New Features in the New FamilySearch Website!

New Features as of December 2010

The December 2010 release has many improvements. Among these are the ability to watch individuals,
receive e-mail notifications when changes occur, and some temple-related changes.

Receive E-mail Notifications for Changes

You can now “watch” individuals in your family tree and receive an e-mail notification when information
about them changes.
For now, the notification identifies the following types of changes:
• Someone changes the individual’s summary.
• Someone starts a new discussion or adds a comment to an existing discussion.
• Someone combines an individual that you are watching with another record.
• Someone separates a record from an individual that you are watching.
The notification e-mail will eventually list more types of changes.

Select the Individuals in a Family Whose Ordinances You Want to Do

When you reserve the ordinances for a family, you can now deselect any family member whose ordinances
you do not want to do.

Reserve Ordinances for Someone Born in the Last 95 Years

If you try to reserve ordinances for someone who was born in the last 95 years, the system now asks whether
you are the closest living relative or have permission from the closest living relative to do the ordinances.
Note: The closest living relatives are, in this order:
• An undivorced spouse. (The spouse to whom the individual was married when he or she died.)
• An adult child.
• A parent.
• A brother or sister.
If you need to obtain permission to do ordinances, verbal approval is acceptable. Family members should
work together to determine when the ordinances will be done and who will do them.
Please honor the wishes of the closest living relative. Doing ordinances against those wishes can cause hard
feelings within families and towards the Church.

More Education!

I am always looking for new educational lessons on family history.  I have discovered another gem, thanks to the PAF Users Group.  Don Snow has taught many classes and has some really great lessons that have been posted online.  There are available at http://uvpafug.org/classes/dons/dons-classes.html.  The nice thing about having lessons online is that you can avail yourself to them at any time (3 a.m. in your jammies!) No excuses!  Thanks Brother Snow!

RootsTech: A New Technology Conference!

Are you a techie who also loves family history?  If so, there is a new conference just for you!  The first annual RootsTech Conference on Technology and Genealogy will be held February 10-12, 2011 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

RootsTech combines several conferences in one.  The BYU Conference on Computerized Family History, the BYU Family History Technology Workshop, and the FamilySearch Developers Conference.  RootsTech is sponsored by Microsoft, Dell, BYU, the New England Historic Genealogical Society, brightsolid, Ancestry.com, the Federation of Genealogical Societies, and the National Genealogical Society.

This is going to be a wonderful and eye-opening conference!  Early registration is $99 through January 7, 2011 then beginning January 8, 2011 the price jumps to $150!  Register at RootsTech.org.

Photoloom Program Training

One of the fun things about serving a service mission at the BYU FHL is that each missionary gets to create very short training videos. These videos are used each week to introduce other programs, research techniques, and all things genealogy related to each of the 150 service missionaries that serve at BYU. I was able to put together a very quick training on Photoloom, one of the new FamilySearch affiliates. It is ten minutes long and can't go into too much detail, but it serves as a great place to start. I hope that you will find it helpful. :)

Lindsay Powell Genealogy Class! This is a Don't Miss Class!!!

Is one of your goals for 2011 to get better at family history?  If you want to take a fabulous class that combines genealogy with the spiritual side of things, this is the class to take! Sign up quickly though, because the class fills up fast! This post is straight off of the BYU FHL blog.

$22.50 Check to "CES Adult Religion". 1st Class-take checks. 2011 WEDNESDAY classes only:

• JANUARY 5 - APRIL 2011 WEDNESDAYS-Noon-2:00 p.m. & 2:00-4:00 p.m. Classes
  Instructions to Sign Up http://www.byufh.blogspot.com/

1. Click on Comments -- bottom of this page
2. In "Leave Your Comment" box, type in your: NAME, WARD & STAKE, E-MAIL, PHONE # plus DAY & TIME you want to attend classes (Wed. 12-2 or 2-4 p.m.)
3. Under that Click Anonymous, then Click: "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" 3 or 4 times-or until the comment box is empty. Your info will appear at the bottom of the list.
4. Once you've received confirmation of your saved information, click the upper left backspace arrow twice to return to Home Page. (For assistance contact Cheryl Norman-- 801-756-3112 gcnorman@msn.com)

WHAT TO BRING TO CLASS:

1. $4.00 check to "Lindsay Powell" for manual
2. Scriptures
3. Notebook and pencil
4. Flashdrive (Thumbdrive) OPTIONAL