is to make a research plan. We talked about some of the steps we would need to take in order to resolve the questions about Reuben.
1 - Re-evaluate everything that has already been found. Lay out all the documents and pieces of information you already have - either by physically spreading it out and organizing it on a table or by doing the same on the computer, whichever works best for you. Look at every detail in each document to see if there are clues that you may have missed previously.
2 - Create a time line. We did time lines in this class several weeks ago. A time line will help us to see exactly what we have and where there are missing pieces or errors.
3 - Determine where to focus research. Based on those errors or missing pieces, formulate a plan about what needs to be done next. In this example, we decided that there were three areas that needed to be addressed next:
a. military service to see if those records shed further light on the problem. Since all three Reubens served in the civil war, we need to make sure we get the correct set of records, even if all three need to be sent for. Sometimes, there is birth information in military records. It would also be interesting to learn what he did during the war, which would help to fill out his life story.
b. birth information, particularly information about his mother and step-mother. By researching the women, we may find some additional clues about Reuben. We need something that clearly shows which is his birth mother. Since birth certificates are not available in 1835, we need to find other clues.
c. custody. Since both of his natural parents died when he was very young, learning who cared for him might help give clues as to his age, which would help to support the birth year. There are some court records already found that indicate that the stepmother was not given custody. That leads to some interesting questions and we would want the answers.
4 - Make a research plan. Decide exactly what steps need to be taken next in each of these areas. Some of the kinds of things that might be included would be:
a. Internet searches -
revisit the genealogy sites used previously to see if new collections are available or if something was missed;
additional sites to look at that have not been used previously, such as local historical or genealogical sites, online books, newspapers, etc;
different google criteria that might be used to search, including trying different search engines to see if different results are found
Descendancy research to see if there are descendants of the family still in the area who might be able to add information
b. On site visits -
court house (have a search list prepared so you know exactly what you are looking for)
local history or genealogy societies (many do not have their collections online and may have local experts who know lots of helpful things)
local libraries (often have local newspapers on microfilm, as well)
cemeteries
follow-up on any things you find, including visiting places where the ancestor may have lived
c. Visit the descendants found. They may have family stories, bibles, documents, etc., that they will share with you. You can use a portable scanner or your iPhone to take a picture of the document.
Every research plan will be a little different, but these ideas should help you figure out what needs to be done in your case. Make sure that everything is written out clearly and completely, so that you will not forget what you had in mind when you planned it out. Sometimes it may take years to complete all the possible research. By having the plans for each ancestor organized properly, it is easy to pull out some things to do when you get a chance to travel somewhere.
I would suggest using To Do lists. Have one for each ancestor and another for each geographical location. These are easy to do when kept on the computer. You can then easily pull up the list for a particular county, for instance, and see what ancestors have research plans prepared that need to be researched in that area. Pull up the ancestor research plan and you are all prepared to go!
REMINDER: This was the last class in this course. We will start a new class, probably in September. Watch the bulletin and Facebook to get exact information once it has been decided.
This has been a great class. I hope you have learned something of value. Our initial goals were:
1 - Submit names to the temple - CHECK
2 - Become acquainted with FamilySearch.org - CHECK
3 - Be a good steward of family history (correct & complete) - CHECK
4 - Tell the story - CHECK
5 - Catch the Vision! - CHECK, I hope!!!!
Thursday, June 30, 2016
June 26, 2016 - Unexpected Finds!
Two stories from my own family history experiences today. Both are examples of how we can sometimes get the best help from unexpected sources.
First - One of my grandfathers was born in Sweden. Several years ago, a friend and her husband were serving as missionaries in Sweden. They met a woman who offered to help doing family history research. She told the woman about me and got contact information. I emailed a copy of my grandfather's family group sheet, showing him as a child. I thought I had that information correct, but thought she could help find the next generation back. She responded almost immediately saying that I was missing a child. Sure enough. She sent screen shots from the ArkivDigital, which is the Swedish data base. It turns out that my grandfather's oldest sister, Selma Karolina, had died at the age of 2, just before the birth of the next child. Her cause of death was a fever, probably scarlet fever. Because they went on to have nine more children, and because the loss of that first child was probably so difficult, it would appear that the younger children knew little about her.
I contacted a cousin who is also working on family history and asked if he was aware of the this child. He went through his "Swedish box" and found a handwritten note about a child that died, but did not know enough to have added it to his tree.
Now the family is complete. An unexpected offer of assistance from an unknown person in another country turned out to be the key to finding a lost child. On our next trip to the temple, my husband and I made sure this child was sealed to her parents.
With this story, we also took a minute to talk about working with foreign records. We looked at translate.google.com, which is an easy to use translation program. I have found it especially useful in figuring out the column headings on foreign documents. The translation is word for word, so sometimes long sentences or paragraphs can be confusing, as colloquialisms and nuances of meaning are not caught. It has been of huge help on many occasions.
Second - Many years ago, long before computers were around for genealogy work, I had sent to the city of Williamstown, Vermont, asking for any records on Jedediah Bacon. He was as far as I had gotten on that line. Normally, I would get a letter back saying they had found nothing or that they could send me a copy of what they found when they received a check for whatever amount they charged for such things. In this case, however, I received a big manila envelope. When I opened it, I found a letter from the woman who had done the search. She recognized the name I was working on and was a descendant of his brother. She sent a copy of a presentation that was made to the Williamstown Historical Society about the family. It was packed full of stories and genealogy that greatly expanded on what I already knew. Among other things, I learned about Jedediah's father Edmund, who was a Revolutionary War soldier. He is listed in the DAR database as a patriot. My first patriot connection!
To me, the remarkable thing was that this woman spent the extra time needed to make me a copy and to send it to me. This happened in mid-1970's and the presentation notes had been from 1952. She had to have searched through her files, or files at the library, to find it. I was extremely grateful.
We read a couple of the stories from the presentation. My favorite was about how the apple cider had turned hard over the winter when it froze and it had quite a "kick" when they drank it at the spring meeting.
Working on family history may seem like something we do on our own, but in reality, it is very much a cooperative venture. Without the help from other researchers, our journey would be so much harder. Be grateful for those times when you get to connect with such giving people. And be one of the givers yourself!
It makes the whole journey so much more joyful.
NOTE: Next Sunday, July 3rd, will be the final class. We will start a new class, probably in September. Anyone who wants to sit through it all again is welcome to do so. More information will be announced once everything is set.
First - One of my grandfathers was born in Sweden. Several years ago, a friend and her husband were serving as missionaries in Sweden. They met a woman who offered to help doing family history research. She told the woman about me and got contact information. I emailed a copy of my grandfather's family group sheet, showing him as a child. I thought I had that information correct, but thought she could help find the next generation back. She responded almost immediately saying that I was missing a child. Sure enough. She sent screen shots from the ArkivDigital, which is the Swedish data base. It turns out that my grandfather's oldest sister, Selma Karolina, had died at the age of 2, just before the birth of the next child. Her cause of death was a fever, probably scarlet fever. Because they went on to have nine more children, and because the loss of that first child was probably so difficult, it would appear that the younger children knew little about her.
I contacted a cousin who is also working on family history and asked if he was aware of the this child. He went through his "Swedish box" and found a handwritten note about a child that died, but did not know enough to have added it to his tree.
Now the family is complete. An unexpected offer of assistance from an unknown person in another country turned out to be the key to finding a lost child. On our next trip to the temple, my husband and I made sure this child was sealed to her parents.
With this story, we also took a minute to talk about working with foreign records. We looked at translate.google.com, which is an easy to use translation program. I have found it especially useful in figuring out the column headings on foreign documents. The translation is word for word, so sometimes long sentences or paragraphs can be confusing, as colloquialisms and nuances of meaning are not caught. It has been of huge help on many occasions.
Second - Many years ago, long before computers were around for genealogy work, I had sent to the city of Williamstown, Vermont, asking for any records on Jedediah Bacon. He was as far as I had gotten on that line. Normally, I would get a letter back saying they had found nothing or that they could send me a copy of what they found when they received a check for whatever amount they charged for such things. In this case, however, I received a big manila envelope. When I opened it, I found a letter from the woman who had done the search. She recognized the name I was working on and was a descendant of his brother. She sent a copy of a presentation that was made to the Williamstown Historical Society about the family. It was packed full of stories and genealogy that greatly expanded on what I already knew. Among other things, I learned about Jedediah's father Edmund, who was a Revolutionary War soldier. He is listed in the DAR database as a patriot. My first patriot connection!
To me, the remarkable thing was that this woman spent the extra time needed to make me a copy and to send it to me. This happened in mid-1970's and the presentation notes had been from 1952. She had to have searched through her files, or files at the library, to find it. I was extremely grateful.
We read a couple of the stories from the presentation. My favorite was about how the apple cider had turned hard over the winter when it froze and it had quite a "kick" when they drank it at the spring meeting.
Working on family history may seem like something we do on our own, but in reality, it is very much a cooperative venture. Without the help from other researchers, our journey would be so much harder. Be grateful for those times when you get to connect with such giving people. And be one of the givers yourself!
It makes the whole journey so much more joyful.
NOTE: Next Sunday, July 3rd, will be the final class. We will start a new class, probably in September. Anyone who wants to sit through it all again is welcome to do so. More information will be announced once everything is set.
Monday, June 20, 2016
June 19, 2016 - Newspapers
We started by answering a few questions today.
On FamilySearch, you can send a message to another contributor by clicking on their name on the person page of the individual you are working on. You can send a direct email, if their address shows up, or you can send a message through FS. FS will then message that person to let them know that they have a message on FS. To see if you have received any messages, check the message menu item at the top right of the page. Sometimes people just don't answer, but most of the time they do respond.
FamilySearch is meant to be a tree used for research and sharing, so it is not necessary to have all information fully documented when adding to it. In fact, in many cases, the person may already be in the tree and just needs to be linked to your portion of the tree. When posting information that you are unsure of, there are some ways to indicate that. At the bottom of the Person page, there is a section to add notes. There is also an section to start a discussion. Both can be used to highlight undocumented information.
When merging or changing links, be specific in your message. This is especially important when two people have previously been incorrectly merged. Explain clearly why they are not the same person, so the next user will not repeat the error.
The Other Information section of the Person page is also a place to add extra details about the person. Click on the Add button to see a suggested list of types of items to add. You can also create your own by choosing Custom Event or Custom Fact. Having extra facts can help to clarify when two people have similar names or dates and yet are not the same person.
We spent our last few minutes talking about newspapers. There are several sites that have large collections of newspaper. Many of those sites are pay sites. But, even the big sites do not have every paper that is available online. We looked at two sites that can help us find smaller papers.
The first, smalltownpapers.com, was an example of how some sites have very small collections. But, if the paper you want is among them, it can be a goldmine.
TheAncestorHunt.com is a site that links to dozens of newspapers sites. It is an excellent source to find small town papers by category (Jewish, African American, etc.) and also by location. Make a choice (we used Iowa for our example) and you get a long list of papers and the links so they can be viewed online. We searched for the newspaper from the small town where I grew up, West Union, Fayette County: "rosemary nelson" (in quotes so both names would appear in the results) and chose the year 1957 to start. There were 66 results. The local paper included school news from every grade, scouts of all kinds, local sports, and every small piece of gossip (oops, wrong word- Ha) activities of interest (is that better?). We found my 10th birthday party listed, as an example.
These kinds of bits and pieces of information can really help fill in the story of our ancestors, as we learn some of the things they were doing. Have fun looking for some of your family stories!
On FamilySearch, you can send a message to another contributor by clicking on their name on the person page of the individual you are working on. You can send a direct email, if their address shows up, or you can send a message through FS. FS will then message that person to let them know that they have a message on FS. To see if you have received any messages, check the message menu item at the top right of the page. Sometimes people just don't answer, but most of the time they do respond.
FamilySearch is meant to be a tree used for research and sharing, so it is not necessary to have all information fully documented when adding to it. In fact, in many cases, the person may already be in the tree and just needs to be linked to your portion of the tree. When posting information that you are unsure of, there are some ways to indicate that. At the bottom of the Person page, there is a section to add notes. There is also an section to start a discussion. Both can be used to highlight undocumented information.
When merging or changing links, be specific in your message. This is especially important when two people have previously been incorrectly merged. Explain clearly why they are not the same person, so the next user will not repeat the error.
The Other Information section of the Person page is also a place to add extra details about the person. Click on the Add button to see a suggested list of types of items to add. You can also create your own by choosing Custom Event or Custom Fact. Having extra facts can help to clarify when two people have similar names or dates and yet are not the same person.
We spent our last few minutes talking about newspapers. There are several sites that have large collections of newspaper. Many of those sites are pay sites. But, even the big sites do not have every paper that is available online. We looked at two sites that can help us find smaller papers.
The first, smalltownpapers.com, was an example of how some sites have very small collections. But, if the paper you want is among them, it can be a goldmine.
TheAncestorHunt.com is a site that links to dozens of newspapers sites. It is an excellent source to find small town papers by category (Jewish, African American, etc.) and also by location. Make a choice (we used Iowa for our example) and you get a long list of papers and the links so they can be viewed online. We searched for the newspaper from the small town where I grew up, West Union, Fayette County: "rosemary nelson" (in quotes so both names would appear in the results) and chose the year 1957 to start. There were 66 results. The local paper included school news from every grade, scouts of all kinds, local sports, and every small piece of gossip (oops, wrong word- Ha) activities of interest (is that better?). We found my 10th birthday party listed, as an example.
These kinds of bits and pieces of information can really help fill in the story of our ancestors, as we learn some of the things they were doing. Have fun looking for some of your family stories!
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
June 12, 2016 - Henry Andrew Smith & Timelines
We finished the story of Henry Andrew Smith, my 2x great grandfather. He was born in Ohio, went to Pennsylvania at age 17 to learn to be a blacksmith, joined the army in Ohio, went to Kentucky for training, was discharged 3 weeks later, got married in Ohio, moved to Wisconsin, went to northeast Iowa to homestead, returned to Wisconsin, joined the army during Civil War, homesteaded in northwest Iowa when discharged, and lived there the rest of his life. Oops, so why is there a death certificate from Oregon?
In a local history book that was published in 1981 for the centennial of the town of Burt, it indicates that Henry is buried with his wife in a small township cemetery in Burt, Kossuth, Iowa. But, the death certificate says he is buried in Oregon. This really emphasizes the point that we need to look closely at all sources we find to determine if they are accurate. In this case, the story would have been as told by one of the descendants and, at best, a distant secondary source. The death certificate, on the other hand, is a primary record for his death, as it was created at the time the event occurred by the doctor who was present. There were a lot of things to look at on that certificate. The informant (the person giving the information to the clerk) was his daughter, with whom he was living at the time of his death. Her information about his birth and parents was second-hand, but was reliable, because of her close connection to Henry. In fact, all her information matches what had previously been found on other records. The death certificate also indicates that he was buried in Oregon. A little more digging produced a picture of the gravestone on Find-A-Grave, including the plaque about his Civil War service.
The conclusion was pretty obvious - he was buried in Oregon, where he had died while living with his daughter. Following up some of the other records, we discovered that he was living in Iowa with his daughter as late as 1910 census. He appears in the Iowa census in 1915. He died in Oregon in 1918, at age 89. Some further research is needed to determine when the daughter moved to Oregon. Is she in the 1915 Iowa census? Did she move and then bring him out to live with her? Did he go with her at the time she moved?
Using a timeline, it is much easier to see all the pieces of the information and to evaluate them relative to each other. I like using Excel to create my timelines. The columns were: age, event, date, location, source, notes. Every event was then listed in chronological order. Questions or problems were added in red on the next line. Excel makes it easy to add and/or delete lines and columns and to move things around, as needed. I print it out and then work with it. I can then go back in and make the changes that I have found.
The results:
1 - All the information was organized.
2 - Events were put into a graphic that were easier to evaluate.
3 - Errors were found.
4 - Missing pieces were noted.
5 - Conflicting information was obvious.
6 - The next steps in research became apparent.
7 - With everything organized and completed, the story is ready to be written.
Timelines are one of many ways to help organize and evaluate the information that you have found.
In a local history book that was published in 1981 for the centennial of the town of Burt, it indicates that Henry is buried with his wife in a small township cemetery in Burt, Kossuth, Iowa. But, the death certificate says he is buried in Oregon. This really emphasizes the point that we need to look closely at all sources we find to determine if they are accurate. In this case, the story would have been as told by one of the descendants and, at best, a distant secondary source. The death certificate, on the other hand, is a primary record for his death, as it was created at the time the event occurred by the doctor who was present. There were a lot of things to look at on that certificate. The informant (the person giving the information to the clerk) was his daughter, with whom he was living at the time of his death. Her information about his birth and parents was second-hand, but was reliable, because of her close connection to Henry. In fact, all her information matches what had previously been found on other records. The death certificate also indicates that he was buried in Oregon. A little more digging produced a picture of the gravestone on Find-A-Grave, including the plaque about his Civil War service.
The conclusion was pretty obvious - he was buried in Oregon, where he had died while living with his daughter. Following up some of the other records, we discovered that he was living in Iowa with his daughter as late as 1910 census. He appears in the Iowa census in 1915. He died in Oregon in 1918, at age 89. Some further research is needed to determine when the daughter moved to Oregon. Is she in the 1915 Iowa census? Did she move and then bring him out to live with her? Did he go with her at the time she moved?
Using a timeline, it is much easier to see all the pieces of the information and to evaluate them relative to each other. I like using Excel to create my timelines. The columns were: age, event, date, location, source, notes. Every event was then listed in chronological order. Questions or problems were added in red on the next line. Excel makes it easy to add and/or delete lines and columns and to move things around, as needed. I print it out and then work with it. I can then go back in and make the changes that I have found.
The results:
1 - All the information was organized.
2 - Events were put into a graphic that were easier to evaluate.
3 - Errors were found.
4 - Missing pieces were noted.
5 - Conflicting information was obvious.
6 - The next steps in research became apparent.
7 - With everything organized and completed, the story is ready to be written.
Timelines are one of many ways to help organize and evaluate the information that you have found.
Thursday, June 9, 2016
June 5, 2016 - Immigration, continued/Time Lines
We reviewed some of the things we talked about last week regarding my grandfather's immigration records. We need to be patient. Sometimes it takes a long time to find just what we are looking for. In the meantime, we take hints from everything we do find. There are times when putting the hints together will be the only way to tell the story.
I commented on how helpful the Danish American Genealogy Facebook group was, because they shared lots of information. I would eventually have figured it out myself, but their help made it so much easier. One of the students wanted to know what FB groups I followed. I will make a list at the end of the blog.
We discussed how, although most immigrants came through New York, there were many other ports that also were points of entry - Boston, Charleston, Baltimore, New Orleans, for example. There were also many who came in through Canada. Ellis Island was the second facility used for processing immigrants. Prior to that, Crystal Gardens was used. We also talked about how most name changes did not occur at Ellis Island (or other points of entry), because the process usually involved checking the names off the passenger list. Name changes were generally made later, either when other paperwork was done, or simply because the immigrant wanted a more American name. Remember, though, that each situation is unique.
We then moved on to our story for today. I shared the story of my 2x-great-grandfather Henry Andrew Smith. I had found a lot of records about him, including many census records, state census records, military records, land records, and others, even his story from a book. In fact, I had so many bits and pieces of information that it was hard to put them all together. So, I created a timeline. We will talk more next week about that. We ended the story with how, after living years in Iowa, he died in Oregon. Oregon? Yes. See you next week for the rest of that story!
Some of the FaceBook groups/pages that I follow:
GAA (Genealogy Addicts Anonymous)
Genealogy - Improving Your Searches
Genedocs Templates
31 Days to Better Genealogy
Dear Myrtle
The Organized Genealogist
Genealogy Tip of the Day
Genealogy - Cite Your Sources
I also follow several that are specific geographical sites - like Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Scandinavia, Midwest, Georgia, etc.
There are several others, as well, but some are not as good as others. Lest it sound overwhelming, some do not have posts that often. Others I just skim very quickly to see if I might be interested. If so, I usually just Save that post and go back and look at it later. (Save a FB post by clicking on the down arrow at the top of the post box and click on Save Link. Saved is one of the menu options to the left side, so you can find them later.)
To find pages that are about what you are interested in, put the search criteria in the Search Facebook box at the top of the page and look at options. Some groups you just have to Like to be included, others require you to request to be part of the group. Some have gotten so large that they are not allowing new people to join. Don't worry about it, though, as there are plenty of other groups.
See everyone next week when we will solve the mystery of the ancestor who appeared to die in Oregon after living in Iowa until he was over 80 years old!
EDIT: I forgot the FaceBook page of the group that I am part of: Genealogy Study Group - Lawrenceville GA. We meet every 3rd Wednesday at 10:00 at the LDS Church on Sugarloaf Parkway. It is an open group - meaning anyone from the community is invited and there are no dues or membership fees.
I commented on how helpful the Danish American Genealogy Facebook group was, because they shared lots of information. I would eventually have figured it out myself, but their help made it so much easier. One of the students wanted to know what FB groups I followed. I will make a list at the end of the blog.
We discussed how, although most immigrants came through New York, there were many other ports that also were points of entry - Boston, Charleston, Baltimore, New Orleans, for example. There were also many who came in through Canada. Ellis Island was the second facility used for processing immigrants. Prior to that, Crystal Gardens was used. We also talked about how most name changes did not occur at Ellis Island (or other points of entry), because the process usually involved checking the names off the passenger list. Name changes were generally made later, either when other paperwork was done, or simply because the immigrant wanted a more American name. Remember, though, that each situation is unique.
We then moved on to our story for today. I shared the story of my 2x-great-grandfather Henry Andrew Smith. I had found a lot of records about him, including many census records, state census records, military records, land records, and others, even his story from a book. In fact, I had so many bits and pieces of information that it was hard to put them all together. So, I created a timeline. We will talk more next week about that. We ended the story with how, after living years in Iowa, he died in Oregon. Oregon? Yes. See you next week for the rest of that story!
Some of the FaceBook groups/pages that I follow:
GAA (Genealogy Addicts Anonymous)
Genealogy - Improving Your Searches
Genedocs Templates
31 Days to Better Genealogy
Dear Myrtle
The Organized Genealogist
Genealogy Tip of the Day
Genealogy - Cite Your Sources
I also follow several that are specific geographical sites - like Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, Scandinavia, Midwest, Georgia, etc.
There are several others, as well, but some are not as good as others. Lest it sound overwhelming, some do not have posts that often. Others I just skim very quickly to see if I might be interested. If so, I usually just Save that post and go back and look at it later. (Save a FB post by clicking on the down arrow at the top of the post box and click on Save Link. Saved is one of the menu options to the left side, so you can find them later.)
To find pages that are about what you are interested in, put the search criteria in the Search Facebook box at the top of the page and look at options. Some groups you just have to Like to be included, others require you to request to be part of the group. Some have gotten so large that they are not allowing new people to join. Don't worry about it, though, as there are plenty of other groups.
See everyone next week when we will solve the mystery of the ancestor who appeared to die in Oregon after living in Iowa until he was over 80 years old!
EDIT: I forgot the FaceBook page of the group that I am part of: Genealogy Study Group - Lawrenceville GA. We meet every 3rd Wednesday at 10:00 at the LDS Church on Sugarloaf Parkway. It is an open group - meaning anyone from the community is invited and there are no dues or membership fees.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
May 29, 2016 - Immigration Story
Our lesson this week was based on a recent experience I had regarding one of my grandfathers. Iver William Nelson was about 9 years old when he emigrated from Denmark with his family about 1903. I had known the basics of their story for many years, based to a large degree on the story told by his youngest sister Camille to my uncle. I have a copy of that story.
Basically, the father came to Iowa in 1903 to see if it would be a place to bring his family. He had gone with enough money to return to Denmark, if it didn't turn out to be what he wanted. He decided to stay, so sent for his two oldest sons to come to help him get a home ready. He then sent for his wife and the six youngest children, including my grandfather. Finally, the two oldest sisters came. There are a number of stories about their experiences.
For several years, I have searched for the passenger lists that would have been used to let them enter the United States. I had found the father, the two oldest boys, and one of the daughters. However, I had never been able to find my grandfather, his mother, and five other siblings, who all traveled together.
While updating a tree on Ancestry.com, I discovered a new hint on my grandfather's page. It directed me to a website that contained something called the DDD Emigration List. As I looked at it, I could see that the whole family was listed, individually, but all in sequence. It appeared that it was a list of people who were leaving Denmark and had bought tickets. It was with the Copenhagen police. Name, age, where born, where resided, final destination, date, and name of ship were some of the information listed. I knew I had the right family, as names and ages all matched, plus they were going to Ogden, Iowa. There was not a way to print just the portion of the list that I wanted, so I did a copy and paste and saved it to Word. I also copied and pasted the name of the site so I could find it again, if needed.
My one big questions was about the name of the ship. It said Indirekte and I was almost positive that meant that they were not sailing directly from Denmark, but were taking another ship to reach another port, most likely Liverpool. I wanted to be sure, so I turned to my FaceBook page. One of the groups I follow is Danish American Genealogy. I posted a brief description of what I found, what I thought, and asked if I was correct. I got a ton of responses. Yes, it meant that they had sailed from Denmark, but did not go directly to the US.
I also learned that this was a registry that was required. Every one who purchased a ticket from an agent was listed with the Copenhagen police. The purpose was to keep the agents honest. There had been a problem previously with agents taking the money for tickets and then disappearing. The responses also indicated that the people did not necessarily sail from Copenhagen, but could have left from any Danish port. Someone asked where my people lived and I told them Herning, which is up in the peninsula area and quite a long ways from Copenhagen. That meant they probably traveled from Herning to Esbjerg and then sailed from there. Most likely, they would have sailed to Hull, which is near Liverpool. Several people gave me links to sites that covered lots of things related to my questions.
Eventually, since I now had exact information, I found them on the passenger lists at Ellis Island and Ancestry.com. I posted my success and several people posted more links and information, including about the ship they sailed on. There was even a link to another site that might help me find them on the ship that sailed from Esbjerg to Hull. Tons of information and tons of help. I follow a lot of genealogy pages and skim through them quickly, but sometimes I find a ton of information that I would have spent hours looking for. FB can be a great tool.
Following are some of the things we talked about in class, related to my story:
1 - Creating a GEDCOM file (I had created a new tree on Ancestry.com from a GEDCOM that I made from RootsMagic. That is what started this whole thing.)
From RootsMagic: File, Export, click what you want to be in the GEDCOM file, OK, Name and Save to your hard drive. You can then upload the file to a website or send it to someone else.
To create a new tree on Ancestry.com using a GEDcom: Trees, Create & Manage Trees, bottom of page to Upload a GEDCOM file, Browse to found the file on your hard drive, give it a name and description, accept Submission Agreement, Upload.
To create a new tree on Ancestry.com from FamilySearch: Trees, Import Tree from FamilySearch, sign in to FS, name the tree, indicate whether you want it public or private, Save. This GEDCOM will cover only five or six generations.
2 - ellisisland.org - (I went here to try to find the name of the ship and the date of arrival in NY.) This is a free website and has the names of the people who passed through Ellis Island. You can search by name, but since so many names are so common, you may get dozens of pages to look through. After trying several of the names from the DDD Emigration, I found one of the children. I could see the passenger list and the family was all there. I was also able to see the name of the ship and the date they arrived in New York. Because the names, ages, final destination, and person who would meet them all matched what I already knew, I am confident it is the correct family. I printed a copy of the passenger list, although it does not let you print a large copy. You can order one, if you want.
3 - Searching Ancestry.com for the passenger list - I had not been able to find the list based on the names, but now that I had the ship name and date of arrival, I was able to search differently. Search, Immigration & Travel, Passenger Lists (on the right, under Narrow by Category), New York Passenger Lists (under Featured Data Collections), and then under Browse the Collection, choose Date, year, month, day, ship. The passenger list for that ship that arrived in New York on that date will appear. I then had to look through each page until I found the family. To print the page, go to the tools symbol on right side (looks kind of like an X). Then Print, Entire Image, also click on source data, Continue, follow print page. You can also zoom in on the information you want to see better. Print again, only choose Print zoomed view. I always print the full page and the citation. I also printed a zoom of their names and also the section of the page that showed where they were going and who would meet them.
4 - Printing a picture of the ship - (Since I now knew the name of the ship, it seemed like a good idea!)
Search, Immigration & Travel, Ship Pictures and Description (under Narrow by Category), Passenger Ships and Images (under Featured Data Collections), first letter of ship name, choose ship name, choose date range for immigration, choose an image to print.
I barely got into this story. I wanted to share all the things that happened to them with their crossing.
Basically, the father came to Iowa in 1903 to see if it would be a place to bring his family. He had gone with enough money to return to Denmark, if it didn't turn out to be what he wanted. He decided to stay, so sent for his two oldest sons to come to help him get a home ready. He then sent for his wife and the six youngest children, including my grandfather. Finally, the two oldest sisters came. There are a number of stories about their experiences.
For several years, I have searched for the passenger lists that would have been used to let them enter the United States. I had found the father, the two oldest boys, and one of the daughters. However, I had never been able to find my grandfather, his mother, and five other siblings, who all traveled together.
While updating a tree on Ancestry.com, I discovered a new hint on my grandfather's page. It directed me to a website that contained something called the DDD Emigration List. As I looked at it, I could see that the whole family was listed, individually, but all in sequence. It appeared that it was a list of people who were leaving Denmark and had bought tickets. It was with the Copenhagen police. Name, age, where born, where resided, final destination, date, and name of ship were some of the information listed. I knew I had the right family, as names and ages all matched, plus they were going to Ogden, Iowa. There was not a way to print just the portion of the list that I wanted, so I did a copy and paste and saved it to Word. I also copied and pasted the name of the site so I could find it again, if needed.
My one big questions was about the name of the ship. It said Indirekte and I was almost positive that meant that they were not sailing directly from Denmark, but were taking another ship to reach another port, most likely Liverpool. I wanted to be sure, so I turned to my FaceBook page. One of the groups I follow is Danish American Genealogy. I posted a brief description of what I found, what I thought, and asked if I was correct. I got a ton of responses. Yes, it meant that they had sailed from Denmark, but did not go directly to the US.
I also learned that this was a registry that was required. Every one who purchased a ticket from an agent was listed with the Copenhagen police. The purpose was to keep the agents honest. There had been a problem previously with agents taking the money for tickets and then disappearing. The responses also indicated that the people did not necessarily sail from Copenhagen, but could have left from any Danish port. Someone asked where my people lived and I told them Herning, which is up in the peninsula area and quite a long ways from Copenhagen. That meant they probably traveled from Herning to Esbjerg and then sailed from there. Most likely, they would have sailed to Hull, which is near Liverpool. Several people gave me links to sites that covered lots of things related to my questions.
Eventually, since I now had exact information, I found them on the passenger lists at Ellis Island and Ancestry.com. I posted my success and several people posted more links and information, including about the ship they sailed on. There was even a link to another site that might help me find them on the ship that sailed from Esbjerg to Hull. Tons of information and tons of help. I follow a lot of genealogy pages and skim through them quickly, but sometimes I find a ton of information that I would have spent hours looking for. FB can be a great tool.
Following are some of the things we talked about in class, related to my story:
1 - Creating a GEDCOM file (I had created a new tree on Ancestry.com from a GEDCOM that I made from RootsMagic. That is what started this whole thing.)
From RootsMagic: File, Export, click what you want to be in the GEDCOM file, OK, Name and Save to your hard drive. You can then upload the file to a website or send it to someone else.
To create a new tree on Ancestry.com using a GEDcom: Trees, Create & Manage Trees, bottom of page to Upload a GEDCOM file, Browse to found the file on your hard drive, give it a name and description, accept Submission Agreement, Upload.
To create a new tree on Ancestry.com from FamilySearch: Trees, Import Tree from FamilySearch, sign in to FS, name the tree, indicate whether you want it public or private, Save. This GEDCOM will cover only five or six generations.
2 - ellisisland.org - (I went here to try to find the name of the ship and the date of arrival in NY.) This is a free website and has the names of the people who passed through Ellis Island. You can search by name, but since so many names are so common, you may get dozens of pages to look through. After trying several of the names from the DDD Emigration, I found one of the children. I could see the passenger list and the family was all there. I was also able to see the name of the ship and the date they arrived in New York. Because the names, ages, final destination, and person who would meet them all matched what I already knew, I am confident it is the correct family. I printed a copy of the passenger list, although it does not let you print a large copy. You can order one, if you want.
3 - Searching Ancestry.com for the passenger list - I had not been able to find the list based on the names, but now that I had the ship name and date of arrival, I was able to search differently. Search, Immigration & Travel, Passenger Lists (on the right, under Narrow by Category), New York Passenger Lists (under Featured Data Collections), and then under Browse the Collection, choose Date, year, month, day, ship. The passenger list for that ship that arrived in New York on that date will appear. I then had to look through each page until I found the family. To print the page, go to the tools symbol on right side (looks kind of like an X). Then Print, Entire Image, also click on source data, Continue, follow print page. You can also zoom in on the information you want to see better. Print again, only choose Print zoomed view. I always print the full page and the citation. I also printed a zoom of their names and also the section of the page that showed where they were going and who would meet them.
4 - Printing a picture of the ship - (Since I now knew the name of the ship, it seemed like a good idea!)
Search, Immigration & Travel, Ship Pictures and Description (under Narrow by Category), Passenger Ships and Images (under Featured Data Collections), first letter of ship name, choose ship name, choose date range for immigration, choose an image to print.
I barely got into this story. I wanted to share all the things that happened to them with their crossing.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
May 1, 2016 - Reserving Temple Ordinances
Today we worked on the temple ordinance process. There are several ways to find and reserve ordinances.
1 - From the Pedigree chart, look for green temple symbols. Those indicate that there is an ordinance that is ready to reserved for someone in that family. Click on the temple symbol, and it will open a box. An ordinance code in green means it is ready to be reserved. If it is a possible duplicate, there will be a message. Be sure to check the duplicates before reserving. Also, if the individual was born within the last 110 years, there will be a message. In order to reserve such an ordinance, you must have permission from an immediate family member.
2 - From the Person page, click on the Ordinance tab, under the name at the top of the page. I do this each time I finish working on a person. If there is temple ordinance work ready, I can reserve it right then.
3 - From the Pedigree chart, choose any ancestor. Those born in the early 1800's may be the most likely to have descendants who need ordinance work done. Click on the name you choose. Then click on Tree in the box that appears. That will put this person at the center of the pedigree chart. Then switch the pedigree view to descendancy, which is the fourth symbol. That opens a chart with the chosen individual at the top. His/her spouse and all the children will appear. Any individual with a gray arrow pointing to the right has more descendants. Go through the list, checking to the right column for a green temple. I find it easiest to go down the list one name at a time, opening the arrow to the right whenever it appears. That way I don't miss anyone.
4 - I reserve most of my temple ordinances from RootsMagic. Go to File, then FamilySearch Central, then log in to FS from the page that opens. Choose the option for names of people who are ready for temple ordinances. A list of names appears on the left of the screen. Click on the name to be checked. FS info appears on the right and RM info on left. You can see if the ordinances have been completed and move the information to RM. Or you reserve them by checking the ordinances and then the Reserve box.
Regardless of how you find the names to be reserved, there are some important rules to follow.
1 - Any one born within the last 110 years must have permission from immediate family. Immediate family is defined as spouse, parents, children, or siblings. Notice that is not grandchildren or nieces and nephews.
2 - You must be related to the individual you are requesting. In other words, you have added them to your tree. The only exception is if you are sure they belong in your tree, but you have not found the link yet. For instance, you visit a cemetery and find a family plot. There are a couple of gravestones there with the same family name, but you do not know how they fit in the family. You may go ahead and do their work. However, you cannot just walk around the cemetery and gather random names to do.
3 - You may not do famous people or Jewish holocaust victims or survivors, unless you are the immediate family.
4 - Always make sure you have checked for duplicates before reserving any ordinance work. We do not want to repeat work that has already been done.
We also talked about the Temple Tab at the top of the page, to the far right. This tab only appears in accounts for LDS members. It is where all your reserved names are kept so you can get the work completed. There are five categories.
1 - All Reserved. This lists every name you have reserved.
2 - Not Printed. This lists all the names that have been reserved, but have not yet been printed. When you are ready to print them, just follow the instructions. You can now print the cards at home.
3 - Printed. These are the names that have been printed and you are in the process of completing.
4 - Shared. These are the names that you have shared with another person or with the temple.
5 - Opportunities. This shows a list of people, back to your great-great grandparents, who are ready for temple ordinance work to be reserved.
As soon as work is done at the temple, your lists will be updated with the date an ordinance is completed. Once all the work is done, the name will drop out of your Temple lists.
I will be out of town next week, so there will not be a class. We will be back again on the 15th.
1 - From the Pedigree chart, look for green temple symbols. Those indicate that there is an ordinance that is ready to reserved for someone in that family. Click on the temple symbol, and it will open a box. An ordinance code in green means it is ready to be reserved. If it is a possible duplicate, there will be a message. Be sure to check the duplicates before reserving. Also, if the individual was born within the last 110 years, there will be a message. In order to reserve such an ordinance, you must have permission from an immediate family member.
2 - From the Person page, click on the Ordinance tab, under the name at the top of the page. I do this each time I finish working on a person. If there is temple ordinance work ready, I can reserve it right then.
3 - From the Pedigree chart, choose any ancestor. Those born in the early 1800's may be the most likely to have descendants who need ordinance work done. Click on the name you choose. Then click on Tree in the box that appears. That will put this person at the center of the pedigree chart. Then switch the pedigree view to descendancy, which is the fourth symbol. That opens a chart with the chosen individual at the top. His/her spouse and all the children will appear. Any individual with a gray arrow pointing to the right has more descendants. Go through the list, checking to the right column for a green temple. I find it easiest to go down the list one name at a time, opening the arrow to the right whenever it appears. That way I don't miss anyone.
4 - I reserve most of my temple ordinances from RootsMagic. Go to File, then FamilySearch Central, then log in to FS from the page that opens. Choose the option for names of people who are ready for temple ordinances. A list of names appears on the left of the screen. Click on the name to be checked. FS info appears on the right and RM info on left. You can see if the ordinances have been completed and move the information to RM. Or you reserve them by checking the ordinances and then the Reserve box.
Regardless of how you find the names to be reserved, there are some important rules to follow.
1 - Any one born within the last 110 years must have permission from immediate family. Immediate family is defined as spouse, parents, children, or siblings. Notice that is not grandchildren or nieces and nephews.
2 - You must be related to the individual you are requesting. In other words, you have added them to your tree. The only exception is if you are sure they belong in your tree, but you have not found the link yet. For instance, you visit a cemetery and find a family plot. There are a couple of gravestones there with the same family name, but you do not know how they fit in the family. You may go ahead and do their work. However, you cannot just walk around the cemetery and gather random names to do.
3 - You may not do famous people or Jewish holocaust victims or survivors, unless you are the immediate family.
4 - Always make sure you have checked for duplicates before reserving any ordinance work. We do not want to repeat work that has already been done.
We also talked about the Temple Tab at the top of the page, to the far right. This tab only appears in accounts for LDS members. It is where all your reserved names are kept so you can get the work completed. There are five categories.
1 - All Reserved. This lists every name you have reserved.
2 - Not Printed. This lists all the names that have been reserved, but have not yet been printed. When you are ready to print them, just follow the instructions. You can now print the cards at home.
3 - Printed. These are the names that have been printed and you are in the process of completing.
4 - Shared. These are the names that you have shared with another person or with the temple.
5 - Opportunities. This shows a list of people, back to your great-great grandparents, who are ready for temple ordinance work to be reserved.
As soon as work is done at the temple, your lists will be updated with the date an ordinance is completed. Once all the work is done, the name will drop out of your Temple lists.
I will be out of town next week, so there will not be a class. We will be back again on the 15th.
Monday, April 18, 2016
April 17, 2016 - Source Hints
We had a small class today, but we still worked on hints for sources. We looked at three different ways to find sources.
First:
On the Pedigree chart page, the symbol for Hints is the light blue color. Click on the icon and it will show you the list of hints. We found our example person had three hints. The first one was for the 1900 US census. I checked in my RootsMagic file and saw that I had already found this source in Ancestry, but it had not been added to FamilySearch.
Since it was a correct source that we wanted to add, we clicked on the name in the hint, which is blue. That opened the information page about that source. Looking at it, we could see that it was indeed the same record that I had previously found.
So, we clicked on Review and Attach. The page that then opened had the information from the record on the left and the information currently in FamilySearch on the right.
We compared each line and made sure that what we wanted to show up in FS was moved to that side of the page.
We added a reason why this source was correct. In this case, it was pretty clear that it was correct, so our message just said, "Names, ages, location match other known information."
Finally, we hit the Attach button.
We were also able to add the same document to other individuals who were mentioned in the source. We just followed the same procedure.
If the source had not been correct, we would have clicked on Not a Match and put the reason that it was not a match.
Second:
We went into the Person Page. The Hints are at the top of the right hand column. Only three hints show at a time, but more will appear as one is attached and removed from the list. To see the full list, click on See Details.
The procedure for adding a source from the Person page is exactly the same as from the pedigree chart page.
Third:
There was a hint about FindAGrave. Instead of accessing it through the hint option, we decided to search for it. We learned some interesting things. We knew that the FindAGrave link was there, but when it didn't appear, we had to search for it.
The search box is under the hint box. Click on which website you wish to search. All the hints are from records that are on FamilySearch, so we clicked on FamilySearch to look for this grave record.
As we scrolled down the list, there was no FindAGrave listing at all. In our example, we were working with a female name, so in the search criteria on the left, we changed the maiden name to the married name.
The second search still did not bring up what we were looking for, although we found a lot of new sources. We then added a death date and place and tried the search again. This time the FindAGrave source was at the top of the list. We were able to add this source exactly the same as we had added the other sources.
It is important to try different combinations of information when doing a search. Had we not known the source was there because of the hint, and if we had only done the first search, we would not have found what we wanted. By trying different things, we were able to find additional records.
FindAGrave:
We took a few minutes and looked at the site since we were there anyway. Not all of the memorials have pictures of the grave stone, although that is their goal. The biography and links information on the first page is only as reliable as the person who added it. Use it for hints, but there are a lot of errors, so don't just accept it as true. If there is a picture, though, it can be a wonderful chance to see the stone without having to travel great distances.
NEXT WEEK:
There will not be a class next week, because of the Relief Society Visiting Teaching Conference, which will take the last two hours.
First:
On the Pedigree chart page, the symbol for Hints is the light blue color. Click on the icon and it will show you the list of hints. We found our example person had three hints. The first one was for the 1900 US census. I checked in my RootsMagic file and saw that I had already found this source in Ancestry, but it had not been added to FamilySearch.
Since it was a correct source that we wanted to add, we clicked on the name in the hint, which is blue. That opened the information page about that source. Looking at it, we could see that it was indeed the same record that I had previously found.
So, we clicked on Review and Attach. The page that then opened had the information from the record on the left and the information currently in FamilySearch on the right.
We compared each line and made sure that what we wanted to show up in FS was moved to that side of the page.
We added a reason why this source was correct. In this case, it was pretty clear that it was correct, so our message just said, "Names, ages, location match other known information."
Finally, we hit the Attach button.
We were also able to add the same document to other individuals who were mentioned in the source. We just followed the same procedure.
If the source had not been correct, we would have clicked on Not a Match and put the reason that it was not a match.
Second:
We went into the Person Page. The Hints are at the top of the right hand column. Only three hints show at a time, but more will appear as one is attached and removed from the list. To see the full list, click on See Details.
The procedure for adding a source from the Person page is exactly the same as from the pedigree chart page.
Third:
There was a hint about FindAGrave. Instead of accessing it through the hint option, we decided to search for it. We learned some interesting things. We knew that the FindAGrave link was there, but when it didn't appear, we had to search for it.
The search box is under the hint box. Click on which website you wish to search. All the hints are from records that are on FamilySearch, so we clicked on FamilySearch to look for this grave record.
As we scrolled down the list, there was no FindAGrave listing at all. In our example, we were working with a female name, so in the search criteria on the left, we changed the maiden name to the married name.
The second search still did not bring up what we were looking for, although we found a lot of new sources. We then added a death date and place and tried the search again. This time the FindAGrave source was at the top of the list. We were able to add this source exactly the same as we had added the other sources.
It is important to try different combinations of information when doing a search. Had we not known the source was there because of the hint, and if we had only done the first search, we would not have found what we wanted. By trying different things, we were able to find additional records.
FindAGrave:
We took a few minutes and looked at the site since we were there anyway. Not all of the memorials have pictures of the grave stone, although that is their goal. The biography and links information on the first page is only as reliable as the person who added it. Use it for hints, but there are a lot of errors, so don't just accept it as true. If there is a picture, though, it can be a wonderful chance to see the stone without having to travel great distances.
NEXT WEEK:
There will not be a class next week, because of the Relief Society Visiting Teaching Conference, which will take the last two hours.
Friday, April 15, 2016
April 10, 2016 - Person Page: Marriage Relationships/Child Relationships; Linking Ancestry.com and FamilySearch
We did a quick review of what we had worked on last week. I also shared a couple of things that I worked on during the week.
First, on the example we used last week, I did not think that John Wilmot was the correct father for my Eli, even though that is what shows in FS. So I did a little research. I was able to find the marriage of my Eli in Georgia in 1829. I also found a marriage for another Eli Wilmot in Connecticut in 1828. It is not likely that they are the same person. It puts further weight to my argument, since the birth record of Eli that shows John as the father occurred in CT. I still have not found a birth or early record for my Eli in NY, so I did not change the Family Tree. However, I did add a note in the Note section explaining what I had found and my opinion.
Secondly, I brought the Watch List email that I got this week. There were five names listed, on three of which I had made the changes. The other two I had looked up to see the change. In one case, sources had been added and I found that I already had those sources. I also had additional sources, so I spent a little time adding those sources to FS, as well.
In our example for our lesson, there was a hint that there was a non-standardized marriage place, so that is where we started. To work on a marriage relationship, go to the Family section of the Person page. To the right of the name of the husband and wife is a symbol that looks like a pencil and a pad of paper. Click on that. The pop-up page shows a section for the husband, a section for the wife, a section for marriage events, and a section for sources. We were interested in the Marriage Events section. We discovered that there were a number of dates/places listed, all of them the same basic information. Since they were all the same, and we only needed to have one, we deleted the extras.
To delete a Marriage Event:
Click on the Event
Click on Delete at the right of the box
Enter a reason for deleting. In our case, we just put "Duplicate entry."
Click the Delete button.
On the one date/place left, we needed to standardize the date and place. This was done just like we did the birth and death dates last time. Click Edit, enter the date or place, choose the correct entry from the standardized list, add a reason (standardized date and place), save.
The same process works for child/parent relationships. Click on the pencil symbol by the child, edit Father, Mother, and Child as needed. Use the Remove option to undo the link between child and parents. Remember that there are three links: husband to wife, child to mother, child to father. To get the spouse and child relationships correct, all three must be linked properly.
We then went to Ancestry.com and found our example on my family tree there. In Ancestry, the tree opens on the pedigree page. We found the person we wanted, clicked on the name, and then on Profile. That brings us to his personal information page. Since we were interested in linking to FS from Ancestry, we did the following:
Click on the tree looking symbol next to the word "search" in the upper right side of the page.
Sign in to FamilySearch
When linked, a blue check mark appears next to the tree symbol.
Click the tree symbol again.
Click on Compare Person on Family Search
Choose the person that matches
You then have two columns: FS information is on the left and Ancestry information is on the right.
You can compare line by line.
You can click on any piece of information that you want to add either way (FS to Ancestry or Ancestry
to FS).
Be sure that the information is correct. It is very easy to move information from one place to another by
making an assumption - that can get you in big trouble. I check what I have in RootsMagic first,
since that is the only source I have confidence in.
When finished, click on Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
I think that covers most of what we did. Next week I said we would start on actually searching for documents. Unless I change my mind, of course! You never know what I might do next!!
First, on the example we used last week, I did not think that John Wilmot was the correct father for my Eli, even though that is what shows in FS. So I did a little research. I was able to find the marriage of my Eli in Georgia in 1829. I also found a marriage for another Eli Wilmot in Connecticut in 1828. It is not likely that they are the same person. It puts further weight to my argument, since the birth record of Eli that shows John as the father occurred in CT. I still have not found a birth or early record for my Eli in NY, so I did not change the Family Tree. However, I did add a note in the Note section explaining what I had found and my opinion.
Secondly, I brought the Watch List email that I got this week. There were five names listed, on three of which I had made the changes. The other two I had looked up to see the change. In one case, sources had been added and I found that I already had those sources. I also had additional sources, so I spent a little time adding those sources to FS, as well.
In our example for our lesson, there was a hint that there was a non-standardized marriage place, so that is where we started. To work on a marriage relationship, go to the Family section of the Person page. To the right of the name of the husband and wife is a symbol that looks like a pencil and a pad of paper. Click on that. The pop-up page shows a section for the husband, a section for the wife, a section for marriage events, and a section for sources. We were interested in the Marriage Events section. We discovered that there were a number of dates/places listed, all of them the same basic information. Since they were all the same, and we only needed to have one, we deleted the extras.
To delete a Marriage Event:
Click on the Event
Click on Delete at the right of the box
Enter a reason for deleting. In our case, we just put "Duplicate entry."
Click the Delete button.
On the one date/place left, we needed to standardize the date and place. This was done just like we did the birth and death dates last time. Click Edit, enter the date or place, choose the correct entry from the standardized list, add a reason (standardized date and place), save.
The same process works for child/parent relationships. Click on the pencil symbol by the child, edit Father, Mother, and Child as needed. Use the Remove option to undo the link between child and parents. Remember that there are three links: husband to wife, child to mother, child to father. To get the spouse and child relationships correct, all three must be linked properly.
We then went to Ancestry.com and found our example on my family tree there. In Ancestry, the tree opens on the pedigree page. We found the person we wanted, clicked on the name, and then on Profile. That brings us to his personal information page. Since we were interested in linking to FS from Ancestry, we did the following:
Click on the tree looking symbol next to the word "search" in the upper right side of the page.
Sign in to FamilySearch
When linked, a blue check mark appears next to the tree symbol.
Click the tree symbol again.
Click on Compare Person on Family Search
Choose the person that matches
You then have two columns: FS information is on the left and Ancestry information is on the right.
You can compare line by line.
You can click on any piece of information that you want to add either way (FS to Ancestry or Ancestry
to FS).
Be sure that the information is correct. It is very easy to move information from one place to another by
making an assumption - that can get you in big trouble. I check what I have in RootsMagic first,
since that is the only source I have confidence in.
When finished, click on Save Changes at the bottom of the page.
I think that covers most of what we did. Next week I said we would start on actually searching for documents. Unless I change my mind, of course! You never know what I might do next!!
Monday, March 28, 2016
March 27, 2016 - Person Page: Watch, Duplicates, Standardize Dates and Places
Today we worked on the Person page on Family Tree in FamilySearch.org. To get to the person page, click the name of the person you want to work on from the pedigree chart. A small window opens. At the bottom of the window, click on the word "Person." This will take you to the person's detail page, which is where most research work is done.
We did a quick look over each section of the page. Then we started doing a little work.
The first 3 things I always do:
1 - Watch. I click the watch button if I want to know if anyone else does work on this page. I get a weekly email with all changes. I can then go in and look to see if I agree with the changes. I can also see where other researchers have found new information that I want to copy to my files.
2 - Duplicates (near bottom of right hand column on the Person page). If there are possible duplicates, check them out carefully to make sure they really are a duplicate of the same person. Sometimes information is similar, but not exact. Once sure that it is indeed a duplicate, they can be merged.
"Review Match"
Your person on left - duplicate on right
Move anything you want to add to your person from the right to the left
If it will replace information already there, use the "Replace" option
When finished, click "Continue Merge" at bottom of page
Fill in the reason why you think this is a duplicate - remember the message is for the next person
who looks at this page, so make sure to be as detailed as needed
"Finish Merge"
3 - Standardize dates and places. All dates and places need to be pulled from the list in order to get maximum benefit from the search engines.
In the Vital Information section, click on the date/place under birth and death.
"Edit"
Choose a date and place from the standardized list. Sometimes, you will need to retype all or part
of the information to get the list to properly come up.
In the reason box, I usually just put "Standardized date and place" if I did not make any other
changes. If other changes are made, you will need to explain why you made those changes.
"Save"
Next week, we will continue working on the Person page. Any questions, be sure to contact me.
We did a quick look over each section of the page. Then we started doing a little work.
The first 3 things I always do:
1 - Watch. I click the watch button if I want to know if anyone else does work on this page. I get a weekly email with all changes. I can then go in and look to see if I agree with the changes. I can also see where other researchers have found new information that I want to copy to my files.
2 - Duplicates (near bottom of right hand column on the Person page). If there are possible duplicates, check them out carefully to make sure they really are a duplicate of the same person. Sometimes information is similar, but not exact. Once sure that it is indeed a duplicate, they can be merged.
"Review Match"
Your person on left - duplicate on right
Move anything you want to add to your person from the right to the left
If it will replace information already there, use the "Replace" option
When finished, click "Continue Merge" at bottom of page
Fill in the reason why you think this is a duplicate - remember the message is for the next person
who looks at this page, so make sure to be as detailed as needed
"Finish Merge"
3 - Standardize dates and places. All dates and places need to be pulled from the list in order to get maximum benefit from the search engines.
In the Vital Information section, click on the date/place under birth and death.
"Edit"
Choose a date and place from the standardized list. Sometimes, you will need to retype all or part
of the information to get the list to properly come up.
In the reason box, I usually just put "Standardized date and place" if I did not make any other
changes. If other changes are made, you will need to explain why you made those changes.
"Save"
Next week, we will continue working on the Person page. Any questions, be sure to contact me.
Monday, March 21, 2016
March 20, 2016 - FamilySearch Family Tree Pedigree Charts
This week, we explored the pedigree views for Family Tree. The menu just above the pedigree chart has symbols for the various pedigree views. When the symbol is clicked, the name of that view appears, as well as the pedigree chart in that format.
Landscape View - This is the default view and is the most useful when doing basic research. It shows you as the center person, with ancestors to the right and descendants to the left. This view was recently updated and now shows more information than before. Each square on the chart is a family unit, with husband on the top and wife on the bottom. All standard genealogy pedigree charts are in this format. The male line above and the female line below.
Marriage information, portraits, ordinance information, hints and other notices all show. In addition, a small arrow that points down by either a husband or wife name indicates that there are additional spouses. To see what the notice icons are, just click on them and a box will open with information. If you do not want all this additional information to show, click on the "Show" button on the top right and a list of items that can be excluded will appear. The last item on the list is "Invert colors" which allows you to have a dark background with white letters or a light background with black letters. Choose the one that is easiest for you to see.
An arrow at the end of any pedigree line indicates that there are more generations. Click on the arrow to open the next screen. When you reach the end of a line, the next generation family box will say Add Husband and Add Wife. If you know the next generation, you can add from here. Remember these are the parents of the last generation known, but they are the husband and wife of the family unit. Don't let the terminology confuse you.
Portrait View - This shows the chart in a vertical rather than landscape style. It does not show all the information that is shown on the landscape. Any pictures are larger and only birth and death years are shown. It is a nice visual chart, but is not useful for researching.
Fan Chart - This shows the chart in a fan view, which is helpful for seeing four additional generations at one view. Any missing pieces show up clearly. It is also a nice chart for printing out.
Descendancy Chart - This chart shows the descendants of a person. This can be very helpful in finding names not completed for the temple.
Tree - Regardless of the view you choose, you will appear as the root person, or the beginning person. To change the beginning person, click on the name of the person you want. A small box will open. At the bottom of the box, there are two choices: Tree and Person. By clicking on Tree, you will move that person to the root position. This is especially useful when working on the descendancy view.
Personal Details Box - There are other pieces of information in the box that opens when clicking on a person's name. (It looks like a note card to me, so that is what I call it.)
Under the name is an ID number. This is a number assigned by FamilySearch when a new person is entered. It is often easier to find someone by the ID number.
Next to the ID is a star and the word Watch. If you click the star, it will turn dark and the word changes to Unwatch. When you work on someone, you may want to click this button. Each week, you will get an email indicating when someone has gone in and made any changes or additions to that person. This is a great way to make sure errors aren't added to your person. It is also a way to see what information and sources other people have found and you can then add them to your primary tree.
Date and place for birth and death are complete. This is an easy way to get the complete date while working from the pedigree chart.
Next are symbols that tell you how many sources, discussions, and memories are attached.
Temple ordinance information is given. It is color coded. A list of the color codes is in the Temple section.
The last line is Tree and Person. Tree makes this individual the root person for the pedigree charts. Person takes you to a separate page with personal details. Most of the actual work is done from the Person page. We will start on that next week.
Questions:
1 - Clarify ancestors and descendants. The simple answer is that ancestors come before you (parents, grandparents, etc.) Descendants come after (children, grandchildren, etc.) To be precise, ancestors are only the direct line. All of their children, etc., the aunts, uncles, and cousins, are technically collateral lines. Many people include everyone from earlier generations as ancestors.
2 - When opening another page in FamilySearch, a new page sometimes opens without closing the one you are in. Other times, the new page overwrites the existing page. If you want to make sure that a new page opens without closing the first page, click on the RIGHT click of your mouse as you hover over the link. Choose Open Link in New Window. It will then open as a new page without closing the previous page. This will allow you to toggle back and forth between the two if you want.
I think that covers most of what we talked about. Next week we will start to explore the Person Page.
Thanks.
Landscape View - This is the default view and is the most useful when doing basic research. It shows you as the center person, with ancestors to the right and descendants to the left. This view was recently updated and now shows more information than before. Each square on the chart is a family unit, with husband on the top and wife on the bottom. All standard genealogy pedigree charts are in this format. The male line above and the female line below.
Marriage information, portraits, ordinance information, hints and other notices all show. In addition, a small arrow that points down by either a husband or wife name indicates that there are additional spouses. To see what the notice icons are, just click on them and a box will open with information. If you do not want all this additional information to show, click on the "Show" button on the top right and a list of items that can be excluded will appear. The last item on the list is "Invert colors" which allows you to have a dark background with white letters or a light background with black letters. Choose the one that is easiest for you to see.
An arrow at the end of any pedigree line indicates that there are more generations. Click on the arrow to open the next screen. When you reach the end of a line, the next generation family box will say Add Husband and Add Wife. If you know the next generation, you can add from here. Remember these are the parents of the last generation known, but they are the husband and wife of the family unit. Don't let the terminology confuse you.
Portrait View - This shows the chart in a vertical rather than landscape style. It does not show all the information that is shown on the landscape. Any pictures are larger and only birth and death years are shown. It is a nice visual chart, but is not useful for researching.
Fan Chart - This shows the chart in a fan view, which is helpful for seeing four additional generations at one view. Any missing pieces show up clearly. It is also a nice chart for printing out.
Descendancy Chart - This chart shows the descendants of a person. This can be very helpful in finding names not completed for the temple.
Tree - Regardless of the view you choose, you will appear as the root person, or the beginning person. To change the beginning person, click on the name of the person you want. A small box will open. At the bottom of the box, there are two choices: Tree and Person. By clicking on Tree, you will move that person to the root position. This is especially useful when working on the descendancy view.
Personal Details Box - There are other pieces of information in the box that opens when clicking on a person's name. (It looks like a note card to me, so that is what I call it.)
Under the name is an ID number. This is a number assigned by FamilySearch when a new person is entered. It is often easier to find someone by the ID number.
Next to the ID is a star and the word Watch. If you click the star, it will turn dark and the word changes to Unwatch. When you work on someone, you may want to click this button. Each week, you will get an email indicating when someone has gone in and made any changes or additions to that person. This is a great way to make sure errors aren't added to your person. It is also a way to see what information and sources other people have found and you can then add them to your primary tree.
Date and place for birth and death are complete. This is an easy way to get the complete date while working from the pedigree chart.
Next are symbols that tell you how many sources, discussions, and memories are attached.
Temple ordinance information is given. It is color coded. A list of the color codes is in the Temple section.
The last line is Tree and Person. Tree makes this individual the root person for the pedigree charts. Person takes you to a separate page with personal details. Most of the actual work is done from the Person page. We will start on that next week.
Questions:
1 - Clarify ancestors and descendants. The simple answer is that ancestors come before you (parents, grandparents, etc.) Descendants come after (children, grandchildren, etc.) To be precise, ancestors are only the direct line. All of their children, etc., the aunts, uncles, and cousins, are technically collateral lines. Many people include everyone from earlier generations as ancestors.
2 - When opening another page in FamilySearch, a new page sometimes opens without closing the one you are in. Other times, the new page overwrites the existing page. If you want to make sure that a new page opens without closing the first page, click on the RIGHT click of your mouse as you hover over the link. Choose Open Link in New Window. It will then open as a new page without closing the previous page. This will allow you to toggle back and forth between the two if you want.
I think that covers most of what we talked about. Next week we will start to explore the Person Page.
Thanks.
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
March 13, 2016 - A Look Around FamilySearch.org
Our lesson today focused on getting acquainted with the FamilySearch.org website. We explored the different sections of the site, other than Family Tree. We will start working on that next week. We just looked at each menu item briefly. These are some of the things we talked about:
Memories
Upload pictures, documents, and other items about each ancestor. Include current pictures of family and yourself. You can also upload audio, so record interviews with family members and save them to Memories. Click on the green + sign and follow instructions.
Search
1 - Records - We will spend more time on this in a later class. This is where all records can be accessed, either by searching by name or by searching collections.
2 - Genealogies - These are personal genealogies that have been submitted by people. They are not part of Family Tree. You can upload your own, as well, if you wish. I personally only use this section to find clues when I am tired of banging my head on a brick wall. Anytime you take information from someone else, whether from their tree or by sharing some other way, you must personally verify the information to make sure it is correct. There are a lot of errors out there!
3 - Catalog - This gives you access to everything that is available in the Salt Lake City Family History Center. Some things are not available for checkout, so a trip to SLC would be necessary. Some are available on microfilm. The individual page will tell you if it is on microfilm. It will also tell you if it has been digitized and is available someplace on the internet. If it is microfilmed, you can order a copy to be sent to your nearest Family History Center for viewing. There is also a link to WorldCat, which can help you find if the book/item is available at a library nearer to you. This is a page that you will use quite often.
4 - Books - This shows links to several other libraries that hold many genealogy related books. Because of the partnership with these libraries, some of their holdings may be available for online viewing.
5 - Wiki - This is one of the best tools available. It is a research encyclopedia and contains articles and links to FamilySeearch collections and to other sites. You can search by place or by topic. When starting research into something new or in a new area, this is the first place to go to become educated on that new topic or place.
Indexing
This class is not about indexing, so we did not spend much time on this. The point was made that anyone can index and not just church members.
Temple
We will have a class later on using the temple functions.
Find, Take, Teach
The challenge that has been issued to all members of the church. Find a name, take that name to the temple, and then teach others how to do the same. We are encouraged to submit as many names to the temple as we do work for.
Family Booklet
This is a booklet that helps to fill in the basic information about the first four generations, beginning with you. It is available in an online form or hard copies can be ordered for $.50. The booklet was designed for those areas where people do not generally have a computer at home. They could fill in the information manually and then give it to the Family History Consultant, who would enter all the information for that person and prepare the temple file names, which would be returned to the individual to do the temple work. This a a useful book for families to use, as well. It would especially appeal to children and would be a great resource for family home evenings, etc. It is also helpful for those who are new to genealogy.
Messages
A new feature on FamilySearch is the ability to send messages to others who are working on the same ancestors, even when they have not made an email address public. Send the message and FS will notify the other person that a message is waiting. You can click on the Messages button to retrieve any messages sent to you.
Get Help
There are two parts to the Help section. One, on the right, allows you to contact FS for assistance with problems or questions. The other, on the left, links you to videos and training helps. The Help Center answers frequently asked questions about how to do things on FS and other related types of things. The Learning Center has dozens of videos about doing research in different states and countries and also many on general genealogy topics. It is worth spending some time exploring and taking advantage of this huge library.
Question
A question was asked about how to get the free websites, like Ancestry.com. Thsi is how:
Get Help
Help Center
Under Select a Help Topic, choose Partners
Our Partners
Choose the site you are interested in joining
Create Your Free Ancestry Account
Choose whether you already have an account for that site or if this is a new account
Follow instructions from there
All the sites listed are free for LDS members. You must have signed in with your LDS log in. LDS members get this benefit, because the tithing money paid by the members to the church is what funds FamilySearch.
I think that covers the main things we talked about. We will start in on the Family Tree pedigree charts next time.
Thanks.
Memories
Upload pictures, documents, and other items about each ancestor. Include current pictures of family and yourself. You can also upload audio, so record interviews with family members and save them to Memories. Click on the green + sign and follow instructions.
Search
1 - Records - We will spend more time on this in a later class. This is where all records can be accessed, either by searching by name or by searching collections.
2 - Genealogies - These are personal genealogies that have been submitted by people. They are not part of Family Tree. You can upload your own, as well, if you wish. I personally only use this section to find clues when I am tired of banging my head on a brick wall. Anytime you take information from someone else, whether from their tree or by sharing some other way, you must personally verify the information to make sure it is correct. There are a lot of errors out there!
3 - Catalog - This gives you access to everything that is available in the Salt Lake City Family History Center. Some things are not available for checkout, so a trip to SLC would be necessary. Some are available on microfilm. The individual page will tell you if it is on microfilm. It will also tell you if it has been digitized and is available someplace on the internet. If it is microfilmed, you can order a copy to be sent to your nearest Family History Center for viewing. There is also a link to WorldCat, which can help you find if the book/item is available at a library nearer to you. This is a page that you will use quite often.
4 - Books - This shows links to several other libraries that hold many genealogy related books. Because of the partnership with these libraries, some of their holdings may be available for online viewing.
5 - Wiki - This is one of the best tools available. It is a research encyclopedia and contains articles and links to FamilySeearch collections and to other sites. You can search by place or by topic. When starting research into something new or in a new area, this is the first place to go to become educated on that new topic or place.
Indexing
This class is not about indexing, so we did not spend much time on this. The point was made that anyone can index and not just church members.
Temple
We will have a class later on using the temple functions.
Find, Take, Teach
The challenge that has been issued to all members of the church. Find a name, take that name to the temple, and then teach others how to do the same. We are encouraged to submit as many names to the temple as we do work for.
Family Booklet
This is a booklet that helps to fill in the basic information about the first four generations, beginning with you. It is available in an online form or hard copies can be ordered for $.50. The booklet was designed for those areas where people do not generally have a computer at home. They could fill in the information manually and then give it to the Family History Consultant, who would enter all the information for that person and prepare the temple file names, which would be returned to the individual to do the temple work. This a a useful book for families to use, as well. It would especially appeal to children and would be a great resource for family home evenings, etc. It is also helpful for those who are new to genealogy.
Messages
A new feature on FamilySearch is the ability to send messages to others who are working on the same ancestors, even when they have not made an email address public. Send the message and FS will notify the other person that a message is waiting. You can click on the Messages button to retrieve any messages sent to you.
Get Help
There are two parts to the Help section. One, on the right, allows you to contact FS for assistance with problems or questions. The other, on the left, links you to videos and training helps. The Help Center answers frequently asked questions about how to do things on FS and other related types of things. The Learning Center has dozens of videos about doing research in different states and countries and also many on general genealogy topics. It is worth spending some time exploring and taking advantage of this huge library.
Question
A question was asked about how to get the free websites, like Ancestry.com. Thsi is how:
Get Help
Help Center
Under Select a Help Topic, choose Partners
Our Partners
Choose the site you are interested in joining
Create Your Free Ancestry Account
Choose whether you already have an account for that site or if this is a new account
Follow instructions from there
All the sites listed are free for LDS members. You must have signed in with your LDS log in. LDS members get this benefit, because the tithing money paid by the members to the church is what funds FamilySearch.
I think that covers the main things we talked about. We will start in on the Family Tree pedigree charts next time.
Thanks.
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