Pinterest and Family History? You Bet!

See the red and white "Pin it Button" right above my dad's head? Click on that and you can send your info right to Pinterest.

Serving in two family history centers has advantages. One of the biggest advantages is getting to hear all of the comments that patrons make. Technological changes have made family history easier is many ways. There is also a brand new territory called "social media." Social media is huge and can be used for family history. Pinterest is just one social media site that can be used for family history. If you think that Pinterest is just for pinning recipes and planning your dream wedding, think again. It is a visual representation of a subject. Think of it as your big, huge bulletin board! If you want to know why you could at least try Pinterest, click here to read an article about Pinterest and how you can use it for family history purposes. As you can see from the above picture, FamilySearch thinks Pinterest is worth using to spread your family history to the world. Other social media buttons are also on FamilySearch and it is fun to think about the different ways that you can use social media to get your family interested in family history. After all, you shouldn't be the only one to have all the fun!

Pioneer Ancestry?

"Can we somehow find the courage and steadfastness of purpose that characterized pioneers of a former generation? Can you and I, in actual fact, be pioneers today?"

~President Thomas S. Monson

Do you have pioneer ancestry, or are you the pioneer of today? Here is a new piece of  FamilySearch that links pioneer history to the records of the Mormon Pioneer companies. The program looks at your tree and culls your pioneer ancestors, lists the company they were in, and also lists records from those particular handcart companies. Give it a look, as you may find that your ancestor was written about in the company records... or if you are really lucky, you ancestor may have written a diary themselves! One can only hope! This site is not totally finished, but it is a really great start! 

Indexing, Anyone?

Join the Worldwide Indexing Event

On July 2, 2012, a total of 49,025 FamilySearch indexers and arbitrators joined together to set the all-time record for the most indexing participants in a single day. That lofty record is about to be broken—by you!

Join volunteers from around the world on July 20 and 21 for an international history-making event! The goal? For 50,000 indexers and arbitrators to submit at least one batch in a 24-hour period! Do more if you would like, but one batch is all that is required to be counted in the record!

This remarkable goal will require help from every current indexer and arbitrator out there, plus many new volunteers,*but it can be achieved if generous volunteers like you commit to participate. So mark your calendar and spread the word! Invite friends and family to join you. Organize an indexing party; create a fun family challenge or a society or church service project. Everyone is needed. Everyone can make a difference!

No matter where you live or what language you speak, you can participate and add to this historic worldwide achievement. You may choose to work on any project you prefer. However, we suggest that you work on the following projects in your native language:

• US—Obituaries, 1980–2014
• US—Passport Applications, 1795-1925
• US, New Orleans—Passenger Lists, 1820-1902
• UK, Manchester—Parish Registers, 1787-1999

The record-setting begins at 00:00 coordinated universal time (UTC) on July 21, which is 6:00 p.m. mountain daylight time (MDT or Utah time) on Sunday, July 20. It ends 24 hours later, at 23:59 UTC (or 5:59 p.m. MDT) on Monday, July 21. Through the selfless efforts of worldwide volunteers like you, millions of people have found their ancestors. At the end of this exciting 24-hour event, millions more records will be available and ancestors will be found!

One batch is all it takes. Don’t miss your chance on July 20 and 21 to be part of this history-making event! Plan now to get involved and add your name to the record-setting legacy!

*New indexers can visit https://familysearch.org/indexing/ to learn more about how to join the FamilySearch indexing effort.

Family Tree Rhapsody

A little light-hearted take on family history. I love to admire someone else's creativity, because I don't have a creative bone in my body. Anyway, I do love family history and apparently, this family does too!
 

Talking Pictures!

This is another great video from FamilySearch. Can't you just feel the excitement coming from the kids? Let's generate that excitement in our kids! The older I get, the more I realize that I don't want to be forgotten, even if I am a very ordinary person! :)

Changes, Changes!

As of a few days ago (December 18, 2013), new.familysearch.org is read only. Here is the screen that you get when you go to new.familysearch.org.

FamilySearch.org is a really amazing program. Spend a few hours with it and you will never even miss new.familysearch.org!

RootsTech 2014 Keynote Speakers

The keynote speakers for RootsTech 2014 were just announced. This is going to be an exciting conference! Read more about them by clicking on their link.

Ree Drummond- The Pioneer Woman

Annelies van den Belt-CEO of DC Thomson Family History (formerly brightsolid)

Dr. Spencer Wells-Serves as director of the Genographic Project

. 

Judy Russell- The Legal Genealogist

Stephanie Nielson-The NieNie Dialogues

Todd Hansen-The Story Trek

Are Family History Efforts Landing on Deaf Ears?

Public Domain

Do you ever feel that your family history efforts in the ward are landing on deaf ears? Are you interested in a couple of new ideas? Penney Devey from FamilySearch has a couple of great ideas to try out in your ward! Check them out here!

My Heritage and FamilySearch Enter into Strategic Partnership

TEL AVIV, Israel & SALT LAKE CITY, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MyHeritage, the popular online family history network, and FamilySearch.org announced today the signing and commencement of a strategic partnership that forges a new path for the family history industry. Under this multi-year partnership, MyHeritage will provide FamilySearch with access to its powerful technologies and FamilySearch will share billions of global historical records and family tree profiles spanning hundreds of years with MyHeritage. This will help millions of MyHeritage and FamilySearch users discover even more about their family history.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations”

FamilySearch will provide MyHeritage with more than 2 billion records from its global historic record collections and its online Family Tree. These records will be added to SuperSearch, MyHeritage’s search engine for historical records, and will be matched with family trees on MyHeritage using its matching technologies. MyHeritage users will gain access to an unprecedented boost of historical records and family tree profiles, which are key to researching and reconstructing their family histories. This reinforces MyHeritage's position as an international market leader, with gigantic assets of family trees and records, which are the most globally diverse in the industry.

FamilySearch members will benefit from MyHeritage's unique technologies which automate family history discoveries. Smart Matching™ automatically finds connections between user-contributed family trees and Record Matching automatically locates historical records relevant to any person in the family tree. By receiving accurate matches between FamilySearch’s Family Tree profiles and historical record collections, such as birth, death, census, and immigration documents, FamilySearch members will be able to more effectively grow their family trees in size and in depth and add conclusions supported by historical records.

“For more than a hundred years, FamilySearch has been dedicated to working with the world’s archives to preserve their records for future generations” said Gilad Japhet, Founder and CEO of MyHeritage. “Their massive undertaking has made family history more accessible to everyone. This partnership highlights MyHeritage’s technology leadership and our firm commitment to adding historical records on a massive global scale, accelerating our vision of helping families everywhere explore and share their legacy online. We look forward to a fruitful future working hand in hand with our friends at FamilySearch.”

“FamilySearch values collaborative partnerships that enable more people, in more places, to discover their family history” said Dennis Brimhall, CEO of FamilySearch. “MyHeritage is an innovative company that has a fast growing, global online audience. We are excited to commence this partnership which enables FamilySearch to better serve the global family history community.”

2012 Was a Very Big Year!

Photo in possession of Rayanne Brunski Melick

FamilySearch made huge strides in the family history community in 2012. To get a breakdown (love those stats!) of what FamilySearch accomplished, read this article! It is amazing what is going on and how fast records are coming online. Thank you FamilySearch!

Family Tree is Now Live for the General Public!

Family Tree is now live for all users! That means that anyone can use Family Tree, not just members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS, Mormons). Click on the Family Tree tab, just to the right of the FamilySearch logo in the tope menu bar.  If you want to learn more about it, click here! Cool stuff going on! Go to familysearch.org and discover your roots!

Collaboration in Family History

There is a lot of talk these days about collaborating in family history! That means that we actually could get a lot done if we would just talk to Aunt Mabel or Cousin Fred. We didn't grow up in a vacuum and neither did our ancestors. Our relatives have information that we might not have. We may also have information that our relatives don't have! So, how could collaboration work? Watch this cool video to see an example of real time collaboration. This can be done NOW! The future is here! There is also a wiki document here to get you started! Happy collaborating!

New Offerings from FamilySearch

Millions of Historic Records Added for Belgium, China, Philippines, and the U.S.

More Completed State Indexes Now Searchable Online for the 1940 US Census
FamilySearch published new, free records online for Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, England, Georgia, Indonesia, Italy, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, and the United States. The 1940 US Census Community Project continues to progress quickly. Online volunteers have now indexed 80 million names out of the historic 1940 census. Follow the progress online or search the 20 completed states at FamilySearch.org/1940census.  BillionGraves also contributed about a million indexed records. Search these diverse collections and 2.8 billion other records for free at FamilySearch.org.
Searchable historic records on FamilySearch.org are made available by thousands of online volunteers from around the world who transcribe (index) information from digital copies of handwritten records to make them easily searchable online. More online volunteers are needed (particularly those who can read foreign languages) to keep pace with the amount of digital images being published online at FamilySearch.org. Learn more about how to personally help provide free access to the world’s historic genealogical records online as a volunteer indexer at FamilySearch.org.

Collection	Indexed Records	Digital Images	Comments
Austria, Seigniorial Records, 1537-1888	0	349,963	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Austria, Vienna, Jewish Registers of Births, Marriages, and Deaths, 1784-1911	0	206,316	New browsable image collection.
Belgium, Antwerp, Police Immigration, 1840-1930	0	1,339,442	New browsable image collection.
BillionGraves Index	980,915	980,915	Affiliate provided new indexed records and browsable images. Â
Canada, Lower Canada Census, 1825	74,323	1,202	Added indexed records and browsable images to existing collection.
Canada, New Brunswick Provincial Returns of Marriages and Late Registrations, 1920-1950	0	119,291	New browsable image collection.
Canada, New Brunswick Provincial Returns of Marriages, 1887-1919	0	141,775	New browsable image collection.
Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax County, Deed Indexes, 1749-1958	0	23,008	New browsable image collection.
Canada, Saskatchewan Provincial Records, 1879-1987	0	75,276	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Chile, Santiago, Cementerio General, 1821-2011	0	84,542	Added browsable images to existing collection.
China, Collection of Genealogies, 1500-1900	0	1,588,606	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Czech Republic, Censuses, 1843-1921	0	52,767	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Czech Republic, Land Records, 1450-1889	0	123,966	Added browsable images to existing collection.
England, Lancashire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1603-1910	0	983	Added browsable images to existing collection.
England, Northumberland, Miscellaneous Records, 1705-2005	0	65,881	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Georgia, Headright and Bounty Land Records, 1783-1909	0	36,799	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Indonesia, Jawa Tengah, Purwodadi Citizenship Records, 1960-2012	0	46,170	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Indonesia, Jawa Tengah, Wonosobo, Naturalization Records, 1927-2011	0	37,311	New browsable image collection.
Italy, Bologna, Bologna, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941	0	49,009	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Genova, Chiavari, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1941	0	27,223	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Messina, Patti, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1823-1941	0	26,259	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Napoli, Serrara Fontana, Civil Registration (Comune), 1809-1929	4,242	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
Italy, Pescara, Civil Registration (State Archive), 1866-1942	0	104,831	New browsable image collection.
Italy, Salerno, Padula, Civil Registration (Comune), 1809-1940	0	4,375	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Teramo, Teramo, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1866-1940	0	5,813	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Treviso, Treviso, Civil Registration (Tribunale), 1871-1941	0	134,878	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Italy, Waldensian Evangelical Church Records, 1679-1969	21,878	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
Peru, Catholic Church Records, 1603-1992	0	24,703	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Philippines, Civil Registration (Local), 1888-1981	0	6,356,654	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Philippines, Civil Registration (National), 1945-1981	0	101,177	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Poland, Roman Catholic Church Books, 1600-1950	0	31,074	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Portugal, Braga, Catholic Church Records, 1530-1911	0	21,549	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Portugal, Porto, Catholic Church Records, 1535-1949	0	47,334	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Russia Tver Poll Tax Census (Revision lists), 1744-1874	0	873,732	New browsable image collection.
Scotland Census, 1841	2,629,006	0	New indexed collection
Spain, Province of Barcelona, Municipal Records, 1583-1902	0	112,580	New browsable image collection.
Spain, Province of Sevilla, Municipal Records, 1903-1918	0	158,340	New browsable image collection.
Spain, Province of Tarragona, Municipal Records, 1430-1916	0	56,475	New browsable image collection.
Spain, Records of Widows and Orphans of Spanish Officials, 1860-1960	0	5,146	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Spain, Valencia, Miscellaneous Records, 1251-1950	0	265,333	Added browsable images to existing collection.
Sweden, Uppsala Church Records, 1308-1901; index 1613-1860	16,217	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
U.S.,  Illinois, Probate Records, 1819-1970	0	69,935	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  Maine, State Archive Collections, 1790-1966	0	47,107	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  Montana, County Births and Deaths, 1840-2004	0	89,204	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  New York, Orange County Probate Records, 1787-1938	0	74,400	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  New York, Queens County Probate Records, 1899-1924	0	29,852	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  Ohio, Crawford County Obituaries, 1860-2004	0	101,198	New browsable image collection.
U.S.,  Ohio, Jefferson County Court Records, 1797-1940	0	38,814	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  Ohio, Probate Records, 1790-1967	0	3,796,974	New browsable image collection.
U.S.,  Ohio, Stark County Court Records, 1809-1917	0	118,518	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S.,  Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1846-1910	1,200,141	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
U.S., California, Great Registers, 1866-1910	2,325,643	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
U.S., District of Columbia, Birth Returns, 1874-1897	0	90,550	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Texas, Deaths, 1977-1986	0	69,454	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., California, San Mateo County Records, 1856-1967	0	43,465	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Idaho, Cassia County Records, 1879-1989	0	46,360	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Iowa, Fayette County Probate Records, 1851-1927	0	86,849	New browsable image collection.
U.S., Missouri, Jackson County Voter Registration Records, 1928-1956	0	16,434	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Montana, Yellowstone County Records, 1881-2012	0	37,718	New browsable image collection.
U.S., North Carolina, Estate Files, 1663-1968	86	689,079	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Texas, Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Membership Applications, 1892-2010	0	25,788	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Texas, Deaths, 1977-1986	0	32,220	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Utah, State Archives Records, 1848-2001	0	159,181	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Washington, County Marriages, 1855-2008	0	26,908	Added browsable images to existing collection.
U.S., Washington, County Probate Records, 1853-1929	0	20,031	Added browsable images to existing collection.
United States Census, 1930 (New Jersey Part B)	46,148	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
United States Census, 1940 (Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Mississippi, Nevada, Utah, Vermont, Wyoming)	9,853,018	0	Added indexed records to existing collection.
United States, Civil War Widows and Other Dependents Pension Files	404,753	404,753	 Affiliate provided indexed records and browsable images to existing collection

FamilySearch International is the largest genealogy organization in the world. FamilySearch is a nonprofit, volunteer-driven organization sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Millions of people use FamilySearch records, resources, and services to learn more about their family history. To help in this great pursuit, FamilySearch and its predecessors have been actively gathering, preserving, and sharing genealogical records worldwide for over 100 years. Patrons may access FamilySearch services and resources free online at FamilySearch.org or through over 4,600 family history centers in 132 countries, including the main Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Let's Get Indexing!

As of 9:00 am MDT, today, images for the 1940 US Census for Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Oregon, and Virginia were posted on FamilySearch to index. Let's get indexing!

The 1940 Census is Coming!

This coming Saturday at the Riverton FamilySearch Library you can learn more about the upcoming 1940 Census. Read more info here!

Another post providing information about the 1940 Census can be found on the Genea-Musings blog written by Randy Seaver. Great notes!

Another 30 Million Records Added!

Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic License
Attribution: I, lanare

FamilySearch has added another 30 million names to their database. They are accessible worldwide at www.familysearch.org. Included in the new records are 16 million indexed names and 14 million browsable images. To learn more about the records added, click here!

Happy Dance!

 THIS...

New York State Flag (50states.com)

NOT THIS!!!

Pennsylvania State Flag (50states.com)

Today I am doing a happy dance! Every once in a while I am rewarded for the hours of fruitless searching that I do looking for my family! Today is one of those days! I was searching to see what new records FamilySearch had posted lately for New York. I have a couple of great uncles that came through Ellis Island and decided to stay in New York instead of continuing to the coal mines in Pennsylvania. I noticed that there were some New York Marriage records that were new...at least new to me! I searched for the great uncles and didn't find a thing about them even though I know they stayed in the Brooklyn, New York area. So, I did what I always do when I'm fiddling around in databases that I've never searched. I put in the surnames of my four great-grandparents! I didn't get any great matches, but got the message that below are some possible connections. Two down was the marriage record for my great aunt! I have never been able to find any information on her! I was always told that she married but died in childbirth a couple of years later in Pennsylvania. Nope! She was married in New York! The marriage record gave a full name (didn't have), parent's full names (didn't have), and her birthday (only had a possible year), plus information on her husband! Happy day! It is times like these that make all of the dead ends worth every minute!

What Records Do I Search?

Ever have trouble figuring out what records you need to search? Here's a quick, easy chart to give you some direction! Happy hunting!

Source: FamilySearch

Updated YouTube Channel!!!

FamilySearch has announced that they have updated their YouTube Channel. If you have never visited this FamilySearch Channel, you are in for a great treat! There are now different categories listed on the right and all of these videos are inspiring and informative. Here is one example of what you can expect!

5 Minute Genealogy

One of the questions that I get asked a lot is "Where do I start my family history? It is so OVERWHELMING!" Granted, it can be overwhelming but if you follow the elephant principle, you CAN "eat your elephant" (family history) one bite at a time. Again, I am always looking for new educational materials and FamilySearch has done it again! A new series called "Five Minute Genealogy!" These videos are clear, informational, quick, and fun! There are four total at this moment, but it sounds like there are more to come! You definitely have to check this out!